Grand Rapids Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer

Accusations of domestic violence are serious and can make your life feel like it’s collapsing around you. But you don’t have to feel isolated in this difficult situation; you can work with a passionate criminal defense lawyer.

At White Law PLLC, our Grand Rapids domestic violence defense lawyers can help defend you and get your charges reduced or dropped. We do everything possible for our clients and their future.

How Is Domestic Violence Defined in Michigan?

Michigan defines domestic violence as a person consistently abusing someone physically, emotionally, or sexually to control them. Most commonly, people think domestic violence is isolated to romantic relationships; however, our Grand Rapids criminal defense lawyers understand there are several other types of victims. To be a victim, the person must have a relationship with the abuser; some examples include:

• People who live or lived in the same household as the abuser
• The other parent of the abuser’s child
• Abuser’s children
• Past partner of the abuser
• Abuser or defendant’s parents

Common Domestic Violence Situations

Unfortunately, domestic violence is common in Michigan and the country as a whole, as it’s often portrayed in movies and music. But to get a clear picture of what actions qualify as domestic violence, our criminal defense team has gathered some common situations that qualify:

• Physical abuse examples: Pushing, kicking, biting, throwing objects, locking doors to prevent the victim from entering, and strangling.
• Sexual abuse examples: Forcing sex, forcing someone to perform sexual actions, forcing your current or past partner to have sex to maintain relationship.
• Emotional abuse examples: Stalking, threatening to hurt a partner or their loved ones, lying to someone to achieve your desires, and gaslighting someone for abuse. 

If you believe you’ve been wrongly accused of domestic violence, our Grand Rapids domestic violence defense attorney can review your case and tell you if you have a valid case. Even if you’ve been accused of any actions above, our criminal defense team is willing to work with you to discover the nature of your potential charges.

How Can a Domestic Violence Defense Attorney Help You in Your Grand Rapids Case?

If this is your first time being involved in a domestic abuse case, you may be afraid and confused. Having a Michigan domestic violence defense lawyer can help you make a significant difference in your case’s outcome. Here are some of the ways our team at White Law PLLC can help you after you’ve been accused of domestic violence: 

• Gather supporting evidence of your innocence
• Discredit police evidence if it was obtained unethically
• Meeting any deadlines in your case 
• Clarifying laws that pertain to your case
• Passionately fight for you

We’re ready to take your case after you’ve been falsely accused of domestic violence. We have experience defending against abuse allegations and helping our clients return to their lives. We’re waiting to take on your case and defend your reputation.

What Actions Should You Avoid During a Domestic Violence Case?

If you’ve been accused of abusing someone, the last thing you want to do is make yourself look any worse, even if the accusations are false. So our domestic violence attorney in Grand Rapids, MI, put together a guide that list the top three things you should avoid after being accused of domestic violence:

Communicating With the Accuser

You should not communicate with the person who accused you of domestic violence. Even if you think you have an ongoing relationship with them, you should refrain from talking to them through any means of communication, which includes:

• Texting
• Messaging on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter
• Calling
• Letters
• Through a friend

There are two reasons why you shouldn’t talk to your accuser. First, it may aggravate or make them even more uncomfortable that they feel like you are intentionally stalking them. Talking to them could trigger them and they could report you to the police again, resulting in further charges. 

And the second reason is that it only gives the police more information and evidence to use against you in your domestic violence case. If there are records of you reaching out, it will look like you are not following any restraining or no-contact orders that may have been issued against you. And again, these actions will only make you look worse and less likely to get any charges dropped or reduced.

Substance Use

After an accusation of domestic violence, you want the best image and reputation so your accuser has no additional evidence against you. One way to keep a good reputation is to avoid taking prohibited drugs or consuming alcohol. You may think there’s no harm in doing so, and it could help you relax during a stressful case, but there is, and your case could suffer.

If evidence of you doing drugs or drinking alcohol somehow gets back to the police or your accuser, they’ll have another way to justify their case against you for abuse. Even if it isn’t true, your accuser could say you were under the influence and abused them.

Defending Your Case Alone

Finally, when you’re involved in a domestic violence case, you should never attempt to defend yourself without a domestic violence lawyer. The complexity of criminal defense cases involving domestic violence can quickly put you in a worse position than you were after the accusations if you don’t understand local and state laws.

When you work with a domestic violence lawyer in Grand Rapids, MI, you can confidently build a strong case together. However, if you try to defend yourself in your case, you won’t have as much of a chance to have your charges dropped or reduced.

Is it Expensive To Hire a Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer in Grand Rapids?

Unlike personal injury cases, criminal defense lawyers don’t work on a contingency fee because there are no damages or settlements to win. Instead, in criminal defense cases, we’re fighting for you and your freedom from any punishment.

Therefore, you’ll either have to pay a fixed or hourly fee. The cost of hiring a domestic violence attorney depends on a few factors:

• The time it takes to work on your case
• The severity of the charges
• The resources necessary 

When you meet with our team, we’ll explain how we charge for our criminal defense services in your case. 

Contact Us To Get Legal Help After Domestic Violence Accusations

At White Law PLLC, we’re here for you when you’ve been falsely accused, and we stay until we get justice for you. Our team of Grand Rapids, MI, domestic violence defense lawyers is waiting to take on your case and show you what we can do for you.

Contact us today for a free case evaluation.