Domestic Violence and Contempt of Court
Domestic violence crimes are prosecuted under numerous sections of the Penal Law, including assault, menacing, reckless endangerment, stalking ( found in article 120 of the Penal Law), homicide ( found in article 125 of the Penal Law), rape, sodomy, sexual abuse ( found in article 130 of the Penal Law), kidnapping, coercion, custodial interference ( found in article 135 of the Penal Law) and criminal obstruction of breathing and strangulation (found in article 121 of the Penal Law).
During more than thirty four years of experience as a criminal defense lawyer, I have had the opportunity to represent clients charged with all of these charges, including obstruction of breathing and strangulation, which were only added to the Penal Law in 2010.
Domestic violence crimes are always more difficult to defend against than the same crime not charged in the context of a domestic violence incident as a function of the fact that the courts rightfully treat them as more serious than the same crime committed against a person not involved in an intimate relationship. Special units in the police department handle domestic complaints, special bureaus in the various district attorneys' offices handle the prosecutions and special courts are designated to handle only domestic violence matters.
The courts understand that generally speaking, a defendant is not charged with a domestic violence crime the first time that he or she abuses a spouse, child or other party involved in an intimate family-like relationship. Furthermore, a domestic abuser generally does not stop abusing until something drastic happens. Usually that is a serious physical injury, homicide or arrest arising out of the fact that the abused person can no longer tolerate what generally is an escalating pattern of abuse and violence.
A part of every domestic violence prosecution is the issuance of orders of protection against the alleged abuser.
Sadly, many abused persons (mostly women) either feel that they deserve the abuse or depend upon the abuser for financial support and are afraid to cut off contact. As a result, these women contact the abuser to either see them on occasion or have the abuser move back home against the terms and conditions of the orders of protection. That is a bad idea indeed!
More frequently than one would expect, the courts do find out about the violation of the order of protection. Generally, this happens in one of two ways. Firstly, since people who commmit acts of domestic violence generally present a wide array of anomalous personality disorders such as anger control deficit and poor self image, the same factors that precipitated the first act of domestic violence will often precipitate additional acts of domestic violence. In this regard, it should be noted that as a general rule, subsequent acts of domestic violence generally escalate in frequency and intensity. The second common way that violators of the order of protection get caught is when an A.C.S. worker interviews the children and finds out that daddy has been visiting them or sleeping at the marital abode notwithstanding the order of protection.
If the court finds out about the violation of the order of protection, the defendant is charged with new charges of criminal contempt of court, charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony pursuant to sections 215.50, 215.51 and 215.52 of the Penal Law. This creates a real problem. Instead of one case that can frequently be resolved with little or no permanent damage to the defendant, the alleged abuser now faces two charges and a court that will always be rather angry that the domestic violence defendant allegedly violated the court's order. Not a pleasant kettle of fish, for sure. Those defendants who are contemplating public service jobs will have a problem with a criminal contempt conviction. A person seeking a career as an attorneys will probably not find the Committee on Character and Fitness very sympathetic to an incident of domestic violence or criminal contempt in his past, even if the charges were dismissed.
Unfortunately, as much as I tell my domestic violence defendants to obey the orders of protection, I suspect that perhaps half of them ignore this no-brainer advice. Getting caught means new charges of criminal contempt in addition to what other charges may be brought as a result of the new incident.
The lesson is quite clear. If you are violating an order of protection issued in a domestic violence matter, stop immediately. Be smart and exercise restraint. You will then be able to obtain the best possible disposition of your case in the least possible amount of time and as cheaply as possible under the specific facts and circumstances of your case..