Domestic Violence Arrest – Now What Should I Do? What to do immediately following being arrested on domestic violence charges is critical to your future.

If somebody is arrested on domestic violence charges, we’ve found that it is best to contact an attorney such as Joseph W. Galasso, a former prosecutor who knows what to do. As soon as you get out of jail or as soon your or a loved one can get to a computer or phone, reach out. The quicker you are represented by an experienced officer of the court who can intervene on your behalf with law enforcement, the detectives investigating the initial charges (looking to add more), and the prosecutors from the District Attorney’s office who the case will be presented in day’s time, you will almost always have a far better outcome.

Former Riverside County Prosecutor

If you contact Joseph shortly after the incident, he can formulate a defense while all the details are still fresh in everybody’s mind.

We need to document what happened. You’d be surprised how quickly humans forget the little details that might prove the most meaningful to getting the charges reduced or dismissed. Evidence and time lines brought together as ‘your side of the event(s)’ is our business. We know, first hand, that over time people forget particulars, little things: important things that can make all the difference now that you are caught up in the big government machine.

If you don’t know already, please know the criminal justice system — especially with domestic violence charges — has teeth. Serious teeth. Painful.

It need not go down as hard as it will if you choose to devise a strategy and plan and NOT just ‘go with the flow.’

Who You Hire Can Make ALL the Difference.

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Domestic Violence Arrest – Many Awful Outcomes Remedied by Early Intervention

The sooner you reach out, the sooner we can start the investigation. We want to start right away. We can get our private investigators working on interviewing witnesses again, while it’s still fresh in their memory, gathering documentation, social media posts, things that that can be destroyed or deleted after somebody thinks about them and tries to shape what really happened to their ‘story’ of what happened: their spin.

Image of possible charges & outcomes - What To Do Following Domestic Violence Arrest
Many Horrible Life Outcomes Can Be Remedied by Early Intervention

In these beginning phases – shortly after the domestic violence arrest – often before the local District Attorney is even aware of the case – is when you need a lawyer on your side. This is the short window of time where we can sometimes make ‘magic’ happen in the sense that we can change the severity and direction the case is going. We do this as a 3rd party sitting down with those building a case against you and sharing ‘your side of the story’ so that you are a real person and not just a ‘criminal’ to prosecute to the full extent of the law.

The District Attorney (DA) is an elected county official. 

Because county District Attorneys are constitutionally elected, they are – or must quickly learn to be – politically savvy to retain that prestigious title. DAs are under extreme political pressure from multiple voters and voting blocks to aggressively prosecute DV abusers. And that they do! DV is a dangerous criminal charge with devastating life-altering penalties and consequences.

Back in the 1980’s MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) changed laws throughout the US. The history and success of MADD – is what has been happening to anyone involved in any interaction that can be labeled: Domestic Violence.

Moreover the law demands that law enforcement officers WILL ARREST anyone in a ‘domestic argument’ if there is any sign of violence. A scratch or bruise is sufficient – even if the scratch or bruise did not happen as a result of the argument or verbal altercation that resulted in the cops coming to pay a visit that day.

Anything deemed ‘Domestic Violence’ becomes a hot-button issue aggressively pursued by law enforcement and aggressively charged by LEO and prosecutors, judges and the courts.

The days following a domestic violence arrest, law enforcement will be doing their investigation and have yet to contact the DA and let them know this case is being investigated, written up and prepared for the DA’s review. When somebody contacts domestic violence attorney Joseph W. Galasso early, we can get our investigation done and possibly convince the Investigators and/or the DA to:

  1. not to file criminal charges,
  2. to file those criminal charges as a misdemeanor instead of a felony, or,
  3. to reduce the number of felony charges that potentially are about to be brought.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have a lawyer get involved in the first days, the case and charges against you will be built-up into a bigger and bigger case and then ‘sold’ as a great case to the DA’s prosecutors. When you wait or do nothing but allow the system to do its thing, it will do it well and you will wish you had acted faster. A domestic violence arrest that results in a prosecutor’s case portfolio will have serious life-altering affects.

Gun Ban for Individuals Convicted of a Misdemeanor Crime of Domestic Violence — 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)

The 1968 Gun Control Act and subsequent amendments codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq. prohibit anyone convicted of a felony and anyone subject to a domestic violence protective order from possessing a firearm. The intended effect of this new legislation is to extend the firearms ban to anyone convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.”

When there are multiple charges brought against you following you domestic violence arrest, your life, your freedom, future, finances, civil rights – including your 2nd amendment rights – can be terminated.

Second amendment? Yes. If you currently own a gun or guns, or you want to own a gun someday, or you must have the right to posses a gun in your profession such as a police officer, security guard, or military member, your career is over if you are convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence”.

The sooner you get a domestic violence defense attorney on your side the more likely you can get yourself, your freedom, financial penalties and rights out of harms’ way. As a former prosecutor with an insider’s understanding of the courts and processes, Joseph W. Galasso is prepared to partner with you create a plan of action that can mitigate the life-altering stuff coming your way.

