St. Paul Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses the Challenges of Criminal Domestic Assault Cases

Domestic assault cases can be some of the hardest cases to handle in the criminal justice system here in Minnesota. Simply put, they are frequently the most emotionally packed with history, complications, pain, loss and much more. Also, the impact that they can have immediately can sometimes override any other kinds of cases. To start with, having this kind of conviction can have the tendency of making you seem crazy. I’m not suggesting that it is true. It is the perception that can matter in this case.

In many courts in Minnesota like the Ramsey County courthouses in St. Paul, the Judges frequently issue no contact orders almost immediately. This means you will be forced out of your house from the very beginning, long before you have a trial. So much for the presumption of innocence, right? Where would you go as the Court keeps track of you pending the outcome of the case? That is just the start.

Domestic charges are almost always enhanceable offenses. That means that if you get more than one, they get more and more serious. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen cases turn into felonies in a matter of weeks. Hence, the ramifications are huge. How would you handle a felony? What would this do to your relationship, your job, your career, your reputation?

Domestics can also impact second amendment rights. The Courts regularly take guns away based upon these kinds of cases. You would imagine that this isn’t the case but it happens all of the time. What happens if your job requires handling weapons? That could be over forever.

For people with professional licenses, simple misdemeanor first time domestic charges can result in you losing your professional license. Let me say that again, if you are convicted of a misdemeanor domestic assault where you made the other person simply afraid of harm, you could lose your right to be a doctor, nurse, cop, pilot, EMT and a lot more. Its likely you are obligated to provide that information to your Board of Review and they do not look kindly on that.

These are just a few of the ramifications. As you can tell, if you are facing these kinds of charges, don’t think you can fake your way through. You can’t. If you make the wrong moves or think you can just brush it off or make it going away, you could pay a lifetime price.

You’ve spent your life getting to this point personally, professionally. Don’t make the decisions that could result in you losing everything.