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LOUISVILLE CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY
For twenty (20) plus years the Louisville Criminal Defense Attorney has operated as your the Louisville Assault Attorney in the capacity of Assault First Degree Attorney, Assault 2nd Degree Lawyer, Assault 4th Degree Attorney, Domestic Assault Attorney, DVO Attorney, EPO Attorney, Strangulation Attorney, Intimidating a Witness Attorney, Terroristic Threatening Attorney, Harassing Communications Lawyer, Menacing and search for the best assault attorney near me, assault lawyer near me or the best criminal attorney near me.
LOUISVILLE ASSAULT ATTORNEY
Assault Charges and Domestic Assault Charges normally end in arrest in Louisville and it is made really difficult because they claim they are a "no drop county." Assaulting or hitting someone in Louisville, or anywhere in Kentucky, will get you charged with the crime of Assault. There are four degrees of assault. Assault in the First Degree through Fourth Degree depending on the injuries, whether weapons were used or the status of the person hit. Assault Third is only on Peace Officers, LMPD, KSP, Sheriffs, etc.
The Louisville Criminal Defense Attorney has concluded Louisville is a great place to try an assault. Whether it is a felony or misdemeanor, a simple assault or a domestic assault, Louisville is a great place for defense lawyers and an excellent venue for criminal assault trials. Louisville demographics and the blue-collar makeup of the town seems to give the whole town a feeling of "well, you shouldn't have fought," or "why would you get the police involved, " or "they should have known better." Also, if contacing us search for criminal assault attorney near me or assault lawyer near me.
Case and point is a trial the Louisville Criminal Attorney started on August 2, 2022. The Louisville Assault Trial ended on Friday, August 5, 2022 in an acquittal for the client. NOT GUILTY ON August 5, 2022. https://youtu.be/CQN8xlXdP1g.
Criminal assault cases in Louisville have an "exception" rule and from the specific locations in the exception its sentiments seem to permeate everywhere in the venue. Coining the term in my early 20's with some friends, as a criminal defense attorney I adopted the exceptions and would go on to expand on them. In the day it was simple when dealing with two exceptions. The "Phoenix Hill Exception" and the "Toy Tiger Exception" were the exceptions. The Phoenix Hill Exception and The Toy Tiger Exception after repeated acquittals of bad bar fights implied that the juries won't convict bar fights in Louisville, Kentucky. Newer exceptions have since come about since those bars are no longer in existence. The "Cahoots Exception", The "Spanish Cove Exception", The "Club 21 (Preston & Hill) Exception", and in undergraduate "The Tavern (4th Street)" would have been an exception, but then they made it a nice place until it burned down. Looking at the "Exceptions List," 4 of the bars listed were/are on Bardstown Road.
Juries in Louisville, like bouncers, do not seem to care about guys fighting each other, random or otherwise, if you are out bar hopping and drinking. Let's step back Louisville and ask ourselves, can you think of any other city, anywhere, where the bars are open until 4:00 a.m. and people don't start going out until 11:00? At least that is the way it was when I went out and I am 50 years old, about the mean age of the Louisville Juror. The first jury trial I had was knife versus 2x2 club. Knife wins and knife gets indicted for Assault in the First Degree. Knife is acquitted at trial as quickly as they could pick a foreperson. The winner of a fight is 99% chance of being charged. I am guessing at the percentage, but it would be high. This trial is on the
Youtube Channel: KY Real Criminal Defense Attorney Brendan McLeod. It is an Assault in the First Degree Crime and my first trial. On to the more specific assaults dealing with domestic violence.
Domestic Violence and Abuse
No one should hit a woman. I have involved myself physically in domestic arguments among strangers and and I will not let domestic problems happen around me. However, I have had clients tell me that they never hit a woman they were seeing and they explain it. This is where you have to get to know your clients well. You also have to debunk the myth that if the officers arrest you then you did something wrong. And in domestics, the officers are not leaving unless one of the parties is coming along down to jail. More likely than not, the guy. Your clients start seeing the wrong person and the wrong person likes to throw up a bunch of shade and drama and then allege domestic violence when your client is leaving them.
