Domestic Battery Fact Sheet

Important Information about the Charge of Domestic Battery

 

            Domestic Battery: A case of battery involving family members.  Family members include people related by blood or marriage, share a home, that have or had a dating relationship or that have a child in common.

            Domestic Battery is a Class A misdemeanor.  The possible penalties are up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.  Other possible penalties include “conditional discharge” or “probation”.  Either of these will last for a specific time and include certain court orders.  These orders may include community service, domestic violence counseling, alcohol and/or drug counseling.  Court Supervision is not an available option, unless there is an agreement to reduce the charge to simple battery.

            Aggravated Domestic Battery is a Class 4 Felony.  The possible penalties are up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $25, 000.00.  There is a possibility of probation with court orders as outlined above.

            Supervision: There is no possibility of Court Supervision for Domestic Battery.  Unless the case is dismissed, the charge amended or the person accused is found not guilty at a trial, a charge of Domestic Battery will result in a criminal conviction.  A conviction means a criminal record with the arresting police, the Illinois State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  It means fingerprints and mug shots.

            State’s Right to Proceed All documents in the case refer to “The People of the State of Illinois v. The Defendant”.  The person who is the victim in the case does not have the power to decide whether the case should be prosecuted. That is the sole decision of the State’s Attorney. 

            Bonding Information   After being arrested for Domestic Battery release requires a bond be posted in either the form of a deposit for the entire amount of the bond (C bond), a deposit for 10% of the bond required (D bond) or a promise to pay a certain amount of money for failing to appear in court, sometimes known as personal or individual recognizance bond (I bond).   A judge determines the conditions of release.

            Conditions of Bond.  In a case of Domestic Battery, there are typically two special conditions of bond.  The first is that the defendant have no contact with the alleged victim for 72 hours following release from custody.  The second is that the defendant turn all firearms over to the police.  Failure to comply with either of these conditions can result in separate charges and cause the defendant to be arrested again.

            Order of Protection.  Often the alleged victim will request an Order of Protection related to the criminal charges.  These orders are usually granted on an emergency basis, which are good for 21 days.  After that there needs to be a hearing on whether the order will be extended and under what conditions.  The defendant can be ordered to stay away from certain people and places, to turn over certain property and to engage in specific conduct such as psychological or drug evaluations.  It is important to have a lawyer to either contest an Order of Protection or to limit its effect.

            Discovery: This is the process by which the state must provide to the accused the evidence that it has against him.  Gathering this evidence is extremely important to the defense.

           Motions: A Motion is a request by an attorney asking the judge to order that something be done. Some motions, if successful, such as Motion to Quash Arrest, Motion to Suppress Evidence, Motion to Suppress Statement, can result in the case being dismissed. Experienced lawyers keep an eye on the case and the evidence to determine if there are important motions to be made that affect their client’s freedom.

           Plea Agreement: This is when the State’s Attorney, defense attorney and defendant agree what penalty will be imposed if the defendant pleads guilty to the crime. Often the trial judge also participates in the agreement. Many cases are finished in this fashion, and an experienced lawyer knows what the usual penalties are for specific situations. In that way he can arrange for the best possible outcome for his client.

           Trial: In the event that there is no agreement in return for a plea, (or the case is not dismissed by way of a motion) then a trial is held, and the defendant maintains his plea of not guilty. At trial the state presents evidence to either a judge (bench trial) or a jury. The state must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If this does not happen, the defendant is found not guilty and the case is over. If it does happen, then the defendant will have a penalty imposed by the judge who presided at the trial.

 For additional information please visit:  The Crime of Domestic Battery & Domestic Battery Fact Sheet.

                                                        © 2007 Shestokas, Raines  & Malavia



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You don’t have to be stuck with a criminal conviction on your record.  Your Washington State criminal conviction can be expunged if you meet the criteria.  And after your conviction is expunged, Washington State law permits you to state you have not been convicted for employment purposes.

 

Expungement is an often misunderstood term and process.  In Washington State expungement of a criminal record or criminal conviction is accomplished by Vacating the Criminal Conviction.  The terms Expungement and Vacating are largely interchangeable, the difference being that Vacating is the legal term.

 

Expungement of a criminal record by vacating the conviction does not destroy or seal the file.  However, it is possible to destroy, or expunge, an arrest record if the eligibility requirements are met.  When an arrest record is expunged, the booking photos and fingerprints are destroyed and removed from the police record.

 

In Washington State, the expungement process differs between felony and misdemeanor convictions.  The following 7 steps are an overview of what is involved.

 

1.  The Required Time Period has Passed Since the Case Completed.

The first eligibility requirement to expunge your conviction in Washington State is passage of the required time period.  For a misdemeanor, the time period begins to run on the date the case is Closed.  For a felony conviction, the time period begins to run on the date a document called a Certificate of Discharge is filed with the court.  In both instances, a case is Closed or a Certificate of Discharge is filed after all the sentence conditions are completed as required.

 

2.  The Conviction is Eligible for Expungement.

Certain convictions, and classifications of convictions, are not eligible for Expungement in Washington State.  Generally, class A felonies (the most serious), sex crimes, and violent crimes cannot be expunged in Washington State.  Among misdemeanors, Washington State does not permit a DUI conviction to be expunged.

 

3.  You Meet the Clean Behavior Requirement.

Two situations will make your conviction ineligible for expungement.  For a misdemeanor, if you were convicted of another crime on a later date then you would not be eligible to have the misdemeanor expunged.  For example, if you were convicted of a misdemeanor in 1995, and another crime in 1997, then the 1995 crime would not be eligible to be expunged.  For a felony, if you were convicted of another crime after the date the Certificate of Discharge was filed then you cannot expunge the felony.

 

4.  Special Rule for Misdemeanors.

Washington State has an interesting rule that applies only to misdemeanor convictions.  To expunge a misdemeanor, you cannot have had any other conviction expunged (vacated).  What this means is if a person has a felony conviction and a misdemeanor conviction, and the person expunged the felony conviction first, then the misdemeanor could no longer be expunged.  However, if the misdemeanor was expunged first, and if the misdemeanor conviction occurred before the felony conviction, then the felony could still be expunged.

 

5.  Preparation.

An expungement, or vacation of a criminal conviction, requires a judge to sign a court Order.  The court process is begun by filing a Motion to Vacate Conviction with the court.  Prior to filing the Motion, you should get copies of the Docket and the Judgment & Sentence from the court clerk.  You should also obtain a criminal history report, called a WATCH Report, from the Washington State Patrol website.

 

6.  Your Day In Court.

Most Washington State courts require a hearing to Expunge, or Vacate, a criminal conviction.  Most courts do not require you to attend if you have a lawyer appearing at the hearing on your behalf.  If the preparation has been done properly, then the hearing should go very smoothly and the judge will sign the Court Order Vacating your criminal conviction.

 

7.  Your Criminal Record is Cleared.

The court clerk processes the Order and sends a certified copy to the Washington State Patrol, which removes the conviction from the public database.  The FBI record is updated based on the Washington State record.  And, if the Order was prepared correctly, a copy will also be sent to the police department that handled the case and your record will also be cleared in their file.  Your conviction has now been expunged (vacated), and your criminal record is cleared.

 

As you can see, you don’t have to be stuck with a criminal conviction on your record.  It is not difficult to expunge a conviction in Washington State if you meet the straightforward criteria.  In most cases, these 7 steps take only a few weeks to complete.

 

Copyright ©2008 Douglas Stratemeyer.  All Rights reserved.


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