New Year's Celebrations in Las Vegas and Domestic Violence

Many people from around the United States and the world come to Las Vegas to celebrate the New Year.  There are many parties held at the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown.  With all of the parties, there is a lot of alcohol and drug use, and this can lead to people getting themselves into bad situations.  During the New Year in Las Vegas, a very common situation is a drunken argument in a hotel room.  These arguments may or may not involve physicality.  Of course, arguments happen between couples in normal relationships, but during the New Year in Las Vegas is a bad place to have an argument.  If an argument starts in a hotel room, it will probably end in an arrest.  Typically, when an argument starts in a hotel room, security will be called by one of the guests in a nearby room.  Clearly, these nearby guests do not want to hear an argument on their vacation.  When security guards arrive at the room, they may be forceful, thuggish, and coercive.  They will make sure the problem is resolved by separating the occupants of the room.  Normally this means escorting one or more of the occupants of the room to the security office and calling the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to make an arrest.  The hotel guest will sit in the security office for a while, and, when the police arrive, the security guard will give a statement stating what a disgruntled guest said about the argument and what the guard was told by the occupants when he arrived at the room.  These reports may introduce facts into the situation, like physicality, even where there was none perceived by the occupants of the room.
A drunken argument in a hotel room can turn into a nightmare for all of the occupants.  One goes to jail, and the other has to find a way to get him out.  That is just the beginning.  After that, a court proceeding commences, and you need an attorney.
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.

Domestic Holiday Dangers

The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time of year, but we all should be aware that there are dangers inherent with the holiday time.  The holidays are a time for parties with family and friends in which many people enjoy drinking copious amounts of alcohol.  It is normally fun and rewarding to see family and friends that you don't get to see all the time.  This can be an opportune setting for an incident of domestic violence, family and booze.  Especially because some family members inherently just don't get along.  All of these relationships can be considered domestic.  If you get mad at your cousin, or your brother-in-law, because he's a drunkard and being obnoxious and you push him or push him, that is Domestic Battery in Nevada.  Any blood relationships can establish the domestic component.  In-laws are also included in the definition of domestic relationships as well as roommates, so, if you get physical with anyone included in this definition, you run the risk of being charged with Domestic Battery.  This looks exactly the same as getting physical with your wife on a background check, and the penalties are the same.
Everyone should have a Happy Holiday season, but family and friends need to remember there are very serious ramifications to physicality in these situations.  Stay in control, stay level-headed.  Even if your cousin is being a jerk, it's not worth it.
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 gerobinsonlaw.com to call 702-233-4225 for help.

Take Pictures of Injuries

Many times in cases of physicality between persons with a Domestic Relationship, both parties suffer injuries.  This is sometimes called mutual physicality.  Some of these injuries can be seen with the naked eye like cuts, bruises, and scratches.  If police are summoned to investigate an instance of Domestic Battery, many times all of the visual injuries are not documented.  This can be for many reasons.  Sometimes it is because of the police officers and the way they decide to investigate the situation.  Sometimes it is because one of the parties withholds evidence from the police to protect themselves or the other party.  Sometimes visual injuries appear after the investigation is complete.  Nonetheless, some injuries are documented by officers, and some are not.  It is very important that all of the injuries be documented by photograph.  Even if officers have taken photographs, it is better to be redundant and take more photos.
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.

Can You Consent to Be Battered?

No.  A battery is a willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.  Consent to force or violence would make the conduct lawful.  Consent can definitely be an issue in the prosecution and defense of many criminal cases.  There are some crimes where consent is a key factor, as in common law rape or theft.  There are other crimes where consent is a non-factor, like statutory rape, as in some instances, a person's consent is not legally recognized .   When prosecuted for battery, consent can be used as a defense within certain parameters.  Clearly, the context of the touching has relevance to the situation.  If two people are playing basketball, there is an implied consent that touching can occur, at least within the confines of the rules of the game.  A very good example of very dangerous and violent touching is mixed martial arts.  In this context, the touching that occurs would be a serious criminal offense if not consented to within the rules and regulations of the sport.
Can couples in a domestic relationship consent to violent touching?  Wrestling?  Violent sex?  Punching one another?  Can a wife grab her husband's arm if he is drunk and wants to drive a car?  The answer is never clear.  Many issues need to be addressed:  reasonableness in the context, whether the consent is ever withdrawn, history of the relationship, etc.  There may also be other defenses in these scenarios.  Many of the situations that arise in life are very complex, and that is one reason to retain competent counsel.  Competent counsel will listen to the entire situation and take the time to investigate, think, and explain the situation to the other side, or the trier of fact.
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. 

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.

Domestic Violence Convictions and Professional Licenses

In order to enter into certain professions, a person must first obtain a license.  There are normally a few steps that a person must undertake to obtain that license.  Frequently, one of the requirements for a professional license is an exam which tests the subject matter relevant to that profession as a lawyer, doctor, or nurse.  Another requirement of many professional licenses is character fitness.  In order to obtain a license, the applicant must be of good moral character.  One of the easiest and quickest ways for a licensing body to ascertain whether an applicant has good moral character is through a background check of criminal history.  A conviction for certain crimes may make an individual unable to obtain a license in a certain field.  The most serious crimes like murder, rape and arson are ubiquitous disqualifications, but a conviction for Battery Domestic Violence is also likely to make it difficult to obtain a license.  Battery Domestic Violence will most likely be considered a crime regarding moral turpitude.  In Nevada, there are provisions for excluding applicants from obtaining licenses who have convictions relating to crimes involving moral turpitude for architects, contractors, nurses, accountants, physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, and a number of others.  This makes it imperative to retain competent counsel to defend against charges of Battery Domestic Violence if you have any desire to obtain a professional license in the future or keep a current license.  In many cases, it is possible to keep your record clean, so there is little to no effect on a professional license.  Also, even if you have a criminal conviction, it may be possible to present mitigating evidence to a licensing board regarding the conviction, so you are still eligible to receive the license.

