H. Michael Steinberg – A Colorado Criminal Domestic Violence Lawyer Defense Lawyer

Domestic Violence Charges

Many people in Colorado are under the impression that what goes on between two people, whether they are married, dating, partners, or simply even roommates, belongs behind closed doors and is not the business of anyone else.  Although this can be true in many cases, the authorities may become involved if allegations of abuse are made by one or more parties in a domestic setting or personal relationship.  If you or a loved one has been accused of domestic violence, you could be facing criminal penalties and may even have a restraining order placed against you if you do not seek representation from an attorney immediately. Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer H. Michael Steinberg has 26 years of experience handling criminal offenses such as domestic violence and he will know exactly what to do for your case. 

Denver Colorado Lawyer Combating Domestic Violence Allegations

Domestic violence or abuse can take many different forms, and is not necessarily always physical.  In some instances, a person could be charged with domestic violence for verbally abusing, threatening, or intimidating another person.  No matter what the reasons are for domestic violence allegations, it is important that a lawyer fully investigate the situation to expose any false claims.  Motivated by anger, revenge, jealousy, or malice, some people have been known to falsely accuse others of domestic violence.  All it takes to alert the police is a simple phone call, and cases of domestic violence and abuse often involve one person’s word against another’s.  In situations such as these, your Burbank criminal defense attorney will fight to expose these allegations for what they really are: fabricated lies.  

A Colorado expert in this area, Dr. Charles Cory writes: 

The Colorado legislature has enacted laws to assist police and prosecutors convict the guilty and stop the abuse of intimte partners and family members. The intent behind these laws is well meaning and necessary.

Problems arise when laws designed to protect a victim of domestic violence are used too broadly and are applied to normal families and relationships. A big difference exists between an abusive partner repeatedly committing violent acts, and a nonviolent family or relationship in which a single argument went too far.

Unfortunately, the politicians and authorities do not see the difference!!! To the self-proclaimed saviors and protectors of abused “victims,” any allegation of domestic violence means the relationship must be one continuously engaged in abusive behavior.

As John Maquire puts in his article The Booming Domestic Violence Industry in Massachusetts News:

“The domestic violence entrepreneurs and state officials live in a different world from us. A sense of nameless vague threat is always in the background. To hear the pros talk, all the men they deal with are batterers, sexual abusers, or virtually time bombs of violence. Repeated cliches like “at risk” and “a safe place” and “maintaining safety” pepper their sentences. Yet, in many cases, there is no evidence of violence or any kind of serious harm to children, merely an accusation by the mother. But in the DV industry, when the accusation is made, the case is closed.”

If an argument between intimate partners and spouses is the benchmark for domestic violence, then almost every couple and family in America would be defined as an abusive relationship. This governmental overreaction, and dragnet targeting of normal families and relationships, and treating them as criminals has led us to massive injustice across the nation.

Examples of what is not domestic violence

Husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, have arguments. Does that now mean, or justify, a trip to jail and a criminal conviction with lifetime penalties?

Human beings make mistakes, cause accidents, and act immaturely at times. Everyone has past conduct they wish could be taken back. Part of being human is sometimes hurting those loved the most. The absurdity is to classify a single, out-of-character, nonviolent act as “criminal.”

For instance, it is not domestic violence to:

• Yell and scream at our girlfriend, spouse, or another household member, even if the neighbors hear it;

• Use profanity during an argument with a girlfriend, spouse, or household member;

• Engage in minor pushing incidents with a girlfriend, spouse, or household member;

• Engage in consensual sex that may be loud or rough;

• Engage in horseplay, wrestling matches, and pillow fights or similar mock combat even if accidents result;

• Hold the arm or hand of a girlfriend, spouse, or household member while arguing;

• Restrain an intimate partner to prevent them from hurting themselves or another family member;

• Momentarily block the path of a girlfriend, spouse, or household member;

• Throw and break items during an argument, or engage in consensual S&M;

• Awake violently from a nightmare, or react violently when someone awakens you suddenly;

• Say hurtful and mean things to a girlfriend, spouse, or household member;

• Use self defense to stop a girlfriend, spouse, or household member from attacking you.

• Serve, or have served in the Armed Forces of the United States, nor is such service a reasonable basis for “fear” in a rational and sane individual.

With “Zero Tolerance” arrest policies and “No Drop” prosecutions, the number of arrests for petty family arguments has skyrocketed. A former prosecuting attorney explains the phenomena:

“Christopher Pagan, who was until recently a prosecutor in Hamilton County, Ohio, estimates that due to a 1994 state law requiring police on a domestic call either to make an arrest or to file a report explaining why a no arrest was made, “domestics ” went from 10 percent to 40 percent of his docket. But, he suggests, that doesn’t mean actual abusers were coming to his attention more often. “We started getting a lot of push-and-shoves,” says Pagan, “or even yelling matches. ” In the past, police officers would intervene and separate the parties to let them cool off. Now those cases end up in criminal courts. It’s exacerbating tensions between the parties, and it’s turning law-abiding middle class citizens into criminals.”

• The Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Law Blog
• Links and Other Resources
• Tactics and Strategies When You Are Accused of Domestic Violence in Colorado
• Colorado Criminal Law Questions And Answers About Violation of A Restraining Order in Colorado – Part I
• The New Colorado DV Treatment Standards

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