Domestic assault

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We are a criminal defense law firm in located downtown Minneapolis serving the entire State of Minnesota, and we are able to provide an experienced lawyer to ensure our clients get the best possible criminal defense when accused of domestic assault.

Our experience here at the Wolfgram law firm reveals that many domestic assault cases are nothing more than an argument that resulted in the police being called.  In many instances the alleged victim does not even want the other party to be arrested.  

The problem is that law enforcement agencies in the state of Minnesota are required to make an arrest when there is even an allegation that someone is in fear of domestic assault.  This means that an arrest will be made regardless of what the alleged victim wants to happen.  

Once a person has been charged with domestic assault, their whole life is changed.  In over 90 percent of the cases an immediate Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO) is issued and the person charged with this offense is prohibited from returning home, prevented from having contact with the alleged victim, access to their family is cut off, and for many clients their employment is jeopardized.  Gun owners are required to surrender their guns, and may never be able to possess a gun again.  In addition to the immediate consequences of a domestic assault charge, these offenses are considered enhanceable.  This means if a person is convicted, and gets another domestic assault charged within 10 years, it will be charged as a gross misdemeanor and in some cases a felony.  In domestic assault cases where the alleged victim claims that their ability to breathe was restricted during the domestic assault, a felony is charged even in 1st offense cases.  

In many domestic assault cases, the alleged victim doesn’t want a Domestic Assault No Contact Order (DANCO) issued, but the prosecutor and the courts issue them without regard to the alleged victim's objections.  Alleged victims may not want anyone charged at all, but the state prosecutes and considers the crime a state offense and ignores the alleged victim’s pleas to return their loved one home to their family.  We know that the police ask leading questions and portray the incident in the worst possible way to support the arrest for domestic assault and write reports that are designed to lead to a conviction after the arrest.

Often, the alleged victim wants to assist the person charged with the offense and calls and writes the prosecutor in an attempt to assist the alleged offender.  THIS IS THE WRONG WAY for an alleged victim of domestic assault to assist the person charged with domestic assault and may actually make the defense more difficult.  

With more than 20 years of experience defending domestic assault cases we know the RIGHT WAY to assist alleged victims in putting their family back together again.  Our experience provides us with the background to ensure that our clients get a complete defense and we are very effective keeping these charges from having life long consequences over a minor dispute that is blown far out of proportion.