A person with a prior domestic violence conviction will be sentenced to increased penalties if convicted of a California violation of a protective order. These orders are issued by the court in domestic abuse cases and are intended to protect intimate partners and prohibit offenders from carrying out further acts of abuse, reentering their own home or even engaging in certain behaviors. California law dictates that homosexual or heterosexual people who are married, divorced, cohabitating, dating or who have children in common qualify as intimate partners.

Intentionally and knowingly disobeying a protective order is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Due to the stringent nature of California domestic abuse laws, the courts may even punish an offender for violating an order that was issued in another state if the violation occurred in this state. Also, if the alleged victim suffered bodily injury as a result of the violation, the offender may be sentenced to mandatory jail time of not less than 30 days, in addition to fines reaching $2,000.

The maximum length of imprisonment for a defendant convicted of violating a court order is one year in jail. Aside from this rule, the law is silent about mandatory jail time for an offender. Therefore, depending on the facts surrounding the allegation, an experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to persuade a court to impose probation conditions without sentencing the defendant to prison.

However, if the defendant has a prior conviction, he or she will probably be sentenced to mandatory jail time if the prosecution secures a conviction for the pending case. If the current case involves a violent act or a credible threat of violence and the defendant has a prior conviction for a violation of a protective order that occurred within seven years of the current case, he or she will face up to one year in jail. A court will likely impose a sentence that includes imprisonment based on the reasoning that since the defendant had previously been in a similar situation, he or she should have known better.

If the alleged victim sustained a physical injury as a result of the violation and the defendant has a prior conviction for violating a protective order within one year of the current case, the defendant will face a minimum of six months in jail or prison, possibly up to one-year, and up to $2,000 in fines. Circumstances exist, however, where the defendant would only have to serve 30 days in jail, and a skilled defense attorney knows what arguments to make to minimize the client’s jail sentence. The lawyer will zealously advocate for his or her client and argue that additional jail time does not serve the best interests of justice.

One main concern with a prior conviction is that the judge is not the only one privy to the defendant’s history of prior domestic abuse. Most criminal cases exclude prior conduct from being introduced into the record, however, intimate partner abuse crimes provide an exception to the rule. Evidence of the defendant’s prior acts of domestic violence is admissible against the accused in a jury trial. Therefore the jury will be told that the accused has committed similar offenses in the past. It is likely that they will be prejudiced and believe that the defendant has repeated the behavior.

A violation of a protective order charge is serious, especially when the defendant has a prior conviction for a similar offense on his or her criminal record. It is very important for a person in this situation to employ a top-notch criminal defense attorney who understands domestic violence charges and knows how to deal with prior convictions. Lawyers at the Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended many clients who were facing domestic abuse charges. They have an intimate knowledge of the law and can answer any questions about California intimate partner abuse charges or any other legal matter.