A misunderstanding led to a domestic violence charge against you. Now, you are worried that this will prevent you from seeing or spending time with your kids. If you have concerns about this, you must know that the only way your relationship with your kids could come to harm is if the court convicts you, and a criminal charge does not always lead to this. You still have the right to prevent your conviction and the possibility of losing touch with your kids by defending yourself in court.
Domestic violence and custody
If the judge convicts you, the other parent of your children could ask the court to modify an existing custody order under the excuse that your conviction is an extraordinary change in the circumstances. When determining custody, courts always consider the child’s best interest, so a domestic violence conviction might not help your case. If you do not have a custody order yet, the other parent could ask for sole custody to the court.
Changes in the custody order
You could face different repercussions on the rights and responsibilities you have towards your children if the court convicts you. Every case is different, but if the other parent takes the case to court, the judge could remove your physical or legal custodial rights or give the other parent sole custody of the child. The court could also reduce your visitation hours or order supervised visitation. It is also possible for them to order the visitation at a public area or facility.
Order of protection
You must know that the other parent may have temporary custody of your child if they issued an order of protection against you. If this happened, you must not contact the other parent until the order of protection expires. Contacting them could result in an additional criminal charge for another offense, and it would be useless.
Your right to defense
You do not have a conviction yet, and you still have time to build your defense. If the court does not find you guilty of the crime of domestic violence, you will not face its penalties or repercussions. In that case, you could also eliminate your charges from your record in the future. Not everything is lost, and you have the right to fight for your children in court.
