The government charged our client with aggravated domestic violence for defending himself from a violent roommate. A bunch of young people lived together in a trailer and the property owner talked client’s girlfriend into taking some of client’s money to buy some drugs. Client was unhappy when he found out, in part because he had been working on his sobriety, and so he had some choice words for the property owner. Property owner’s boyfriend then tried to act tough and bully client, but client swiftly reacted with a couple of punches. Boyfriend then attacked client with a hammer, so client wisely ducked out.
Client ended up charged with aggravated domestic violence. The government considered the client's actions to be "domestic violence" because client was crashing with his girlfriend at the trailer, and boyfriend was crashing with property owner at the trailer, so vis-à-vis some magical legal logic, client and the boyfriend were part of the same domestic unit for purposes of the charge. Not exactly what most of us would think of when we hear “DV.” The charge was “aggravated” because client fractured a bone in boyfriend’s face. Client was probably 5-foot 7-inches tall.
We defended on the basis of self-defense. The jury deliberated for maybe a half-hour and found client not guilty of aggravated domestic violence. The jury did convict on a lesser-included that the prosecution requested at the last minute, but the court only sentenced him to probation, which he is doing fine with.
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