Cannot legally own or posses a Gun. Request Denied!

Strategies to Mitigate Predictably-Painful Domestic Violence Prosecution Outcomes

Also, one of the things we can do early on, if you contact Joseph, is we can begin to mitigate the case, work on our mitigation task list by one or more of the following actions:

  1. get you into anger management classes before they’re court ordered,
  2. get you into rehab either as an inpatient or outpatient to:
    • deal with any sort of substance abuse problems that you might have,
  3. start going to AA alcoholics anonymous classes, or,
  4. start going to NA narcotics anonymous classes,
  5. get some form of mental health assistance or counseling and,
  6. possibly get on some kind of medication for undiagnosed mental illness that you may be suffering,
  7. go to couples counseling, or family counseling

How this affects your case with those powerful forces aligned against you is pretty straight forward. Most folks following a domestic violence arrest, do nothing. When the prosecutors and courts see you in person and you shrug your shoulders awaiting THEM to do something, they will do something.

On the other hand, when you show up and you have this list of accomplishments backed up by letters of progress and evidence you are taking responsibility — even if you feel it was not your fault — you stand out as a person – not a defendant to be penalized by the wide-array of penalties the criminal justice system can dish out. Moreover, what we can do before we go to court will go a long way to help us establish a “no negative contact” order as opposed to an outright “no contact” order. That can save your relationship, your marriage, save you thousands of dollars that would go to supporting two households if you live together .

We can strategize proactively within the government’s rules and expectations so you can still live in the home. By being prepared, we can say: “Look, judge, we understand there’s a problem here, and we are addressing it through these different means: 1, 2, 3, 4…” Refer to a potential list of 7 bullet-pointed possibilities above.

Showing up with a list of already accomplished and ongoing (in-process) proactive actions makes for a far better chance of an ‘own recognizance release’ or reduction in bail.

Own Recognizance Release – allows the defendant in a California criminal case to fight those criminal charge(s) in state court from outside of custody eliminating the necessity of posting a costly cash bail bond.

Own Recognizance Release

Furthermore, some cases are just so factually difficult for the accused that what you’re going to be doing by mitigating the case is showing the judge that you have remorse, that you have an understanding that you do have an abuse, a control, a power problem, and that you’re willing to address and work on them.

Attorney Joe Galasso was an answer to my prayers when my son was arrested. We called several attorneys to get an idea of what it would cost and the others were asking 3 and 4 times more than we paid Mr. Galasso. He promptly returns phone calls. He kindly and thoroughly answered every single question we had. My son was so grateful and very happy with Mr. Galasso. My son was facing 25 to life and Mr. Galasso was able to get it reduced to 2 years. Attorney Joe Galasso is amazing and we highly recommend him.

Christine

Proactive Strategies Can Make a Difference

Oftentimes you can start the eventually-required domestic violence classes early. You can show that you are actively working any anger management issues you might have.

When you reach out quickly following a domestic violence arrest, we can start active and meaningful processes before the criminal charges are brought. Doing so can help us in plea bargaining the case: thus minimizing your potential penalties and life-altering consequences.

Remember, domestic violence cases are not necessarily isolated to that one particular incident where responding law enforcement reacted because the law basically states “Someone here must go to jail today.”

Why you were arrested is often the story of the ‘entire relationship’ that must be told (negotiated behind closed doors) because it’s the ‘entire relationship’ that ultimately caused that particular moment in time where your domestic violence arrest happened. Once that arrest occurred, the clock is ticking and you are in for a serious ride. Joseph W. Galasso can help make that ride less harsh if you choose to make a plan to mitigate pending charges and penalties. If you are married or in a living-together relationship, it is entirely possible that you can continue to live in the home and not have the added financial burden to pay for two separate households.

No matter what you decide – the domestic violence legal process must play itself out. You can ignore it and face the full-weight of the system that will be crashing down on you, or be involved in a strategy and plan to minimize and mitigate the full hurt-potential coming at you.

A domestic violence arrest has much to do with law enforcement’s mandate to arrest someone NOW and figure all the details LATER in the unfolding legal process – a process than can take years and eat you up and spit you out like big, insensitive, all-powerful, government bureaucracies do.

Reach Out 24/7 to Domestic Violence Defense Attorney Joseph W. Galasso

CALL Joseph W. Galasso at (951) 225-4130

Joseph is waiting to hear your story now; to defend you following your domestic violence arrest and make sure that your voice is heard.

Reach out to Joseph 24/7. Call or contact Joe confidentially online to schedule a Free phone, Zoom, FaceTime or sit-down consultation with domestic violence defense lawyer, Joseph W. Galasso, Esq., for aggressive handling of your criminal case today!

Riverside Criminal Defense Attorney – Joseph W. Galasso

Joseph W. Galasso - Riverside Criminal Defense Attorney

3403 10th St Ste 752
Riverside CA, 92501-3695
(951) 225-4130 Get Directions