Criminal Defense Lawyer in Virginia Beach

Are you charged with Domestic Assault & Battery in Virginia Beach?

If so, Attorney Matthew Barbero is a criminal defense lawyer in Virginia Beach who regularly handles Domestic Assault & Battery charges.

If you are charged with a Domestic Assault and Battery Misdemeanor then you are likely charged under VA Code § 18.2-57.2. In order for you to be convicted of a Domestic Assault and Battery Misdemeanor the Commonwealth Attorney must prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. If the Commonwealth fails to prove any single one of the elements beyond a reasonable doubt then the charge against you should be dismissed. I will list the elements of this offense down below:

(1)   Willfully

(2)   Touching of Another

(3)   Without Legal Excuse of Justification

(4)   Touching was done in a Manner that was either Angry or Rude or Insulting or Vengeful

(5)   The accused and the alleged victim are Family or Household Members

Some Final General Notes on Domestic Assault and Battery charges in Virginia

Generally speaking, the police seem to have a standard policy that if they receive a call for domestic violence, then someone is getting arrested, PERIOD! For example, let’s say a husband and wife are fighting and the wife calls the police and says that the husband assaulted her. In that scenario, the police will show up and interview both the wife and the husband and then make a  final determination as to who the aggressor was, and then the person deemed to be the aggressor will automatically be charged, arrested, and taken to the police station. In the scenario above, either the wife and the husband or BOTH are going to be arrested. In other words, there is no scenario above where the police would not be arresting at least one of those two people.  

Generally speaking, if the accused has no prior criminal history of domestic violation and the alleged assault would not be considered highly aggravating, the prosecutor may offer a plea deal for a first offender under VA Code Section § 18.2-57.3 and as you see in that code section that would result in a scenario where court says that there is enough evidence to find the the accused to be guilty however the court will not find the accused guilty but instead will put them on probation and anger management for 2 years and then at that point the court would dismiss the charge against them.

Generally speaking, the prosecutors in Virginia all have a NO DROP POLICY for domestic assault and battery charges. In other words, if a husband is charged with assaulting his wife and the wife is begging the prosecutor to drop the charge against her husband they will NOT do it, PERIOD! This is why it is very necessary to hire a criminal defense attorney for Domestic Assault and Battery charges because even if your spouse wants the Commonwealth to drop the charges against you THEY WILL NOT DO IT! Note there are a few tiny exceptions here and there but generally speaking it is a no drop policy in every jurisdiction in Virginia.