Facts:
My client and his ex have a toddler together. The child lives with the mother. Over the holidays, they were all together for a visit. During this visit, an argument broke out between my client and his ex.
Car seats were thrown, and the altercation became physical. The mother called the police. When the officers arrived, both parties had visible marks and scrapes. A witness stated that my client was standing over the mother while she was on the ground, which led to him being perceived as the aggressor rather than acting in self-defense. As a result, he was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence.
The mother also retained a lawyer from CASA and filed a domestic violence injunction against my client.
The Case:
I attended the hearing regarding the domestic violence injunction and was able to discuss the matter with the mother’s attorney. She informed me that the mother did not wish to punish my client but simply wanted him to attend anger management counseling. She still wanted him to have access to their child and agreed that the child’s grandmother could handle pick-up and drop-off for visitation. We agreed to maintain this arrangement for a month and reassess the situation.
In the meantime, tensions eased, and my client began his anger management counseling.
In the criminal case, he was formally charged with misdemeanor domestic battery. I applied for the DVP diversion program on his behalf, which guaranteed the dismissal of the charge.
I then returned to the CASA lawyer and requested the dismissal of the domestic violence injunction so that I could focus solely on the criminal case. There was no need to have two separate cases and judges involved, as it could create complications later on.
The Result:
The mother agreed to dismiss the domestic violence injunction.
In the criminal case, my client was accepted into the diversion program, ensuring that the domestic battery charge would be dismissed.
Additionally, I successfully negotiated an arrangement where my client and his ex could communicate through an app called Talking Parents and established a neutral location for child exchanges, eliminating the need to rely on the grandmother. Everything now appears to be under control.
Furthermore, my client will be able to seal the record of this case.
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