Affordable Domestic Violence Lawyers in Ottawa

The Canadian criminal code does not specifically address family violence as a separate offence although the crime of assault is clearly defined:

265 (1) A person commits an assault when

• (a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;
• (b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; or
• (c) while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or an imitation thereof, he accosts or impedes another person or begs.

This ranges from a fistfight where nobody is seriously injured to an organized assault with a deadly weapon that results in maiming or disfigurement.

When the violence is directed against a family member or someone with whom you share a domestic relationship, it is considered “domestic assault”.

Law enforcement in Ottawa will take it extremely seriously and an arrest will likely be made.

An emergency protection order (EPO) may be ordered by a judge in the case of alleged domestic assault.

It is a legally binding order designed to protect an alleged victim from further domestic violence by prohibiting the accused from going near or communicating with the party or parties who have allegedly been assaulted.

The order may also grant special powers to the police when dealing with the alleged perpetrator of the family violence.

With credible complaints of domestic assault, the court can impose an EPO without the accused being present.

Charges of domestic assault are highly emotional and stressful for those involved. During divorce cases especially, emotions such as anger and jealousy can lead to false allegations being made.

Defences against domestic assault often centre around the credibility of the complainant’s story when compared with the available evidence, such as witness testimony, phone records, video evidence, etc.

Another of the best defences is self-defence, though this can only be successfully argued when:

• Force is being used against you, or you had reasonable grounds to believe that force would be used against you;
• Your response to the threat was for the purpose of defending or protecting yourself from the threat or use of force;
• Your response was reasonable in the circumstances (depending on proportional force being used, your size compared to the complainant, and whether you were intoxicated at the time)

Violation of your Charter Rights by law enforcement is another commonly used defence in domestic assault cases. This can often lead to evidence being excluded and the prosecution’s case being severely weakened.

The person who accuses you in a domestic assault case cannot get the charges dropped even if they withdraw the complaint.

The Crown Attorney will decide whether to charge you or not and the original complainant can even be subpoenaed to appear in court to give evidence against their will.

So, the only way to get domestic violence charges dropped and avoid a criminal charge is by one of the following methods:

• A statutory or common law peace bond – you must agree to abide by certain court-ordered conditions for a set period of time
• Obtaining a discharge – in exchange for pleading guilty to a charge, you make a deal with the Crown Prosecutor to join you in an application for discharge prior to trial (only possible if you can prove that this is not contrary to the public interest)

The only other way to avoid a criminal record is to go to trial and be acquitted.