Greenwich Domestic Violence Arrests - Frequently Asked Questions

A criminal order of protection is a court order that protects the victim while the case is pending or until further order of the court.

In every domestic violence arrest in Connecticut, there is a mandatory arraignment in court the very next business day. When you arrive at the court you will be required to meet with the office of family relations who will conduct a lethality assessment and screening. Family relations are going to recommend one of three levels of criminal order of protection to be issued by the court. In every domestic violence case, some order of protection is going to issue.

The least restrictive order of protection is the partial order of protection. The most restrictive order is the full no-contact order of protection. It is important to understand that criminal orders of protection are court orders and that any violation of a criminal order of protection is a felony punishable by up to 10 days in jail. The victim can not modify orders of protection. Only the court can modify or terminate an order of protection.

Any criminal order of protection can be modified by order of the court. It is important to understand that the victim can not modify an order of protection. While the victim's concerns will be taken into consideration by family relations, the state's attorney, and the court, the victim's input is not dispositive.

Many clients who have a full no-contact order or a residential stay away order of protection want to lower the level of restriction to allow a return to normalcy. Any plan to modify an order of protection should include steps to demonstrate to the court that the accused has taken steps to address the underlying cause of the original complaint. These measures can include anger management or substance abuse therapy. Having the victim on board with any proposed modification is an essential part of getting a motion to modify an order of protection granted.

If any minor children were home or in close proximity during the conduct that gave rise to the domestic violence arrest, the Greenwich police will usually charge you with a violation of C.G.S. § 53-21(a) risk of injury to a minor which is a felony.

Regardless of whether or not you are charged with risk of injury to a minor, if any minor children were present in your home, the police are mandated to make a referral to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF is going to show up the next day, unannounced to do a welfare check of your children, speak to everyone in the home, including your children, and get your side of the story.

You do not have to cooperate with DCF. You have a right to tell DCF to leave and tell them that you want time to speak to a lawyer before you answer any questions. Generally, we advise most of our clients to cooperate initially with DCF and be polite with them. However, you should not make any admissions or statements about what happened during the crime. Any statements that you make to DCF can and will be used against you. Sometimes DCF investigations can drag on for an extended period of time and become quite invasive. If you are the subject of a DCF investigation, you should immediately contact a Greenwich domestic violence lawyer to review the best course of action to mitigate the situation.

The good news is that in the absence of cases that involve serious injuries or violations of criminal orders of protection, most Greenwich domestic violence cases are resolved in a favorable manner. While domestic violence cases are treated very seriously, especially in light of the aftermath of the Jennifer Dulos case, most cases result in a nolle or dismissal if you are a first time offender.

There are two paths to resolving your first offender Greenwich domestic violence arrest. The first is by working with your domestic violence attorney serving Greenwich, to convince the state's attorney to nolle your case. Nolle is a Latin term which means to stop prosecuting the case. Nolles automatically convert to dismissal in 13 months, absent some usual circumstance such as another arrest with the same victim. The typical path to seeking a nolle in a domestic violence matter is by engaging in some form of therapeutic modalities to convince the office of family relations and state's attorney that progress has been made to address underlying issues.

Studies have shown that domestic violence offenders who have engaged in anger management or substance abuse therapy are 87% less likely to engage in recidivism.

The second approach to getting domestic violence cases dismissed is by using the family violence education program. The family violence education program is a diversionary program that will result in a dismissal of all domestic violence charges upon successful completion of the program. Generally, this program requires that you complete nine classes of family violence education and not get arrested for any more domestic violence crimes during the program period. The program can be used for any domestic violence crime up to and including Class D felonies. You should review your options with an experienced Greenwich domestic violence lawyer to determine if the family violence education program is a good option for resolving your case.

It can seem like domestic violence cases can take forever to resolve. There is a definite "cooling off" dynamic in domestic violence cases. State's attorneys are reluctant to drop cases quickly before the parties have time to calm down and participate in some treatment modalities designed to help prevent a recurrence of the behavior that caused the arrest. Since many domestic violence cases do result in a nolle or dismissal, it seems that the state wants to remain a part of your relationship for an extended period of time in order to try to catch cases that are part of a pattern of ongoing abuse.

The best thing that you can do to get a favorable outcome in your domestic violence case is to have patience and hire an experienced Greenwich domestic violence attorney to guide you.