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  1. #1

    Default Getting Diversion for a Domestic Violence Charge in Florida

    Hello,

    I am 45 years old, and have never been arrested in my life, until this week.

    My girlfriend and I have been going through financial and other troubles and have been fighting. Unfortunately, some of the fights have gotten physical with me and sometimes both of us hitting each other.

    During this recent fight, a neighbor that doesn't like us, appears to have called the police, and then we both learned how horrible ever getting charged with domestic violence is. We do have one child together , and he was there when the police arrived. Without going into all the details, the cop noticed a red mark on her face, and a bruise on her arm from sometime ago. He apparently took pictures of this, and the judge mentioned it at first appearance. I also had an old bruise on my arm, which I told the officer about, and he much later took pictures of, but conveniently left all that off in the report.

    He managed to get an avidavit from my girlfriend stating I hit her in the head twice , which wasn't exactly true. It was more of a struggle, and she wound up giving me my son to hold. She later followed me to the bedroom, where I closed the door and sat with my son. That's when most of the noise happened as she started yelling and screaming and beating about the door.

    Like an idiot, I also talked to the cop, and it appears our stories conflict with one another, in that she didn't mention my son being there during the dispute, and I did. She may have been trying to protect, as he wasn't involved , and nothing happened to him. I was so stressed that my memory of the incident was incorrect as I told the cop I was trying to physically get my son from her, but I wasn't and didn't , as she voluntarily gave him, and then later wanted him back.

    There is also another shocking and untrue element in the police report of a "Domestic Violence Questionaire". It doesn't feature testimony from my girlfriend, but is apparently some questions the police ask. These are horrible about me ever threatening with a weapon, "capable of killing", etc. I was shocked to see they are all checked yes. I have no idea why my girlfriend would have answered these questions like this, or if she did. I was later told they are used for the requirement of a gps monitor upon any release on bond, and since the judge didn't require that, that may be a good sign. I was also told the questions aren't generally used to determine offers at arraignment. This was from public defender, so I have no idea if I'm being told the whole story. I'm concerned also, because this neighbor that complained offered information to the police that I own firearms. Even though I do, they have been in storage in the house , unloaded, disabled for many years since my son was born. I was also never an active sports, and only one neighbor ever knew or saw any guns I have ever owned. The police asked about guns right away, and I was confused, and told them the truth about where they were and the condition, and they did not pursue finding or taking any of my property.

    There are some other details to the case, but what I'm really trying to understand right now is how and if we can get a "diversion" and get the charges dropped. I have the arraignment scheduled a few weeks from now, and am out on bond, which was set at 1,500. I elected and qualified for a public defender, but plan to talk to attorneys, even though my financial resources are really limited. One the one hand, I don't want to take a chance with the public defender if it could mean this getting much worse than it has to be. On the other hand, the fees for an attorney are quite high.

    I'm very frightened, and this entire experience has been one of the worst of my life. I fully realize that I screwed up, and am happy that I will now know to never, ever do that again. Also, my girlfriend has screwed up as well, and although she's protected by the Florida laws, the long reaching effects of this are already devastating her and our family. The no-contact order has been brutal, and apparently since I work from home, live here with her and so on, decided to temporarily move out with my son so that I could return to this home until trial. I assume she is pursuing the option of lifting the no contact to a no violent contact, but that is also an incredibly difficult and time consuming process, and the system is designed such that she knows little/nothing about her rights to do anything, while I have no rights to do anything about it.

    Without making this post much longer than it needs to be, I wanted to add that I've been told there is limited or no process to actually plead my side of the case (or hers) during arraignment. I don't know what that means, and I don't know if things like the pictures of her marks will have a negative impact, and make this much worse than it already is. I really don't want to go jail, and I fear I might not survive there for very long. I also can't afford thousands of dollars in fines/fees. I've never been arrested, and I've learned my lesson. Please help with any ideas you may have on this case. Thank You.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Very Unfortunately Charged with Domestic Violence in Florida

    She might find she's unable to do anything about the NCO. There is also the risk of CPS forcing the issue, depending on what happens and has already happened.

