Our Charleston criminal defense lawyers deal with criminal domestic violence cases in family court and criminal court. In , our law was changed, and now most prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys refer to the cases simply as Domestic Violence DV cases instead of CDV.
In this article, we examine the laws covering DV, the rights of victims, and the rights of the accused. A household member is:. This is the lowest of the degrees of DV. It is similar to 3rd Degree in that the defendant either caused harm or injury to a household member or threatened it, but a 2nd Degree factor must ALSO be proven.
These factors are:. Only one of these factors has to be proven for Domestic Violence to be considered in the 2nd Degree. Similar to 2nd Degree, for DV 1st Degree, a factor has to be proven in addition to the violence or threat.
These factors include:. For example, if you are tried for Domestic Violence in the 1st Degree, the jury can find you guilty of 1st Degree, 2nd Degree, or 3rd Degree. Also, Assault and Battery is a lesser included offense of DV. This is under all cases by federal law and many cases by state law.
You might be able to get these rights back through expungement or pardon, but it can be difficult or impossible to do depending on your circumstances. We discuss expungements in more detail below. Often, the law enforcement officer receives conflicting stories about a domestic violence incident. In this instance, the officer is supposed to evaluate each complaint separately to determine who was the primary aggressor.
If the person determines one was the primary aggressor, the officer is not supposed to arrest the other. The officer can consider prior complaints of domestic, the nature of any injuries, the likelihood of future injury, whether someone acted in self-defense, and household member accounts regarding the history of domestic violence. Someone accused of Domestic Violence needs to review the bond order carefully to see if any of these restrictions apply.
A victim of DV has many rights. Some of these rights are set forth in the South Carolina Constitution, and these rights include the right to be treated with fairness and free from intimidation; to be reasonably informed when the defendant is arrested, released from custody, or has escaped; to be informed of any criminal proceedings which may dispose of the charges; to make written or oral statements at any bond hearings; to be heard regarding any plea bargains or sentencing decisions; to speak to the prosecutor; to have access to documents relating to the crime; and to receive compensation for any medical expenses incurred.
If the State proves that you caused injury to, or threatened to cause injury to, a household member, you may be found guilty of domestic violence. But what makes it first, second, or third degree? A person can be convicted of the most serious domestic violence offense , DVHAN, if they cause injury to, or threaten to cause injury to, a household member and :. A person can be convicted of domestic violence first degree if they cause injury to, or threaten to cause injury to, a household member and :.
A person can be convicted of domestic violence second degree if they cause injury to, or threaten to cause injury to, a household member and :. If you are convicted of any domestic violence offense, you will lose your right to own a firearm or to get a concealed weapon permit — possessing a firearm after you have been convicted of domestic violence is a separate criminal offense under both federal and SC state law.
A household member considered is a spouse, former spouse, someone you have a child in common with or someone of the opposite sex you now or formally have lived with. Although CDV is a misdemeanor prosecutable in the municipal and magistrate courts of South Carolina, a CDV conviction can have very serious and lasting consequences.
The one-year minimum sentence cannot be suspended by the court, which means that if you plead guilty or are found guilty after a trial, it is a mandatory prison term. This is a dangerous assumption. The State decides whether or not to prosecute the case, with or without a reluctant victim. Often, the State will used recordings and the testimony of the responding officers, as well as any photographs taken by law enforcement, to prove an injury in the absence of a victim. Many people also assume that a physical injury must be present for a CDV to be charged.
These are serious charges and we have the experience and resources to properly prepare your defense. Criminal Defense Areas of Practice. Criminal Defense Attorneys.
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