Getting Yourself Out of AIC Following a Domestic Violence Arrest

If you have been arrested for a domestic violence crime in Connecticut, such as disorderly conduct, third degree assault, violation of protective order or breach of peace, then there’s a good chance that a Connecticut criminal court judge will order you into an alternative incarceration center or “AIC” with strict conditions of anger management, alcohol or substance abuse counseling, random urine testing, or even GPS ankle bracelet monitoring.

After an interview—or what can actually feel like an interrogation—by Family Relations Officers, coupled with a brief restraining order hearing where you can be ordered out of your house for months, the Court then must consider whether to order you into AIC for additional monitoring and services.

All this goes on while you are standing up in open court before the judge and prosecutor—either with or without a Connecticut criminal attorney lawyer by your side. And if you don’t have a lawyer during that hearing, then you likely will be too afraid or intimidated by the court process to object and fight back against unnecessary and onerous AIC conditions.

So can anything be done about your AIC orders following your arrest in Connecticut for disorderly conduct, assault or unlawful restraint? Absolutely.

Alternative Incarceration Center

Before the State of Connecticut spent a few bucks on fancy public relations people, the initials AIC used to stand for “Alternative Incarceration Center.” But that was too negative, although it was much more on point because being ordered into AIC and participating in its services was in fact an alternative to being held in prison on a higher bond.

Now they call it the “Alternative in the Community” Center—merely a euphemism for the same suite of counseling and monitoring services that the agency provides at the direction of the Connecticut domestic violence courts. They can call it whatever they want—the bottom line is that so long as AIC is court-ordered by a judge in the domestic violence courts, then you can get locked up on a higher bond if you blow off the classes or don’t show up or comply. While this article focuses on getting yourself out of AIC, you can read more here about how to survive AIC and how to successfully complete the program.

At times, it can seem like the courts have little compassion for how much AIC can interfere with your work schedule, especially if you work in New York. That’s why you should hire a criminal law firm if you have been ordered into AIC and need to get out of it in order to save your job or save your family from being evicted or losing your home.

How To Get Out of AIC

The criminal lawyers and attorneys in Connecticut frequently get calls from people arrested for domestic violence crimes and mistakenly go it alone in themcriminal courts. They then want their lawyers to get them out of AIC as quickly as possible for compelling professional and personal reasons. The good news is that the courts are not completely unsympathetic to these legal and factual arguments, but these arguments must first be presented to the domestic violence prosecutor and family relations officers prior to approaching the judge with a modification motion.

Your Connecticut criminal lawyer will want to make sure the domestic violence judge does not think you’re just trying to avoid counseling or monitoring. Rather, a meaningful modification motion must be filed, preferably by a Connecticut domestic violence attorney who has successfully argued and won such motions in the past.

Additionally, the legwork and back-room negotiations that take place in advance of having the motion heard in court can also be critical to tipping the scales in your favor in getting you out of AIC program, which can sometimes have you going to classes three times a week, leaving you with little time to spend with your family.

So before resigning yourself to months of being trapped in AIC programs ordered by the domestic violence courts, contact a Fairfield County Connecticut criminal law firm that handles domestic violence arrests to discuss your options and the best strategies for getting you out of AIC and getting your case dismissed.

Contact a Lawyer

While the team of domestic violence criminal lawyers understands the importance of AIC to the criminal court process, we recognize that it’s not for everyone, especially hard-working professionals who frequently travel and commute long distances to make a living and support their family.

After suffering through the humiliation and embarrassment of a domestic violence arrest in Connecticut, the last thing you need is to be ordered into a rigorous AIC program schedule that further interferes with your work and family obligations.