When a Las
Vegas citizen is facing a battery domestic violence case, clear intent is
required to convict him or her. A lot of instances of unintentional physical
harm can be caused by accidents, if you believe this is how it is for your
case, better get the help of a Las Vegas domestic
battery lawyer to help you. Nevertheless, here are further
information about the subject matter.
What is battery domestic violence?
Domestic
violence consists of different elements of abuse that can be done to a person.
One of the most common types of domestic abuse is battery or hitting, punching,
kicking and even doing tricks to cause physical pain to a person. When you are
found guilty of domestic violence carried out through battery for the first
time, you could face misdemeanor charges. Now, if the offense was done for the
third time in seven years, a category C felony which carries one to five years
in prison, shall be imposed on you. Depending on how your domestic
battery lawyer will plead your case, there is a chance that your charges
will be reduced.
What is intent?
Intent is the
motivation behind such actions of a person. Battery domestic violence cases require
intent to be justified and the intent should be of malice or in a nature that
is meant to harm a person through unwanted physical contact. However, even if
there is no harm that befell a person, just the resolve to commit the act is
enough to criminalize the defendant.
Having said
that, the perpetrator of battery cannot be sentenced if there is no intent. You
can cite this as a defense once in court. For example, at home you were
swinging your arms for an exercise routine and you hit your wife in accident as
she suddenly appeared. This cannot be used for your conviction as you have no
way of knowing that your wife will turn up in time for the specific movement.
On the other
hand, there are situations caused by negligence that could be considered as
intent and be used to add to fuel your undesired criminal sentence. An example,
you fail to return sharp objects scattered around the house after a construction
project and your children get some cuts after stumbling on them. While you do
not have any intention to harm your kids, you have the right mind to know that
it can result to an accident, in one way or another.
There were at
least 33 homicides in a domestic setting in Las Vegas last 2015 and
we all know that these victims died due to battery. If you do not want to be a part
of these staggering statistics, know that you can defend yourself with your domestic battery lawyer
to come render innocent of the crimes. Intent is a powerful factor in battery
domestic violence cases and if it is not ill in temperament or does not exist
at all, you have a chance for acquittal.