Is Emotional Abuse Considered Domestic Violence
When people think of the term domestic violence, most images that come to mind are those of a person who has been physically abused or hurt with bruises that can be documented.
Domestic violence is a serious crime that leads to many deaths everyday.
They say people will try to leave the abusive relationship on average 6 times before they are successful.
Besides physical abuse, domestic violence comes in many other forms that most people can’t see.
Emotional abuse is not seen in the form of bruises or any other physical evidence that can be seen.
Even the victim might not know it’s actually happening right away.
Being charged with domestic violence can lead to severe penalties including prison time.
If you have been charged with domestic violence you need to hire a lawyer as soon as possible.
Domestic Violence charges or convictions can follow you the rest of your life, you need to get the charges reduced or dismissed as soon as possible.
If you or a loved one is facing domestic violence charges, or any criminal charge, it is important to hire an experienced defense attorney right away. The Defenders is a team of experienced criminal defense attorneys have helped numerous clients and have a proven track record of success. Our attorneys understand the sensitive nature of these cases and will work tirelessly to protect your rights and fight for the best possible outcome. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
What Is the Crime of Domestic Violence in Nevada
Domestic violence is defined in Nevada as a violent crime committed in the context of an intimate relationship.
Domestic violence also includes physical, emotional, verbal, spiritual and financial abuse.
Emotional abuse consists of controlling your partner through manipulation of that person by embarrassing, shaming, blaming, criticizing, or humiliating that person.
The emotional abuse is to control another person by isolating, discrediting, and / or silencing that person.
Examples of Emotional Abuse
In some cases, emotional abuse may be very clear and outwardly manipulative.
However, in most cases, emotional abuse is more subtle, insidious and not easy to identify.
Some examples of emotional abuse are:
- Constantly criticizing another or unreasonable demands of your partner
- Possessiveness and constant irrational accusations of cheating
- Stalking another or constantly needing to know your partner’s whereabouts
- Monitoring someone’s phone or internet accounts
- Isolating someone from their friends or family
- Taking or hiding someone’s money, keys or other important items
- Constantly condescending to, belittling, bullying, or humiliating someone
- Using someone’s hopes, fears or weaknesses against that person
As you can see, some of these examples are very overt and easily be noticed as emotional abuse while others are less noticeable.
A person might not even be aware that it is happening to them as a victim and a defendant might not be aware that they are committing a crime.
Being charged with domestic violence in any form can be life altering for a defendant.
If you have been charged with domestic violence, call The Defenders today for a case review.
We have defended many clients charged with domestic violence, let our team of expert lawyers help you.
Can You Face Criminal Charges for Emotional Abuse ?
Like previously discussed, someone may not actually know that they are actually committing the crime of domestic abuse and are blindsided when they face criminal charges.
You may not even have known that your words or actions are considered abusive or potentially the crime of domestic violence.
When emotional abuse is considered domestic violence, there must be repeated incidents that demonstrate a pattern of behavior towards the victim.
Insulting a partner or family member one time during an argument is not considered emotional abuse or domestic violence.
People throw insults at people all the time in the heat of the moment or during an argument that does not mean you are guilty of a crime. Bad manners maybe, but not a crime.
When the police are called to a home for a domestic violence call they can arrest a person if they have probable cause to believe the defendant has within the last 24 hours committed battery upon his or her domestic partner.
How Can Emotional Abuse Be Charged as a Crime in Nevada
If the police are called to your residence for domestic violence calls they have probable cause to arrest a person if they believe that battery is involved over the prior 24 hours.
These are the types of domestic violence charges and the possible penalties;
- Battery domestic violence is a first offense without any serious bodily injury or no deadly weapon used and the victim wasn’t strangled; this will be considered a misdemeanor. A conviction will result in a brief jail term, community, service, a fine and court-ordered counseling.
- A second offense for domestic battery with no aggravating factors may also be considered a misdemeanor offense. The penalties will be more severe for a second offense with more jail time and heavier fines and more time in counseling.
- A third conviction for battery domestic violence is considered a felony. This conviction could mean a term in state prison. If there are aggravating factors the defendant could face up to fifteen years in prison based on the severity of the crime.
Unless there is significant evidence to the contrary, a prosecutor will not usually drop a battery domestic violence charge even if the victim asks for the charges to be dismissed.
After a battery domestic violence charge has been filed against someone, only the prosecutor has the choice to determine if the case will move forward.
This rarely happens so when charged with domestic violence for emotional abuse you need to hire an experienced defense team as soon as possible if you even want the slightest chance of getting the charges reduced or dismissed.
How to Fight False Domestic Violence Charges
Let’s face it. Some criminal charges are brought against a defendant for revenge purposes.
In some instances, individuals who believe they have been mistreated in a relationship may resort to making unfounded claims of domestic abuse as a form of retaliation.
Nevada law enforcement and the legal community routinely deal with false accusations of domestic violence. However, once the charges are brought against you it is your job to prove the accusations are false.
A good defense team like The Defenders will investigate your case to make sure the accusations are legitimate. False accusations will have the same criminal consequences as true accusations so defending them is a priority. People are convicted of false charges all the time and it is better to be resolved before a conviction happens.
If you are innocent and the charges are false, don’t plead guilty to anything and never take a plea agreement if you have committed no crime.
If the case against you can be supported, then your domestic violence attorney may be able to get you a plea deal for reduced charges or a reduced sentence.
Other Consequences of Domestic Violence Charges
If you are convicted of domestic violence there are many other consequences that you may not even realize.
There is also a stigma that comes with a domestic violence conviction. Besides that if you are convicted of domestic violence you will lose the right to own a firearm unless your case is expunged or you receive a full pardon. If you are residing here and not a U.S citizen you may be at risk of deportation due to your conviction.
Another consequence of a domestic violence conviction is that if you hold a professional license in Nevada, you may be at risk of disciplinary action by your professional licensing board and this can include the loss of your professional license.
Why Hire The Defenders
Hiring the right lawyers for a domestic violence case with emotional abuse can mean the difference between a conviction and being convicted of the charges.
Selecting the right lawyer who is knowledgeable, experienced, and dedicated to fighting your case aggressively is important to get justice for your case.
The Defenders is dedicated to helping our clients and has a remarkable success rate of having criminal charges dismissed or reduced depending on the circumstances of the case.
Our team has experts lawyers for many criminal charges including domestic violence with emotional abuse.
Our team at The Defenders will fight vigorously for our clients no matter what the charges are.
We will investigate the charges and evidence against you with our in-house team.
If you have been charged with a crime including domestic violence call The Defenders for a case review and let us put our expert legal team to work for you.
