Domestic Assault Lawyers

Answer: Domestic assault charges apply in any case where a person is alleged to have assaulted someone that they have a spousal relationship with. This clearly applies to husbands and wives (even if they are separated and not living together) but can also include boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, same-sex relationships, common law marriages, and any relationship where a couple shares a child. The crown attorney and police treat domestic assault allegations very seriously and apply a zero tolerance approach to their enforcement and prosecution. Once a spouse has called police to report an assault, no amount of explaining or pleading will prevent a charge from being laid. In almost every case, the spouse alleged to have committed the domestic assault will be arrested, held for a bail hearing, and not be permitted to return to the family home or have any contact with the other spouse and children, until after the trial is completed. These harsh actions will be taken even if the complaining spouse later claims that nothing happened and even if he / she does not want to ‘press charges’. Crowns will not drop these charges nor will they consent to conditions allowing the family to get back together. In domestic assault cases it is vital that you retain a good criminal lawyer immediately. In many cases, it is wise for both spouses (even the one not charged with the offence) to hire a criminal lawyer. Our Toronto domestic assault lawyers have a wealth of experience conducting bail hearings and trials for people in these difficult circumstances. Bytensky Prutschi Shikhman Criminal Law Firm has had great success convincing Judges and Justices of the Peace to allow families to live together for the many months it takes for a case to come to trial in our backlogged justice system.

Answer: Once the report of domestic violence is received, the police will be dispatched. Even if another party or the same party calls back to say it was a mistake or that nothing happened, the call will be followed up by the police.

When they arrive, the police will separate people and begin their investigation. In our experience, it’s very unusual for them to question anyone other than the person who they think is the “victim” of the domestic violence. There is, in Ontario, a zero tolerance policy regarding domestic assault. If an allegation of domestic assault has been made, police must lay a charge and Crown Prosecutors must prosecute the charge. Once the charge is laid and the arrest is made, in the vast majority of domestic assault cases, the police will not exercise their discretion to release the person without a bail hearing.

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