Domestic Violence in Tampa — The Facts
For additional information see
Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado
If you are charged with domestic violence in Tampa
• You are presumed guilty in Tampa until you prove your innocence and due process is nonexistent.
• Arrest is mandatory in Tampa and will be made without a warrant.
• Domestic Violence in Tampa Florida is the new Jim Crow.
If you are black in Tampa you are much more likely to be arrested, convicted, and spend a longer time in jail.
• In Domestic Violence cases in Tampa, the Prosecutors are out to win.
Your guilt or innocence is of no consequence to them.
• Prosecutors in Tampa often tack on additional charges after your arrest, especially if they can get felony
charges added. That gives them a much stronger position when trying to get a Domestic Violence plea bargain.
Tacking on additional Domestic Violence charges against you also increases the bail you must post.
• The District Attorney in Tampa
cannot
dismiss a domestic violence case or plea bargain it to anything
that does not involve domestic violence
The other party cannot get the charges against you dropped either as it is the State of Florida vs. you.
Realistically, the only way you can clear your record of a domestic violence charge in Tampa is to go through a jury trial.
The prosecutor in Tampa will attempt to bluff you about going to trial, and your defense attorney may recommend a Domestic Violence
plea bargain because he gets paid but doesn’t have to go to the time and effort of preparing for trial.
If you wisely call the prosecutor’s bluff and insist on going to a jury trial in Tampa we have heard innumerable stories
from men where the district attorney asks the judge in Tampa to dismiss the Domestic Violence case the morning the trial is to begin.
• In order to be released from jail in Tampa you will be issued a mandatory restraining order that you must sign and acknowledge. The restraining order will include:
(a) An order to vacate or stay away from the home of the victim
and to stay away from any other location where the victim is likely to be found.
Commonly this means you can’t go back to your own home or job
location even if she doesn’t live or work there, or have any claim to be on the property;
(b) An order to refrain from contact, or direct or indirect communication with the victim,
i.e., you can’t
contact any of her or your friends to obtain witnesses on your behalf;
No contact means no contact!
(c) An order prohibiting possession or control of firearms or other weapons
{a Federal felony under
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8 and 9)} and if you have military or police training you are classed as a
“trained killer;”
(d) An order prohibiting possession or consumption of alcohol or controlled substances;
and
(e) Any other order the court deems appropriate to protect the safety of the alleged victim. For example, as a
condition of your release on bail in Tampa you may be required to wear an electronic tracking bracelet until your trial.
The mandatory restraining order only works one way.
You are restrained from contacting the other party but
they can contact you.
However, you can’t reply or speak to them when they do, or you go back to jail.
• No determination of your guilt is required before imposing such punishments.
What you should do if charged with domestic violence
• You will be given a hearing or arraignment before a magistrate or judge and formally charged.
If(?) you have been released on bail before the Domestic Violence hearing, you
must show up in court or you will lose all future rights and surrender your bail bond.
• Plead innocent to Domestic Violence and demand a jury trial!
A guilty or no contest Domestic Violence plea at this time, or failure to appear, is a
lifetime sentence regardless of anything the prosecutor may tell you about a “deferred sentence” or sealing your record (They lie all the time).
The prosecutor will do everything possible, commonly including lies, intimidation, and often mental torture to get you to plead guilty to Domestic Violence and accept a plea bargain.
A trial to a judge, or Domestic Violence bench trial is simply a long, slow way of pleading guilty.
Don’t make any statement at the hearing other than
“Not guilty” and a demand a jury trial.
• Get a Domestic Violence defense attorney!
If ever in your life you need a criminal defense lawyer experienced in Domestic Violence, now is the time.
If you have not been able to obtain an attorney while
in jail, and the court does not, or will not, assign a public defender, you must obtain your own.
• With luck and a competent criminal defense attorney in Tampa you may be able to have some terms of
the automatic restraining order against you lifted or modified at the hearing, e.g., the no
alcohol provision, or no contact with your children order, depending on circumstances.
• The court may require a bond or release you on your own recognizance. If you previously
posted a bond, and you are released on your own recognizance, ask to have the bond lifted.
