Florida Domestic Violence Defenses: Did Not Happen

The most common variant of a defense that a domestic violence allegation did not happen is precisely that: nothing illegal happened.

This is a very clear defense in its purest form - the two elements of battery, intentional touching or striking that was harmful or offensive, simply did not occur. Either there was a mistake or someone lied or both.

However, many cases are not so simple. As discussed in the video below, parts of the allegations may be admitted while others are denied. Some cases are felonies, some defenses may affect other defenses or even eliminate them.

One thing is very consistent: Many are being pushed into "counseling" classes that may last for over six (6) months when they never broke the law. Worse, these classes are a prime example of the 80/20 Rule: they will help 20% of the participants and will fail 80% of the time.

You read that right - domestic violence classes have a failure rate that often exceeds 80%.

Why? Two reasons.

1) Many of the class participants should not even be there in the first place. They foolishly tried to handle the case on their own, and found themselves imprisoned in worthless rehabilitation classes for "domestic abusers" when they never committed any act of domestic violence. Of course, they are blamed for their reluctance to admit to abuse that never occurred.

2) As I have pointed out repeatedly in other posts, such as here, an accurate diagnosis is required in order for treatment to be effective. Where the diagnostic model consists of "what's your charge?" followed by the conclusion "You need domestic violence counseling!", we have a problem. Treatment is only as effective as the diagnosis. Yet Florida has the usual, feel good, one size fits all approach. Thus if a woman or a man commits an act of domestic violence and really need treatment, they get a political solution to a medical problem.

Finally, not to harp on the oft stated and blisteringly obvious, but a large part of the problem is Florida's "somebody is going to jail when the police are called on a domestic" law (determination of the "primary aggressor" by statutory requirement). As a result, mistakes are made in the field, and people are going to jail for crimes they did not commit. Yelling during an argument is turned into an assault by the legal process, despite the fact no actual assault occurred. In the same manner, snatching the keys to your own vehicle becomes a battery. When neither an assault nor a battery occurred.

Chronic stress, economics, crime and social order

Many of the cases I handle as a criminal defense lawyer in Florida are rooted in chronic stress. Consider:

• a couple has chronic stress related to money, and they fight and argue until a real or fabricated case of domestic violence erupts
• someone making over $20/hour in 2007 goes through a long period of unemployment, and by 2014, is barely employed and making less than half of what they made seven years ago. They begin drinking heavily and ultimately get charged with DUI.
• broke his entire adult life, a desperate twenty-five year old male robs a convenience store.
• a teenager watches his parents lose their jobs, their home, and barely survive on the margins, living minimum wage paycheck to paycheck, desperately poor and with no hope for a better tomorrow. Sinking into depression and anxiety, a gun is taken to school and, you can figure out the rest.

This is America today.

There is a mass homicide such as the shootings at Sandy Hook roughly every two weeks. As awful as such events are, isn't there are part of you that doesn't get surprised by this?

Moralists are quick to prescribe nonsensical quick fixes with one line sentences of pithy rhetoric, usually some form of childish black and white thinking which does little more than display a profound level of ignorance about the human condition.

Reality can be brutal: people without hope are dangerous. When their brains are scanned and the images are compared with healthy, normal range brain images, people who have been under chronic stress have negative changes to both the physical structure and operational parameters of their most important organ in the human body. The organ that controls human behavior. Or not.

When PTSD is factored in, the result can be terrifying. When all forms of mental illness are factored in, as a society, we have to confront uncomfortable truths:

1) The people who are completely insane (what I loosely and unscientifically refer to as the "I think I am Jesus" category) they are not the problem. When someone is babbling nonsense claiming to be the messiah, discerning mental illness requires little skill simply because it is so obvious. And they are not the biggest threat. The ones that fly under the radar and appear to be somewhat normal, yet eccentric are extremely dangerous. Punishment does not deter them. Think of the Boston Bomber suspect who made headlines (again) today with the announcement the government is seeking the death penalty. How well did that threat of punishment work?

2) We are our brotherss (and our sisters') keeper. Unless we embrace and support a total breakdown of social order, mass homicides, bombings, Santa Slayers and a whole host of simply awful social ramifications.

Fortunately, we can solve these seemingly intractable problems with an investment in our people, despite the unpopularity of talking about income inequality and the fact that crime is a medical problem. It has been reported that 400 Americans have a level of wealth equal to the lower 150 million in our country, and worldwide, that 85 people have half of the world's wealth. Quick point: when was the last time you heard about a billionaire losing it and committing a mass homicide? How about a robbery?

You haven't. It doesn't happen.

In America, when half of the country has no realistic way to compete for a bigger slice of the economic pie, and the slice they have is getting smaller, it is easy to foresee that more mental breakdowns will occur.

Along with Greece, Spain, Ukraine and a host of other nations, Britain had a complete mental breakdown due to the chronic stress of economic anxiety in 2011: do we want that to happen here?

Decidedly not. Preachy moralisms are no answer. We either care for our brothers and sisters with our economic, social, criminal, medical, and taxation policies or we live with the consequences of our continuing failure to do so.

Florida Assault Law as explained by this criminal defense attorney

Occasionally, I take the suit off. On this day, the video was produced with Lisa Northern Photography from Atlanta.
Florida Assault Law is often confused with the law of Florida regarding battery. This is why you often hear people speak of "assault and battery" as if they are the same thing.

Either an assault or a battery can be a form of domestic violence, and come in many different permutations. And they are extremely common because Florida law practically insures that if the police are called on a domestic, somebody is going to jail. My jury selection Monday? Allegations of domestic violence as noted in my prior post.

Florida Criminal Law Explained in 39 Seconds

Florida Criminal Law is a television show I've hosted for years. This clip is all of 39 seconds, and it is probably the only time in my career where the entire criminal law legal procedure has been explained so briefly.
Many people do not realize how the criminal justice system will pull one over on them, especially when it comes to criminal misdemeanors and criminal traffic offenses. The government hopes people will show up, plead out on their first court date (usually arraignment, but sometimes called "Plea Day" in some counties), and get sentenced on the spot.

The result is that people think they are saving money on legal fees (reasoning that they are guilty, so this is a way to cut their losses), and end up with criminal history, miss out on legal defenses and never get the best deal possible. A criminal defense attorney in Florida will be able to help you get the best possible plea bargain if you wish to settle your case.

This short video clip shows the procedure when a criminal case is handled correctly.