When the criminal justice system comes to your living room you need an attorney to defend you. Even if your arrest was “just a misunderstanding.” Once a defendant is convicted the state of California has the power to come into their home to tell them what to do, and it is going to try to exert that power. When a person is arrested for domestic violence the state has one foot in the door.

If you get convicted of domestic violence the probation department will supervise you for at least three years. If you don’t do what they tell you to their satisfaction you may end up back in jail or wearing an orange Sheriff’s Department vest picking up trash for 10 days or more. You must pay fees for the privilege of serving your time through SWAP. Judges, probation officers and the people who run the mandatory batterer’s programs have little patience with people on probation. They expect you to put compliance with the conditions of your probation ahead of your job, your property, supporting your family, and keeping a roof over your head. They would rather you became homeless than fail to meet your probationary obligations. They are suspicious and want documentation of medical appointments, jobs, program attendance, etc.

Defendants give up a number of rights while they are on probation. There is the risk that your partner will falsely accuse you of a new incident of domestic violence the next time they get mad at you. If they call the police on you again you will be in a lot of trouble. A judge will decide whether you broke the law or not, based on a more likely than not standard. It is not uncommon for a defendant to show up in court for a case status report and for the district attorney to stand up and ask for them to be remanded into custody based on a new police report alleging a violation of a restraining order or a new incident of violence. Next thing you know the judge is looking at a police report your attorney has just seen a few minutes ago. When this happens there is a chance that you will go back to jail for a week, two weeks or longer, until the judge holds a hearing on the new incident.

If you are already on probation for a case beware of discussing the facts of the new case with your probation officer. Insist that you have to talk to a lawyer before you talk to them about it, and you are asserting your constitutional right to remain silent.

Victims of domestic violence may also be subjected to the court’s processes. The district attorney can threaten to prosecute a victim who recants (changes their story about the domestic incident in a way that helps the defendant) for perjury. A judge can hold a victim who refuses to testify against the defendant in contempt and send them to 72 hours of domestic violence counseling. If the victim still refuses to testify Code of Civil Procedure section 1219(c) gives the judge the authority to put the victim in jail. The marital privilege to not testify does not apply where defendant’s spouse or child is a victim. If the victim is absent and unavailable to testify at a misdemeanor trial the prosecution will often try to introduce statements the victim made around the time of the incident. The defense may be able to keep these statements from coming into evidence using the 2004 Crawford v. Washington U.S. Supreme Court case (124 S.Ct. 1354).

If you own guns and are convicted of domestic violence you will not be able to own guns while you are on probation. You will have to sell the guns to a licensed gun dealer or give the weapon to the police. The police can seize any guns in your possession when they arrest you for domestic violence offenses.