New Orleans Domestic Violence Legal Questions Answered

Seth: One thing we do at Bloom Legal that’s, you know, one of the most difficult kind of cases we take on is domestic violence. It was something that people didn’t talk about 20, 30 years ago, and during the 1990s, a lot of federal money poured down in the state offices and they really started prosecutors across the country, especially in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, really started cracking down any sort of domestic abuse. So, these are cases we get in frequently. If the police go to someone’s house, almost always alcohol’s involved. There is a husband and a wife, a girlfriend, boyfriend or whatever, whatever it is between two partners, get into a fight, they make the criteria for being a domestic violence battery. And then it goes from there. And It’s awful…often an ugly situation that people really need a lot of legal help.

David: It’s very true and it is something that we see all the time now. There is even a domestic violence between dating partners which is something that you don’t even have to be married if you’ve been dating for a while. And there is different types of domestic violence. There is the misdemeanor domestic abuse battery which is a very common charge. We’ve seen a lot of clients, you know, be arrested for it lately. And there are a lot of criteria for that if you are in the court system. They could affect you especially if you don’t live in the state of Louisiana. You know, there’s things regarding a bond where you cannot leave the state. Oftentimes in New Orleans in Orleans Parish, you have to enroll in a domestic violence court intervention program which is something that you have to attend every week. So, that’s something to be cognizant of going into it.

Seth: So David, what I’m hearing from you is if someone does get arrested for domestic violence, whether they live here or whether they are just here for one of our great holidays, for Sugar Bowl, for New Year’s, and they are going back to Texas or Florida or wherever, they really should hire an attorney because there’s things like getting enrolled in domestic violence. There is filing a motion to leave jurisdiction. There is getting an attorney to stand in for you, for updates. So, I think those are the kind of things that we’re talking about that people could often get lost in. And another time is we deal with a lot of clients that don’t take it seriously.

David: Very true.

Seth: Maybe discuss some of the elements because this is a domestic…domestic violence is a misdemeanor. Maybe talk a little about what’s unique about that misdemeanor.

David: Well, that type of misdemeanor, domestic violence is not a typical misdemeanor. It’s something that if you’re convicted of it, you can never get it off your record as the law is written now in Louisiana. It’s something that as we discussed, you have to enroll in a domestic violence intervention program. It is also oftentimes something that you cannot receive an ROR bond, which is basically a bond where the judge will let you out on your own recognizance, meaning that you’re gonna have to pay either a cash bond or use a bondsman. And that’s a whole nother issue of using a bondsman if you are not from the state of Louisiana. When you’re out on bond, you cannot leave the jurisdiction unless the court gives you permission. And so, a lot of times, you need the bondsman’s approval as well, which is something that obviously, we can work as attorneys to get the bondman approval, get the court approval, so you can return home, and, you know, go…continue with your life working and that sort of thing. And we can actually even have you sign a waiver, to where we can appear in court for you for these misdemeanor charges to get updates and things of that nature until they…the formal charges are filed and they hit the court system. At which point, obviously, we will continue being your attorney and being with you in court at every step of the way.

Seth: I think one thing unique about Bloom Legal is we not only defend people that have been accused of domestic battery because some of them are guilty of it, some of them aren’t. We have a lot that aren’t.

David: Absolutely.

Seth: But in addition to that, we’ve also do victims advocacy and represent victims that are…have been abused…

David: Absolutely.

Seth: …and make sure they, you know, get justice in the criminal justice system here as well.

David: Yeah. And that’s something that we also handle very often. So, we’ve worked on both sides of these cases and it’s, like you said, a hot button issue these days and definitely something that we’re seeing more and more of, more people arrested for. And a lot of times when the police do go out, they have to arrest someone.

Seth: Right.

David: So, you know, someone usually will end up in jail and that is when they need an attorney and when they need to call us at Bloom Legal.

Seth: So, if you or anyone else needs help with a domestic violence charge, whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, give us a call here at Bloom Legal, 504-599-9997. Thanks so much.