Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Published on: April 25, 2023

Age Is Just a Number: When Senior Citizens Are Accused of Domestic Violence

When thinking about domestic violence, most of us think about the elderly in the context of being possible victims (e.g., elder abuse). But what if you are an older person accused of committing domestic violence? Unfortunately, it can and does happen—and it can be even more traumatic and life-disruptive to be accused as an older person than a younger adult. What are the ramifications you may face? What happens if you’re convicted? Are there special factors the court might consider?

Regardless of whether there is any merit to the accusations, being an older adult accused of domestic violence can give rise to a myriad of complex issues. Let’s delve deeper into this question to see what we can learn.

What Circumstances Could Lead to Domestic Violence Charges Against a Senior?

Published on: March 19, 2023

How to Deal With Domestic Violence Charges as a Public Figure

by Michael Kraut

Being accused of domestic violence can be highly disconcerting for anyone, but if you are a public figure, such as a professional athlete, politician, CEO, etc., being accused of domestic violence can be particularly damaging to your reputation. You will likely face negative attention from the media during the arrest and investigation process. You may even have to make difficult decisions about leaving your job or resigning from certain positions to protect your name. However, if you find yourself facing charges related to domestic violence in California, there are steps you can take to ensure that you receive fair treatment throughout the process. Let’s discuss how dealing with these charges as a public figure may look different than other people’s experience and provide strategies for navigating through it successfully.

Prioritize Your Family, Not Your Reputation

No matter how famous you are, you are a human being with a human family. Whatever has happened to prompt charges of domestic violence, it has done damage to your family–and your being a public figure may only add to that pain. That’s why, above all else, you need to address this situation as a human first and a public figure second. Prioritize your family, not your public standing. This means admitting responsibility for any wrongdoing and working towards resolving the situation in an amicable and healing way for all family members. Your family deserves understanding, respect, and the opportunity to come to terms with what happened for your relationships to move forward.

Published on: February 20, 2023

How New Proposed California Gun Legislation Could Impact Domestic Violence Defense

by Michael Kraut

In the wake of the Supreme Court and other courts recently overturning key elements of California’s restrictive gun policies—followed by a rash of mass shootings in California over the past few weeks—numerous state legislators are making gun safety a hallmark of their agenda for 2023. Many of these laws seek to replace gun laws that were overturned (with revisions), while others seek to add further restrictions and improve public safety overall.

That said, in many cases, the impacts of new gun control legislation can trickle into many different areas, including cases of domestic violence, and especially those involving firearms. Let’s take a closer look at the issue of gun control in the context of domestic violence in California to see what we can learn–and what to expect if some of these new gun bills become law.

Overview of Current Gun Laws and Domestic Violence

Published on: January 18, 2023

When Accidental Injury to a Child Leads to False Accusations of Domestic Violence

by Michael Kraut

As parents, we love our children and never want to see them hurt. If a child is injured due to an accident, we naturally feel a sense of guilt and worry. But if an innocent accident somehow leads to false accusations of domestic violence or child abuse, it can be nothing less than devastating.

Unfortunately, it’s a reality that many parents fear and face. California law holds parents and guardians responsible for the safe care of children, and whether due to a misunderstanding, circumstantial evidence, or even a vindictive partner—sometimes, an unfortunate accident can become complicated with criminal charges.

If this has happened to you, it’s easy to feel completely helpless and without recourse—especially considering how the law tends to lean toward proactive protection of domestic violence victims. You may find yourself slapped with a protective order, forcing you to leave your home. You might have your custody and/or visitation rights temporarily suspended.

Published on: December 15, 2022

Biggest Celebrity Domestic Violence Stories of 2022—and What We Can Learn from Them

by Michael Kraut

Domestic violence continues to be a major issue in our culture, plaguing millions of households every year. At the same time, for most families, incidents of domestic battery and other forms of violence don’t become major news stories. When celebrity relationships devolve into domestic violence, not only must they deal with the pain and disruption of the violence itself–they must also deal with it under the unforgiving spotlight of public view—and they’re often tried in the court of public opinion, as well.

