No Harm Needed in a Nevada Battery Domestic Violence

When most people think of a Battery Domestic Violence case, they think of the archetype "wife beater" situation.  This situation is one where a husband cannot control his temper and viciously beats his wife repeatedly over the course of a number of months or years.  This clearly happens in our society, and this type of activity must have serious ramifications in a progressive world.  The anecdote states that the victim of this physicality was harmed by the actions of her spouse, but the definition of Battery has no requirement of harm.  The statute for Battery in Nevada is "any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another."  NRS 200.481.  If the Battery is committed upon a person with whom the batterer had or currently has a Domestic Relationship, then a Defendant can be convicted of Battery Domestic Violence.  If the definition is broken down into parts, a prosecutor needs the following to obtain a conviction: 1) willfulness, which on a basic level means not accidental  2) unlawful, meaning without legal defense, like self defense, defense of others, necessity, etc. 3) use of force, this is without limitation in the statute, so the amount of force is not taken into account  (violence is not necessary)  4) upon the person of another.  This means that even the most minimal contacts with an individual could lead to a conviction for Battery Domestic Violence.  Clearly, prosecutors should use, and usually do use, discretion with some of the more minimal physical contacts, but that does not mean a person could not be convicted of the charge.  Many times prosecutors look at situations in which there is minimal contact where there is no physical "harm", and they believe the physicality in that relationship could escalate in the future, so they are preventing future harm by prosecuting a case with minimal force.  People in Domestic Relationships need to be aware of this when getting into verbal altercations because if the police are called (i.e. by a neighbor), even the allegation of the most minimal contacts could result in an arrest and prosecution.
If you have been charged with Battery, Battery Domestic Violence, or any crime related to a Domestic incident, or if a TPO has been issued against you, please visit georgeforjustice.com for help.