Allegations of domestic violence can result in your arrest. If you’re convicted of this crime, it can impact your life in a variety of ways, such as the job that you hold down and the relationship you have with your children.
If you’re charged with domestic violence, don’t wait a single minute to better understand your legal rights in Texas and defense strategy you can employ. Here are five to consider:
- Self-defense: This is the most common domestic violence defense strategy, with you arguing that you fought back against the other individual to protect yourself or another person.
- Wrong person: This works if you can prove that another person committed the crime. One of the best ways of doing so is by providing evidence that backs up your claim that you were not at the scene of the crime.
- False allegations: It sounds crazy, but some people will make false claims of domestic violence in an attempt to get back at someone. For example, this may happen during or after divorce if your ex is trying to keep you away from your children. They know that a domestic violence conviction will likely result in the loss of child custody or visitation rights.
- No proof: The accuser must have proof that you are guilty of domestic violence. You may be able to avoid a conviction by forcing the accuser to prove that you were at the scene and actually committed a crime.
- Consent: It doesn’t come into play often, but a person could voluntarily consent to an act of violence. If you can prove that there was consent, it can work in your favor when fighting against domestic violence charges.
Sometimes one of these domestic violence defense strategies is enough to show that you are innocent. In other cases, you may need to combine strategies to protect your legal rights.
With a domestic violence conviction associated with so many serious penalties, you should do whatever it takes to avoid it. This starts with reviewing the details of your case. From there, you can compare the finer details of each defense strategy and decide which one will best protect your legal rights with the idea of putting your case in the past.