If you have been charged with Battery, Battery Domestic Violence, or any crime related to a Domestic incident; if a TPO has been issued against you; or your professional license is at risk for an allegation or conviction, please visit georgeforjustice.com.

Violating TPOs and Contempt Orders

If a Court issues a protective order pursuant to NRS 33.020, which states:
"If it appears to the satisfaction of the court from specific facts shown by a verified application that an act of domestic violence has occurred or there exists a threat of domestic violence, the court may grant a temporary or extended order." 


The Court has the power to hold the adverse party in contempt pursuant to NRS 22.010 if the Court feels that the order has been violated pursuant to section 3 below.  


Acts or omissions constituting contempts.
  The following acts or omissions shall be deemed contempts:
   1. Disorderly, contemptuous or insolent behavior toward the judge while the judge is holding court, or engaged in judicial duties at chambers, or toward masters or arbitrators while sitting on a reference or arbitration, or other judicial proceeding.
   2. A breach of the peace, boisterous conduct or violent disturbance in the presence of the court, or in its immediate vicinity, tending to interrupt the due course of the trial or other judicial proceeding.
   3. Disobedience or resistance to any lawful writ, order, rule or process issued by the court or judge at chambers.
   4. Disobedience of a subpoena duly served, or refusing to be sworn or answer as a witness.
   5. Rescuing any person or property in the custody of an officer by virtue of an order or process of such court or judge at chambers.
   6. Disobedience of the order or direction of the court made pending the trial of an action, in speaking to or in the presence of a juror concerning an action in which the juror has been impaneled to determine, or in any manner approaching or interfering with such juror with the intent to influence the verdict.
   7. Abusing the process or proceedings of the court or falsely pretending to act under the authority of an order or process of the court.



The potential civil penalties for the disobedience of the Court's order (TPO) are below.  


NRS 22.100.  Penalty for contempt.
1. Upon the answer and evidence taken, the court or judge or jury, as the case may be, shall determine whether the person proceeded against is guilty of the contempt charged.
2. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 22.110, if a person is found guilty of contempt, a fine may be imposed on the person not exceeding $500 or the person may be imprisoned not exceeding 25 days, or both.
3. In addition to the penalties provided in subsection 2, if a person is found guilty of contempt pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 22.010, the court may require the person to pay to the party seeking to enforce the writ, order, rule or process the reasonable expenses, including, without limitation, attorney's fees, incurred by the party as a result of the contempt.


This is only one of the potential punishments for the violation of a protective order.  This punishment is civil, and can be imposed by the Court immediately after the above steps are taken in section 1.  Other punishments are criminal in nature and would be prosecuted by a governmental entity.
protective orders are very serious, and counsel should be consulted in regards to them. 


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.

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Mutual Battery in a Situation of Domestic Violence

In many cases where a police officer has been called to an alleged incident of Domestic Violence, there has been mutual physicality between the domestic partners.  This clearly makes a police officer's job more difficult in evaluating who should be arrested and who they recommend to the prosecutor should be charged with a crime.  The law states that,

If the peace officer has probable cause to believe that a (Domestic) battery... was a mutual battery, the peace officer shall attempt to determine which person was the primary physical aggressor. If the peace officer determines that one of the persons who allegedly committed a battery was the primary physical aggressor involved in the incident, the peace officer is not required to arrest any other person believed to have committed a battery during the incident. In determining whether a person is a primary physical aggressor for the purposes of this subsection, the peace officer shall consider:

   (a) Prior domestic violence involving either person;   
   (b) The relative severity of the injuries inflicted upon the persons involved;
   (c) The potential for future injury;
   (d) Whether one of the alleged batteries was committed in self-defense; and
   (e) Any other factor that may help the peace officer decide which person was the primary physical aggressor.

NRS 171.137(2)


The topic of the dominant physical aggressor has been discussed in this blog before pursuant to the DA's handbook for officers which is more specific than the above statute.  As stated in the statute, if one of the domestic partners involved in a situation where officers have been called has a domestic violence arrest, charge, or conviction reflected in their criminal history; they will almost certainly be arrested.  It is the easiest and most concrete way for a police officer to follow the law as it is currently written.  In many cases, the wrong person is arrested.  In many cases, it depends on who is the best liar.
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.

Arrests in Nevada Battery Domestic Violence Cases

Unlike most situations where a police officer is called to the scene of a misdemeanor crime, a police officer must arrest a suspect if he believes the crime of Battery Domestic Violence has occurred.  The law that describes this procedure is NRS 171.137 which is titled "Arrest required for suspected battery constituting domestic violence; exceptions.
  1. ...a peace officer shall, unless mitigating circumstances exist, arrest a person when the peace officer has probable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has, within the preceding 24 hours, committed a battery upon his or her spouse, former spouse, any other person to whom he or she is related by blood or marriage, a person with whom he or she is or was actually residing, a person with whom he or she has had or is having a dating relationship, a person with whom he or she has a child in common, the minor child of any of those persons or his or her minor child."
In most situations involving the commission of misdemeanor crimes, a police officer will issue a citation with a return date for a suspect to appear in court, and the officer will not make an arrest.  The mandatory arrest is another factor which elevates the crime of domestic violence above other misdemeanors.  Defendants also need to be aware that there is mandatory jail time associated with a conviction for Domestic Violence, so a defendant may be headed back to jail if convicted, and they have not spent the mandatory 2 days in jail.  This is another reason why defendants should hire an attorney who has experience in defending these types of cases.
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.