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A family violence charge, known to most people as domestic violence, can put you in jail, force you out of your own home on a protective order, and leave a permanent mark on your record, often within a day of an argument. The Law Office of Gregory Chancy defends family violence and domestic violence battery charges, looking closely at the accusation, the relationship, and what the evidence actually shows. Call (770) 627-3221 for a free consultation.
Here is something most people do not realize until it happens to them: once a family violence call is made, the case takes on a life of its own. The accuser often cannot stop it, even when they want to. The state, not the alleged victim, decides whether to prosecute, and these cases move forward on their own momentum once they start. This page is for anyone facing a family violence or domestic violence charge who needs to understand what they are up against and how it can be defended.
What separates this kind of charge from an ordinary one is the relationship, not the conduct. The underlying act might be a simple battery or a criminal trespass, but because it allegedly happened between people in a domestic relationship, the law treats it more harshly and attaches consequences that reach into your home, your family, and your right to own a firearm. That is a heavy weight to carry from a single accusation, and it is often an accusation made in the heat of a bad moment. What you do in the hours and days after a charge can shape how the whole case turns out.
Family violence is not a separate charge on its own. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-13-1, it is an enhancement that attaches to an underlying offense when that offense happens between people in a specific relationship. The underlying offenses include assault, simple assault, battery, simple battery, stalking, criminal damage to property, criminal trespass, and unlawful restraint.
The relationship is what pulls a case under the family violence law. It applies between current or former spouses, parents and their children, people who share a child, stepparents and stepchildren, foster parents and foster children, and people who currently live together or once did. There is also an important limit written into the statute. Family violence does not include reasonable discipline of a child by a parent or guardian, such as ordinary corporal punishment, as long as it does not rise to the level of abuse. That line between discipline and abuse is one that some of these cases turn on, and it is one a defense can press where the facts support it.
A protective order, sometimes called a restraining order, often arrives alongside a family violence charge and changes your life right away. A court can issue a temporary protective order quickly, and it can require you to leave your home, stay away from your children, and give up certain rights before you have ever told your side of the story. The person seeking the order is the petitioner, and the person being restrained is the respondent.
If a protective order is entered against you, following it to the letter matters, because violating one is its own criminal offense and carries serious penalties on top of the original charge. There are also ways to respond rather than simply absorb it. The law allows a respondent to seek a counter or mutual protective order through a verified petition within a set time after the original hearing, under the process in O.C.G.A. § 19-13-3. How the protective order is handled is part of the defense, not a side issue running next to it.
A family violence defense is built on the relationship, the evidence, and the credibility of the accusation. These cases are often driven by emotion and conflict, and a charge can come out of a heated argument, a divorce, or a custody fight where one side has a reason to exaggerate or invent what happened. The defense looks hard at the accuser’s account, whether it has stayed consistent from the first call to the courtroom, and whether there is a motive sitting behind it.
Self-defense is a common and legitimate defense here, because the right to protect yourself does not vanish inside a domestic relationship. Beyond that, the defense examines the physical evidence, any injuries and what they actually show about how an encounter happened, the order of events, and whether the state can prove its case beyond the accusation itself. A great many of these cases come down to one person’s word against another’s, and that is exactly the kind of case that careful, early work can pull apart before it ever reaches a jury.
The same act is punished more harshly when it falls under the family violence law than when it happens between strangers. A first family violence battery is usually charged as a misdemeanor, but it carries consequences a normal misdemeanor does not, and the picture changes fast with any prior history. A second or subsequent family violence battery conviction can be charged as a felony, with the prison exposure that comes with it.
The consequences also reach well past the sentence itself. A conviction can cost you the right to possess a firearm, affect custody and parenting time, and stay on a record that is difficult or impossible to clear later. For a lot of people, those lasting effects outlast anything the court orders directly, hitting jobs, housing, and family life for years. That is the real reason treating even a first charge as serious from day one matters so much: the sentence ends, but the record does not.
A family violence attorney protects you on two fronts at once: the criminal charge and the protective order that so often comes with it. The Law Office of Gregory Chancy takes these cases directly, examines the accusation and the evidence behind it, and works to keep a single difficult moment from hardening into a conviction that follows you for life.
The early days are where these cases are shaped. Counsel who is involved from the start can deal with the protective order correctly, advise you on contact and conduct while the case is open, and begin building the record that answers the accusation rather than letting it stand unchallenged. Call (770) 627-3221 or use the contact form to start.
Gregory Chancy, Esq. is the attorney and founder of the Law Office of Gregory Chancy. He guides clients through the legal process with personal attention, and he is available for free consultations. A family violence charge reaches into your home and your future, and Gregory takes the time to understand each case and to explain the options at every stage.
They are the same thing. State law uses the term family violence, while most people call it domestic violence. Both describe a criminal offense committed between people in a domestic or family relationship.
No. Once a charge is filed, the state decides whether to prosecute, not the alleged victim. A case can move forward even when the accuser wants it dropped, which is one reason to involve a defense attorney early.
A first family violence battery is usually charged as a misdemeanor, but it still carries serious consequences. A second or subsequent conviction can be charged as a felony, with prison exposure.
Violating a protective order is a separate criminal offense and carries its own penalties, including possible jail time. If an order is in place, following it exactly is essential while the case proceeds.
Yes. A conviction can result in the loss of firearm rights and can affect custody and parenting time. These collateral consequences are often as serious as the criminal penalty itself.
The Law Office of Gregory Chancy defends family violence cases across its service area. Call (770) 627-3221 to confirm the office covers your area and to set up a free consultation.
Violent crime accusations can have life-changing consequences. Protect your rights and secure a strong defense with the experienced attorneys at Cobb Criminal Defense. We’re here to stand by your side and fight for the best possible outcome.
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