Norwalk Domestic Violence Defense Strategies

There are a couple common defenses used in Norwalk domestic violence cases, such as the instance of self-defense, as well as defense of others. Another common defense is that the events that did not occur in a way that was alleged by the accuser. Self-defense is extremely common in these cases, such that the person felt compelled to commit the act of domestic violence because of an attack that was made by the other participants. Regardless of which defense is ultimately used, an experienced attorney is essential in building a strong case for any type of charge their client faces.

Defining Self-Defense

Self-defense is a common Norwalk domestic violence defense strategy that happens anytime a person is presented with a threat of physical harm. They are allowed to meet that threat of physical harm with the same degree of physical force in order to prevent themselves from getting hurt. The test that a judge or jury will be employing when deciding whether a self-defense case or assertion is actually meritorious is whether the person actually did perceive a threat of physical harm from the attacker and whether that perception of the threat was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.

Essentially, it asks the judge or jury to step into the shoes of the person claiming self-defense and ask themselves, if that person actually believe that they were under a threat of harm. If the answer to that is yes then they will have to consider if even though that person did believe that they were under the threat of physical harm, was this reasonable under the circumstances? This is what a domestic violence attorney would call a subjective/objective test.

Defense of Others

Another common domestic violence defense in Norwalk is the defense of others. At the time that somebody believes that they need physical force to prevent physical harm of another person, they can meet that threat with the same degree of physical force and stop the attack from happening or stop the physical harm from happening to a third person. It is essentially the exact same thing as self-defense, but it applies to a third person.

Work With an Attorney to Understand Norwalk Domestic Violence Defense Strategies

Having an attorney to help an individual accused of domestic violence to understand all of their potential defenses is important because there are a lot of moving pieces and a lot of things that can get worse for a defendant if they are not aware of all of their obligations once a case starts.

It is helpful to have somebody that is familiar with the people who implement the system that the defendant will be facing so that they can have the best understanding of what is expected of them and how they should be interacting with these people. Call our firm today to learn more about Norwalk domestic violence defense strategies.