I have written before that domestic violence is one of the most over-charged offenses in Ohio – probably the nation – given politics have corrupted common sense. What do I mean by this? Well, the police and prosecutors charge folks with domestic violence when, in reality, no one in their right mind would actually describe the conduct underlying the charge as “violent.” Are they wrong for doing so? In one sense, yes: a person should not be facing 6 months in jail, a $1,000.00 fine and other collateral consequences for literally pushing their significant other out of the way or poking them in the chest, for example. Yet, that constitutes domestic violence. This is a shock to many, which is why innumerable clients’ significant others have begged and pleaded that charges be dropped once cooler heads prevailed. Does the State listen to the pleas of the “victim”? Sometimes, but far too often they do not. In fact, it is not uncommon for prosecutors, detectives, and “victim’s advocates” to actually bully the victim – all in the name of protecting them. How does this happen?
A common scenario goes like this: husband and wife are arguing, it gets heated, and eventually they start physically struggling in some form or another. There are no punches thrown, there is no wielding of a weapon, but just pushing and shoving, etc. No one has any injuries, no medical attention is needed, they are just so upset with each other they can’t stand it. In effort to stop the arguing, one or both of the participants calls 911 – BIG MISTAKE. Once the police are involved, the husband is going to jail. Although both parties do not have any visible injuries to speak of, refuse any medical treatment, if the police are told that there was even the slightest bit of touching, they are going to arrest, period. Cops don’t show up to not arrest people, that is what they do, especially now that there is a mandatory arrest directive in cases of suspected domestic violence. It is like asking a a lion to not eat a steak sitting right under its nose, it isn’t going to happen. In short, I hear all the time that the wife “only wanted the police to make him leave for a bit to cool down, or to “come and tell him it is not ok to yell at me.” But once the police are involved, the victim’s intentions are irrelevant. The lesson here is that you should not involve the police unless you are actually in fear of suffering violence; do not attempt to use the police to negotiate peace in the home because the husband will be charged. Even if there is no actual injury? Yes.
The reason is that under Ohio law, there doesn’t actually have to be any real harm caused to the “victim.” Courts routinely hold that the “harm” required by statute can be “slight” or “fleeting.” In addition, the statute allows a conviction for attempting to cause harm, which means the scenario of a single push will suffice. This is why I say that domestic violence is often a misnomer, as no person using ordinary language would describe conduct that falls under that statute as “violence.”
To be sure, I have represented plenty of guys that have caused significant injury, significant harm to their wives and girlfriends such that all of use would say he was violent. but the point I am trying to convey is that not all domestic violence cases are created equal. Just because a guy is charged with domestic violence doesn’t mean he beat the hell out of his wife. It could mean that he pushed her or poked her in the chest, or attempted to do so.
The state of Ohio, however, sees it all as “violence.”
