In the State of Washington, there is no crime of Domestic Violence. Rather, domestic violence is a label placed on other crimes indicating that a family or domestic relationship exists between the parties involved. Most jurisdictions will impose a no contact order that prohibits the defendant in a domestic violence (“DV”) case from having contact with the alleged victim of the crime. The order will often prohibit contact with the victim’s children, residence, and workplace.
Family or domestic relationship
Under RCW 10.99.020(3), family or household members are defined as:
[S]spouses, ex-spouses, people who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together at any time, adults related by blood or marriage, adults who currently reside together or have resided together in the past persons sixteen years of age or older who currently reside together or have previously resided together and who are or have had a dating relationship, persons sixteen years of age or older with whom a person sixteen years of age or older more is or has been in a dating relationship, and people who have a biological or legal parent-child relationship, including stepparents and stepchildren and grandparents and grandchildren.
As you can see, this definition is extremely broad. It is much more inclusive than most people would expect it to be. The same is true for the types of crimes that are called “domestic violence.” Most people only think of Assault when it comes to domestic violence, however, there are many other crimes that can carry the DV label.
Mandatory arrest
Under RCW 10.31.100(2)(c), an officer have to make an arrest if: The person is sixteen years of age or older and within the preceding four hours has assaulted a family or household member as defined in RCW 10.99.020 and the officer believes:
(i) A criminal assault has occurred;
(ii) an assault has occurred that has resulted in bodily injury to the victim, whether or not the responding officer observes the injury; Prayed
(iii) that any physical action has occurred that was intended to place another person in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death. Bodily Injury means physical pain, illness, or impairment of physical condition. When the officer has probable cause to believe that family or household members have assaulted each other, the officer is not required to arrest both individuals. The officer will arrest the person the officer believes to be the primary physical aggressor. In making this determination, the officer shall make every reasonable effort to consider:
(i) The intent to protect victims of domestic violence under RCW 10.99.010;
(ii) the comparative extent of injuries inflicted or serious threats creating fear of physical injury; Y
(iii) the history of domestic violence between the persons involved.
If you are arrested for a crime involving domestic violence, a no contact order will go into effect almost immediately.
contactless orders
There are two types of no contact orders in Washington state: pre-trial and post-conviction. Both types of warrants prevent the defendant from having contact with the alleged victim. However, neither type prevents the victim from trying to have contact with the defendant, since only the defendant goes to jail if the order is violated. In other words, No Contact Orders limit only the defendant’s behavior.
before the trial
Pretrial orders are issued against the defendant (sometimes called the defendant) before they are convicted of doing something wrong. These orders may prevent contact between the defendant and the alleged crime victim, the victim’s children (even if they are also the defendant’s children), the victim’s workplace, and the victim’s home (even if it is also the defendant’s home). defendant’s home).
In other words, these orders can force you away from your home and your children before you have been convicted of a crime. This is true even if the victim says that nothing happened or that what happened was exaggerated.
Pretrial orders remain in effect until the criminal case is resolved or a judge dismisses it.
Post Belief
A no contact order issued after conviction may have the same types of restrictions as a pretrial order. Post-conviction orders are generally valid for one year, however, a judge may extend it if he or she feels the facts warrant it.
civil standby
Since a no contact order may prevent you from going to your own home, the courts will generally allow you a ride home to get clothing and some personal items. However, he must be accompanied by a police officer. This process is called “Civil Standby”. You must contact the law enforcement agency and schedule a time for the civil hold. Keep in mind, however, that this is a low-priority action for most law enforcement, so civilian waits will only happen when they have time to spare.
Violating a no contact order
A willful violation of a No Contact Order is a serious misdemeanor; which means you can receive up to a year in jail and a fine of $5,000. Since violating a domestic violence no contact order is labeled a domestic violence crime, your rights to own or possess a firearm will be lost upon conviction, even if it was not used, possessed, mentioned, or in any way another way a weapon was used or contemplated. This is true even when the underlying criminal case, which caused the no contact order to be issued, is dismissed.
Being in a public place, including the courthouse, is not a defense to violating the order. This means that if an order is issued against you and you see the protected person in a grocery store, you must leave. Inadvertent contact may not technically violate the order, but you may have to appear before a judge to defend yourself. In addition to the stress involved, you may have to spend more money to hire an attorney.
Even if the victim invites the contact, the defendant may face jail time if the order is violated. What I see most often in my cases, is the following scenario:
Two people have a relationship. Something happens and they call the police. Because of everyone’s sensitivity to “domestic violence,” the police are wrong to charge someone. Then a no contact order goes into effect, preventing the two people from having contact with each other. You can also make one of them unexpectedly homeless, but that’s a different problem. People being people want to solve the problem and the alleged victim contacts the accused and says something like “I’m so sorry this is all happening. Come home and I’ll make it worth your while.” “The problem, of course, is that the defendant accepts the alleged victim’s offer. Usually, the legal problems multiply for the defendant a short time later, when the happy couple go out to celebrate their rekindled relationship only to stop at a stop sign or to commit some other minor traffic infraction. They are then pulled over by the police. When the officer verifies the information of the occupants, the no contact order is issued and the defendant is arrested and then taken to jail where he now faces an additional charge.
Deletion of the order
It is very difficult to remove a pretrial no contact order once it is in place. Even if the victim comes along and proves to the judge that the order is not necessary, most judges will leave the order in place.
One strategy is to have the defendant evaluated by a Domestic Violence Treatment Agency. If a counselor is willing to tell the judge that the defendant would not pose a danger to the victim if the order is set aside, then the judge can remove the order. The Treatment Agency may want the defendant to attend classes before agreeing to make a recommendation to the judge.
Another strategy is to ask the Court to modify the No Contact Order to allow for marriage counseling. Some judges will require that contact only be allowed while supervised by a third party treatment agency.
Once a no contact order has been modified to allow conditional contact, a judge is more likely to remove the order later, unless there is a new problem.
Victims’ rights
Most District Attorneys have a Domestic Violence Advocate. This person’s job is to help the victim of a domestic violence crime understand what services are available to her and keep her informed as the court process progresses.
I have seen numerous cases where the victim does not want the No Contact Order to go into effect. Going through the victim advocate can sometimes be helpful.
Most courts have a form that the alleged victim can fill out requesting that the judge withdraw the no contact order. In my experience, most judges will uphold the order even after the victim requests that it be removed. Even though the order remains in effect, it is valuable for the victim to request that it be removed, as it may be helpful in a later attempt to remove the order.
gun rights
Conviction of a crime labeled domestic violence will cause you to lose your right to own or possess firearms. This is a lifetime ban.
Example
In one case I’ve had, the husband was arrested on a domestic violence charge when, during an argument, he threw a bowl into the kitchen sink and splintered it. The argument was overheard by a nearby neighbor who called the police. The police arrived and when they looked in the sink, they found the chipped bowl and arrested the husband for domestic violence and malicious mischief. There was no accusation that the husband threw the bowl at her wife, not even close to her. Since Washington is a community property state, both husband and wife had an ownership interest in the bowl, therefore by chipping their bowl, the husband damaged property belonging to another (i.e. his wife) and therefore was liable under Malicious Mischief. Without a lawyer, the husband (who had no criminal record) pleaded guilty at arraignment. She was given a one-year no-contact order that prevented her from coming home for a year or having contact with his wife.
If the husband had contacted an attorney before pleading guilty, he may not have had any convictions. Even if there was a conviction, an attorney could have helped you avoid such a long No Contact Order.
Copyright (c) 2007 Cahoon Law Office – All rights reserved.