3 things you don’t want to do when facing domestic violence charges

Domestic violence has been in the news quite a bit lately, and not for any positive reason. A new study indicates that all the forced “togetherness” people endured over the last couple of years has led to an increase in domestic violence incidents by about 7-8%, overall.

Florida treats domestic violence allegations very seriously. If you’ve been arrested after an argument with a spouse, relative, romantic partner or roommate got out of hand, here are a few things you need to know:

Don’t ask the alleged victim to drop the charges

You can make your situation worse by contacting the alleged victim and trying to get them to drop the charges. That could get you charged with a violation of a restraining order (if you have one) or witness intimidation (even if that isn’t your intention).

Don’t ask a relative or friend to contact the alleged victim

Similarly, you don’t want to ask friends or relatives to step in and act on your behalf with an appeal to the alleged victim to change their story. Whether you make contact with the alleged victim directly or someone does it for you, the court is likely to see the situations as the same.

Don’t express your anger or frustration on social media

The internet isn’t nearly as anonymous as you may think, and you should anticipate that prosecutors will look at your social media pages for anything they can find that might support their case. As much as you may feel like railing against the injustice of your arrest and the entire case against you, you probably do not want to have any of that read aloud in court.

If you’re facing domestic violence charges, exercise your right to remain silent until you have fully explored your legal options. Talk to an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.