The Practical Lawyer

August 22-28, 2016

A few thoughts on domestic battery

By Ethan C. Nobles

While waiting in the lobby of the Saline County Jail the other day, I visited with a distraught woman who was upset over a “no contact” order filed against her husband as part of an incident that may well result in his facing misdemeanor domestic battery charges.

The woman wondered two things – could she get the “no contact” order lifted and was it possible to simply drop the battery charges against her husband?

Those questions are quite common and the answers to those questions aren’t as straightforward as people often believe they should be.

First of all, it is very common for a “no contact” order to be entered in domestic battery cases. Those orders simply state that the accused batterer should stay away from the alleged victim until the court says otherwise.

One of those orders can be a real problem in the case of a husband and wife who want to keep living in the same house. There are criminal penalties involved in violating a “no contact” order and it is difficult to live with someone if doing so might result in the accused batterer getting tossed in jail if the authorities find out about the contact.

Arkansas courts recognize that problem and do offer a way to address it. A common way to have a “no contact” order, is to simply petition the court and ask that it be removed. In cases where the judge believes the victim won’t be in danger, the chances of having that order lifted, are very good. Of course, everything is up to the judge’s discretion.

As for just running out and dropping the charges – that doesn’t really work so well. Take a marriage in which the wife finally feels threatened enough to call the police due to a domestic battery situation. In those cases, prosecutors tend to believe the alleged victim is in danger and might feel pressured to ask that the charges be dropped. The fear, of course, is that the victim is still in danger and that she or he must be protected.

In other words, the alleged victim can’t decide whether or not someone accused of domestic battery should be charged and tried or not.

That is one of the reasons, too, that people should be very careful about bringing those charges. Domestic battery is a serious crime that can be anything from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the severity of the injuries to the victim and can affect the ability of the accused to hold down certain jobs or even possess firearms. It is not an accusation to be leveled lightly.

Ethan C. Nobles is an attorney in Benton focusing on real estate, evictions, contracts, wills, trusts, incorporations, bankruptcy and other areas of law as the mood strikes. You can reach him at Ethan@NoblesLawFirm.com or visit him on the Internet at NoblesLawFirm.com.