Ross Goodman
When a Las Vegas citizen is facing a battery domestic violence case, clear intent is required to convict him or her.
A lot of instances of unintentional physical harm can be caused by accidents, if you believe this is how it is for your case, better get the help of a Las Vegas domestic battery lawyer to help you. Nevertheless, here are further information about the subject matter.
Domestic violence consists of different elements of abuse that can be done to a person. One of the most common types of domestic abuse is battery or hitting, punching, kicking and even doing tricks to cause physical pain to a person. When you are found guilty of domestic violence carried out through battery for the first time, you could face misdemeanor charges. Now, if the offense was done for the third time in seven years, a category C felony which carries one to five years in prison, shall be imposed on you.
Intent is the motivation behind such actions of a person. Battery domestic violence cases require intent to be justified and the intent should be of malice or in a nature that is meant to harm a person through unwanted physical contact. However, even if there is no harm that befell a person, just the resolve to commit the act is enough to criminalize the defendant.
Having said that, the perpetrator of battery cannot be sentenced if there is no intent. You can cite this as a defense once in court. For example, at home you were swinging your arms for an exercise routine and you hit your wife in accident as she suddenly appeared. This cannot be used for your conviction as you have no way of knowing that your wife will turn up in time for the specific movement.
On the other hand, there are situations caused by negligence that could be considered as intent and be used to add to fuel your undesired criminal sentence. An example, you fail to return sharp objects scattered around the house after a construction project and your children get some cuts after stumbling on them. While you do not have any intention to harm your kids, you have the right mind to know that it can result to an accident, in one way or another.