But there is a silver lining. While these stories may be embarrassing to the victims and the accused at the moment, they also allow us to see that domestic violence isn’t relegated to certain classes of people—it can touch anyone. These stories also provide “teaching moments,” offering a platform to discuss the ways we as a society can work toward preventing and responding to domestic violence. With that said, let’s look at some of the most noted domestic violence stories of 2022 to see what we can learn from them.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Published on: November 17, 2022

The Effect of Domestic Violence Accusations on Your Dating Life

by Michael Kraut

Being accused of domestic violence can have a serious and lasting effect on almost every aspect of your life. Even if you are never charged with or convicted of a crime, for example, the existence of a protective order alone can force you from your home, increase your expenses, affect your job, and a host of other consequences. One thing that you might not have considered, however, is the effect that the stigma of domestic violence could have on your future dating relationships. If your former partner has no intention of reconciling, what complications could you face with future relationships with a domestic violence conviction or a restraining order on your record? Let’s look at this question a bit more deeply.

Challenges You May Face in Dating as a Domestic Violence Defendant

While it may not be immediately apparent, there are numerous ways that being accused of domestic violence can impact your dating life, especially when it comes to making potential partners hesitant to date you. Let’s look at some of the complications you may have to deal with.

Published on: October 17, 2022

Emotional Abuse Is Now Considered Domestic Violence in Some States. Where Does California Stand?

by Michael Kraut

In June 2021, Connecticut became the third state in the U.S. to expand its legal definition of domestic violence to include emotional abuse (the specific legal term is “coercive control”). Similar legislation is in the works in five more states. Under these expanded definitions, domestic violence protections are no longer just provided for specific instances of physical abuse, but also for a “pattern of behavior” that controls, intimidates, or isolates a victim. In other words, victims in states with “coercive control” laws can seek restraining orders against their abusers for alleged emotional abuse, not just physical violence or threats of violence.

So where does California stand in all this? Can you be accused of domestic violence against your spouse or partner on the grounds of emotional abuse in California? Let’s explore this issue further to see what we can discover.

What Is Emotional Abuse?

Published on: September 17, 2022

The “Safer Communities Act”: How It May Affect Domestic Violence Cases in California

by Michael Kraut

In June 2022, partly in response to a long string of mass shootings, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which President Biden promptly signed into law. Touted as the most significant federal gun control legislation in three decades, the Safer Communities Act provides incentives for states to adopt “red flag laws,” implements enhanced background checks for younger gun buyers, and more.

As it turns out, the new law could also have a significant effect on people accused of domestic violence in California, as well as in other states–namely, by closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole” as far as who may legally own firearms after a domestic violence conviction. Let’s talk about how the new federal law could impact California domestic violence cases going forward.

A Bit of Background

Published on: August 17, 2022

Domestic Violence and the Internet: Taking the Crime Online

by Michael Kraut

While most people think of domestic violence as the act of physically striking one’s partner or spouse (and indeed, domestic battery accounts for the lion’s share of domestic violence incidents), the State of California counts plenty of other actions as “domestic violence.” In fact, nowadays, you don’t even have to be in the same room as your partner to be charged with a crime! Some people have been surprised to find police at their doorsteps with a warrant for their arrest on domestic violence charges–even though they weren’t anywhere near their alleged victims!

How is this possible? Because perhaps without realizing it, by law, these people were committing domestic violence online.

The use of the Internet has expanded domestic violence into cyberspace, and California’s laws have expanded in kind to list numerous types of online activities as crimes. And because many of these online activities are traceable, they essentially leave an evidence trail that can make it easier for the cops to arrest you–and easier for prosecutors to prove you committed a crime. Let’s discuss a few possible online activities that could ultimately result in domestic violence charges.

Published on: July 16, 2022

The “Shadow Pandemic”: Domestic Violence in a COVID World

by Michael Kraut

In the months and years since COVID-19 became a global health crisis, word has spread rapidly about the “shadow pandemic,”–referring to the worldwide spike in domestic violence (and violence against women in general) in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Many concerns were raised during the initial lockdowns and quarantines (and rightly so) that potentially millions of victims of domestic violence were “locked in” with their abusers and had even less access to relief services or the ability to obtain protective orders.

Now that there is enough data to be processed, the UN has released a comprehensive report entitled Measuring the Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women During COVID-19. Not only does it confirm that violence against women has increased substantially during COVID, but the numbers themselves are quite alarming in some cases. According to another report by the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, cases of domestic violence have increased by 25-33 percent worldwide. Let’s take a closer look at this “shadow pandemic” to see what we can learn.

An Overview of the Numbers