• The lifetime cost of pleading guilty to domestic violence in Tampa is infinite and you cannot appeal.
Demand a jury trial!
Unless your guilt is clear (not likely in a
“he said/she said”
case), any criminal defense attorney in Tampa who suggests you accept a plea bargain or deferred sentence should be dismissed instantly as incompetent.
Corrupt lawyers in Tampa Florida love plea bargains because they get the same fees but don’t have to go to the labor of preparing for trial.
What happens if you are convicted, plead guilty, plea bargain, or accept a deferred sentence on a Domestic Violence charge in Tampa
• A conviction usually means the loss of your job. A plea bargain is a conviction!
If you accept a plea bargain you surrender all rights to an appeal.
Under DoD Directive 5220.6 a Domestic Violence conviction in Tampa will deny you a security clearance.
You will also lose your professional license(s) and any financial bond. Thus, doctors, teachers, and others who require professional licenses or financial bonds cannot continue to practice their trade or profession.
• The loss of your Second Amendment rights is for life.
A conviction will mean the certain loss of your job if you work in a profession, e.g., police, fire, military,
construction, trucking, mining, etc. in Tampa that requires use of firearms, explosives, or other dangerous agents.
It is a violation of Federal law, 18 USC § 922(g)(8 and 9), to purchase, acquire, or be in possession of
firearms, ammunition, or other dangerous weapons, with a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison if convicted.
• You cannot serve in the military and you may lose any military pension you have.
If you are currently in the military you will be involuntarily discharged or not allowed to reenlist.
The Uniformed Services Former Spouses Protection Act (PL 97-252, 1982)
“allows”
state divorce courts to
“divide”
as marital property any
“pension”
earned during the concomitant marriage/service period, regardless of
fault, need, or independent wealth. It also penalizes military men for domestic violence inflicted on civilian
spouse/dependents by revoking his/her retirement benefits and providing them to his/her victims.
• On a first offense for misdemeanor assault the typical sentence is two years probation; second
offense up to six months in county jail plus probation; third Domestic Violence offense is a felony with 6 to
18 months or more in prison. Felony assaults have longer sentences and usually result in at
least 6 months in jail though several years in prison are more likely with a felony conviction.
• Commonly there will be a fine as well as court costs.
• You will be required to take, and pay for Domestic Violence treatment in Tampa for an indeterminate period.
Psychiatric care, anger management in Tampa, substance abuse treatment, etc., may be imposed as well.
The mandated DV and other court-ordered counseling will cost you $1,000-$5,000 or more on top of other
fines and fees, and require several hours every week for at least six months. Attendance
is
mandatory.
• The mandatory restraining order in Tampa remains in effect until your sentence is completed. If you
violate the restraining order you will almost certainly go to jail in Tampa for 3 to 6 months.
Your conviction shows on
www.HCSO.com
. As employers in Tampa check that, getting a new job will be difficult.
• Most marriages end in divorce in these Domestic Violence cases.
Custody of any children will pass to the mother if you are convicted
and she will be awarded child support
and possibly maintenance (alimony). Because of these advantages many women use Domestic Violence charges to gain custody,
hide adultery, or prevent men from getting DNA paternity tests from her children.
Fathers are commonly only able to see the children in Tampa during supervised visitation periods for at least one to two
years after a Domestic Violence conviction in Tampa and will pay from $40 to $60 per hour of supervised visitation.
Even without children she will likely get the house, the car, bank accounts, and anything else she wants.
• You may never be eligible for welfare or public housing in Tampa, or anywhere else.
Renting or buying a house will be difficult or impossible under current law.
• You will be unable to obtain a student loan and may lose military benefits.
• You probably cannot ever hold a public office or get a government job with a Domestic Violence conviction.
• You cannot get a hunting license in Florida.
• Your voting rights may be lost.
• If you are not a United States citizen you will be deported and cannot reenter the country.
The law requiring deportation also applies to a wide range of crimes ranging from manslaughter to
misdemeanor drunken driving, as well as domestic violence in Tampa.
