This week, there have been three Arizona athletes arrested for assault. Markieff and Marcus Morris of the Phoenix Suns were arrested for aggravated assault. Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury was arrested for domestic violence after getting into a fight with her fiancée, another WNBA star.
Domestic Violence: A Serious Offense
My office is seeing more and more domestic violence and assault related offenses. While I think it would be unfair to the athletes to get into the details of their case, I think it is important for everyone to know the seriousness of domestic violence.
Most people think domestic violence means that one person physically harms another. I have represented countless clients for domestic violence and can tell you that very rarely are my clients charged with domestic violence after physically harming another person.
A Designation vs A Charge
Domestic violence is a designation, not a charge. This means, a person can be charged with disorderly conduct or criminal damage with a domestic violence designation. It is very common for the cops to respond to simply a shouting match. Believe it or not, a neighbor can call the police on a roommates or significant others who are having a shouting match. When the police arrive, one or both parties involved will receive disorderly conduct charges with domestic violence designations.
Another common situation is when roommates or significant others get into an argument and one person punches a hole in the wall or throws a cell phone. The cops can be called for this event and arrest the person for criminal damage with a domestic violence designation.
Devastating Consequences
Being charged with a domestic violence crime is a serious offense. You will forfeit your right to possess a firearm, you will most likely lose your job, you may never be able to become a teacher in Arizona and you will forever have a criminal conviction on your record.
The purpose of this article is to inform you that anytime you have a loud argument with a spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend or roommate you are running the risk of the police being called and facing a domestic violence charge. There doesn’t have to be physical harm to another. The best thing to do is leave the situation and not come back until you have had a chance to cool off.
Contact a Reliable Defense Attorney
The lawyers are at my office have had several domestic violence cases dismissed. If you are facing a domestic violence charge, call us or fill out a contact form to see how we can help provide you with a case dismissal.
Author Bio
Matthew L. Lopez
Matthew L. Lopez is the Managing Attorney and founder of Matthew Lopez Law, a criminal defense and DUI firm serving clients throughout Arizona. His track record of case dismissals and charge reductions has earned him honors, including a National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 nomination, a “Superb” 10/10 Avvo rating, and a Rising Star designation by Super Lawyers.
Matthew is a member of the National College for DUI Defense and holds active memberships with the Arizona Association for Criminal Justice and the Arizona Association for Justice. His firm handles criminal defense, DUI, drug charges, and traffic offenses, offering free consultations and affordable payment plans to make quality defense accessible to all Arizonans.
