In 1983, the Colorado General Assembly created the Domestic Violence Program (DVP). DVP is the sole government entity dedicated entirely to funding and sustaining community-based domestic violence programs across the state. In addition to serving as a funding administration, DVP is responsible for working collaboratively and developing partnerships with state entities, counties, and community stakeholders to address domestic violence policy and legislative initiatives. DVP strives to ensure that services to victims of domestic violence and their children are readily available throughout Colorado’s diverse communities and is continually seeking ways to improve services and educate the general populace about domestic violence. Unfortunately one of the key services provided is access to the courts to ensure future safety of victims and access to Domestic Violence Lawyers to address the charges being laid.
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior used by the abuser to gain or maintain control over the victim. Domestic violence happens in all races, age groups, sexual orientations, religions, social classes, economic backgrounds and education levels. It can occur in opposite-sex and same-sex relationships; between partners who are married, living together, dating or those who are no longer in a relationship together. The types of abuse range from physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and economic abuse. In each form, the abuser isolates the victim, intimidates them in different manners as a way to fully control them and often threatens personal harm to them or their children. The cases of domestic violence are significant. In a single day in 2011, 1,317 victims of domestic violence were served by community-based programs in Colorado. Of that number, 622 found refuge in emergency shelters or transitional housing where they received a wide variety of services to help them maintain their safety and begin to make plans for their future. 695 adults and children received non-residential assistance and services, including individual counseling, legal advocacy, access to domestic violence lawyers and children’s support groups.
The Colorado legislature has defined domestic violence as any act or threatened act of violence on a person with whom the actor is or was involved with in an intimate relationship. State law defines an intimate relationship as any type of romantic relationship, past or present, between couples. There is no time factor in the definition and there is no requirement that the couple was sexually intimate. Domestic violence also includes any other crime against either a person or property when the offender is acting to coerce, control, punish, intimidate or is seeking revenge against the victim. In Colorado, a mandatory arrest policy was implemented requiring the police to make arrests in domestic violence cases when there is probable cause to do so, regardless of the wishes of the victim. Before mandatory arrest policies were put into effect, law enforcement was required to witness the abuse first hand prior to making an arrest. Each state has specific attributes to their policies; some states will arrest simply based on probable cause of domestic violence while others have time limitations following an incident to arrest an aggressor. Whatever the unique attributes, once an aggressor is identified and charges are laid, the need for a domestic violence lawyer becomes paramount.
In many states, the mandatory arrest around domestic violence has been brought into question with respect to the guilt of the person arrested. There are a lot of emotions attached to this crime and there have been incidents of false accusation and false arrests associated with this emotional time. In those cases, a skilled domestic violence lawyer will ensure the rights of the accused. A domestic violence lawyer will help a client understand the charges being presented; advise about possible outcomes if he or she is found guilty of these charges; and explain the steps of the process and answer any questions the client may have about them. A domestic violence attorney can also initiate a plea bargain agreement should it be in the best interest of the client to do so. Our legal system is built to ensure that both parties have their day in court. The accuser has a chance to face the accused… and a good domestic violence lawyer will ensure that the accused is prepared to defend themselves, and if falsely accused, is able to effectively prove that.
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