Denver Domestic Violence Lawyer

Helping Victims in Jefferson, Douglas, Arapahoe, and Adams Counties

It’s not unusual for those in intimate relationships to disagree and even engage in heated arguments at times.  Domestic violence is something else.  It revolves around an ongoing pattern of verbal or physical abuse, including violence and threats of violence, in order for one person to control the behavior of another.

Domestic violence can lead to devastating outcomes for couples and for children, including psychological and physical harm, and in extreme cases, even death.  Domestic abuse can be perpetrated against women or men. 

Get in touch with our firm today to schedule your initial consultation. 

Whether you are the victim of domestic violence or someone has reported you for alleged domestic violence, it’s important to understand that such cases are often fast tracked for the safety of victims.  In other words, it is imperative that you obtain qualified legal representation from the experts at Curtis Law Firm to ensure that you receive sound legal advice and that justice is served in your domestic violence cases.

What Is Domestic Violence?

This may seem like a silly question, but different states have different legal definitions, so it’s important to understand what is regarded as domestic violence (as opposed to other forms of violence) in the state of Colorado.  Colorado Revised Statutes categorizes domestic violence as “an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship”.

However, it is not a standalone offense, as with, say, a physical assault, which is why the Statute goes on to say that domestic violence “includes any other crime against a person, or against property, including an animal, or any municipal ordinance violation against a person, or against property, including an animal, when used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge directed against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship”.

What qualifies as an intimate relationship?  According to the Statute, it is “a relationship between spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, or persons who are both the parents of the same child regardless of whether the persons have been married or have lived together at any time”.

Mandatory Arrests

In the state of Colorado, legal authorities take decisive action whenever there is a report of domestic violence, and this includes following the mandatory arrest law.  If police are called to assess a situation where harassment, abuse, or physical violence has occurred, they determine probable cause, and they discover that the alleged victim and offender are in (or were in) an intimate relationship, they must arrest the offender immediately for the safety of everyone involved.

Offenders will be taken to jail and remain in custody until a judge sets a bond.  Charges of domestic violence will be added to other criminal charges in the domestic violence case as an aggravating offense, or “sentence enhancer”.  The case cannot be dismissed just because the victim decides not to press charges. A criminal protection order will be put in place until either the case is dismissed or the guilty person has met all the conditions of their punishment.