    Standby for others. But be aware that there may be more than the criminal charges to think about.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Very Unfortunately Charged with Domestic Violence in Florida

    DCF is notified. I didn't mention that. They are already pursuing us. Based on what I've learned from research, the DCF may not be as bad as the criminal charges. This is based on the biggest fear of them taking our child, which doesn't seem likely.

    She can and I've been told likely will lift the NCO to a no violent NCO. I'm not sure if you know Florida law, but that is actually common, and the even though the judge was very tough on me at first appearance, he mentioned something to the effect of her lifting the NCO. It's not easy, and even if she tries next week, it will take her to go to the courthouse, do some course, and have to wait possibly days for approval from judge.

    The horrible part of Florida law appears to be the fact that the state has 100% authority in pursuing charges, and basically the alleged victim has no rights to stop or change the course. This makes me worry about the pictures, which I haven't seen. Of course, I knew about the old bruise on her arm. Between the two of us, we unfortunately admitted to me otherwise striking or touching her face/head. I really need to know if that's some kind of auto-no deal thing for the state or worse. I'm also worried about the questionaire. It's just ridiculous, about alleged past events, and totally untrue.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
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    Default Re: Very Unfortunately Charged with Domestic Violence in Florida

    Do you understand how many victims are pressured or forced into recanting or trying to get it all to go away because they're terrified of what may happen otherwise?

    And it's horrible for the state to try to prevent that from happening?

  5. #5

    Default Re: Very Unfortunately Charged with Domestic Violence in Florida

    I think it's horrible if she's more terrified of what the state will do to our family, than she is of me. I know for a fact, she's not terrified of me. She is a fighter, and we've had our conflicts, and I know we won't ever fight again. It was a mistake that neither of us knew what the consequences could be. I'm still in shock about what happened after the police arrived, and I think she is too.

    I just want her and my son back for a chance to make things work. I think we will both be much better , especially considering the sheer fear we have at what would happen if we ever caught fighting again. I also know how bad it is for my son to witness any of this, and that wasn't on purpose, but it won't happen again anyway. We otherwise have a good relationship and are good parents to our only son. We just have had some relationship problems, but we can fix them.

    I don't see any input from others, so I thought I would respond with an update on this situation.

    I spoke with an attorney today, even over this holiday weekend! Scheduled an appointment, and discussed things with him over the phone.

    What I got out of the conversation , was that a preferred way of dealing with the domestic violence for first time offenders is to get the charge reduced to simple battery. From there, a diversion program can be completed, and I guess the terms and costs of that program may be lesser than they would be with the dreadful "domestic violence" tag attached to the charges.

    He also mentioned the possibility of problems with the police report, or other issues that may enable him to fight to get the case dismissed/dropped.

    His fee is a flat $2,500. Payment plan is also rough of at least half down to start. I might have to take a loan from my parents to pay that, if at all possible. I have another idea on where I could get the money, but unless it's absolutely necessary, I'd rather not go that route. If the private attorney only manages to get the diversion, then costs will go up to well over $3,000.

    I'm not sure, but it seems the situation is that the public defenders are overworked, and may not be able to put time into my case, or even meet me before the arraignment. I don't know if I can help that by using persistence to try to meet with my assigned defender. The other issue is this diversion, which even if I get, will be additional cost. I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that the narrow qualifications for a pre-trial diversion may effectively be the same with a public defender or private attorney. On the issue of getting the case otherwise dismissed, I think it's obvious that a private attorney would be the only one that could do that, and being able to avoid the diversion mess, may make that worth all the extra cost.

    Of course, I'm not an attorney, so this is just my thoughts based on research. I don't know if a public defender could fail to make a case even for a diversion through lack of attention to to my case or not.

    Thanks for any ideas on this.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Posts
    1,419

    Default Re: Very Unfortunately Charged with Domestic Violence in Florida

    It sucks paying 2500-3000,look it as a long term investment. Sometimes a domestic violence charge that is reduced or dismissed thru a diversion program still gives the person many issues. It might affect owning a gun. If the lawyer can get the charges dropped or dismissed out right,he worth the money.

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