Are you finding yourself working from home with your significant other? Have the tensions already run high? Sometimes they can just make you so angry you snap. These are very trying times for relationships. You are probably spending more time with your partner than usual and in a confined space. It is very easy to lose your cool. It is these times where you may find yourself in a position where the police have been called to your residence to investigate a domestic assault or threat.
If you are involved in a domestic incident with your partner and the police are called, you are going to be in a tough spot. If you are arrested for assault or uttering threats against your partner, there are going to be some serious immediate consequences. Not only will you be given a date in which you must attend court which will be sometime in the future, you will also be given other conditions which you must abide by for the foreseeable future. The most common and difficult conditions are the area restrictions not to attend the residence that the incident took place and the no contact order you will be put on with your partner. You may also face conditions such as no weapons or knives or no alcohol or drug consumption.
So what do you do if you have been put on these types of conditions? How do you remove them or alter them so that you can go home or speak to your partner? Usually, you can apply to the courts to vary the conditions or have a conversation with Crown Counsel. However, during the COVID-19 outbreak the courts are hearing emergency applications only and those applications will only go ahead if a judge determines that they are in fact an emergency. You are looking at not having a court date until after May 16, 2020. That could be months after the original incident. You may have nowhere to go, not working to be able to afford your own place, and your immediate support system is now gone. If you do contact them or try to go home you will be in breach of your conditions and may be facing additional charges.
We at Acumen Law understand what you are going through and we want to make it as minimally invasive as possible in these trying times. This may include speaking with the arresting officer immediately following your arrest to discuss your conditions. We will talk with the arresting officer regarding the option of a limited no contact condition or limited area restriction with the consent of your partner. This way you may be able to stay in your residence or still be able to contact your support person in these difficult times.
If you are involved in a domestic incident with your partner, contact Acumen Law immediately for a free consultation at 604-685-8889.