Why domestics are winnable, often.
Well, a fair portion of my clients will describe the female counterpart as, bipolar, 0-60 to breaking stuff in 3 seconds, and unpredictable. This female we will call Psycho and they do exist in modest frequency.
The officers arrested my client, your brother, your son, your daughter, whomever. Now, when figuring whether the girlfriend/wife or boyfriend/husband did something, you need more than your client to figure it out. Never ask the parents of your client about them until your investigation is over, because parents are going to hate whomever their child is dating or are married to, anyway.
The Psycho, the female crazy and everyone has and knows one or many, in their extended family. The Psycho has a male counterpart or mirror image.
The SLICK guy, see definition of PSYCHO above but with a twist. Slick guy will punch a girl, tell stories about how great he is and is probably an only child. But, unlike the PSYCHO who throws the violence onto you, SLICK goes with the flow. Slick is one who champions throwing up all the shade and drama and when police are called and arrive, his recitation of the facts make sense and the lady goes downtown to the book. SLICK
and PSYCHO
are easy to defend a case against not only in Emergency Protective Order Hearings, but in criminal trials to acquittal.
Everyone else, between PSYCHO and SLICK are in a grey area and have to be analyzed on a case by case basis.
Louisville Criminal Defense Lawyer
ASSAULT CRIME ATTORNEY
BE AWARE: Jefferson County is the "no drop" county.
"NO DROP" policy of Louisville / Jefferson County, Kentucky. Louisville, and the county attorney, has declared this a "no drop" zone in regards to domestic violence. This is a good policy if everyone was honest. They are not. When they are not honest and caught up in the drama and shade in the guise of a "domestic occurrence" they cannot back out. The "victim" cannot get away from what was spent into action and the Defendant cannot escape short of a trial or pleading guilty to something they didn't do.
That is a huge problem.
This happens all the time. I win a high percentage of Emergency Protective Order Hearings and the majority have a criminal case the accompanies this EPO. So, if a judge in family court determines there is no domestic violence, and the standard of preponderance is so much lower than criminal's beyond a reasonable doubt, then the criminal case should be dismissed, right? No, I have had prosecutors move forward saying that the EPO is a limited evidentiary hearing, he/she wasn't represented by counsel, that they just don't care what had happened. Or they want to pass it for 3 months with no problems and they will dismiss the case. They are quick to point out that we would be hard pressed to get to trial in 3 months. They also will try to add counseling and any follow up as suggested and they ripen the deal by saying they will lift the no-contact order if this is agreed upon.
Your client must understand they have to persevere. If a relationship is of the quality that someone is going to jail, the relationship is likely over, if it hadn't been over, already, for years. Maybe it is time for themselves to be honest.
So the no contact stays in place through criminal court, one party is not at their normal home, usually and life drudges along.
Don't take this deal. Give me a call. DON'T FORGET TO GO TO MY YOUTUBE SITE BELOW AND SUBSCRIBE! THANKS!
CLICK THESE WORDS TO GO to the statutes controlling domestic violence.
There is no difference regarding assault versus domestic assault as the elements of the crime are the same. It is an internal classification that tailors and stores the difference. Assault in the 4th Degree (Domestic) is enhanceable and if you are charged with a 3rd Assault 4 in 5 years it ceases to become a misdemeanor and is promoted to a Class D Felony.
Assault in the Third degree is hyphenated because it would never be domestic. Pay attention to that statute because it is a felony assault because of the person's position. YOU ONLY HAVE TO ATTEMPT TO CAUSE HARM.
Self Defense : Perfect and Imperfect Self Defense
Self Defense can hold the person assaulting someone completely as never having committed a crime, or the crime of assault. It can also be held that self defense was justified, but that excessive force was used. This is termed imperfect self defense. The key to use of a knife, gun or other weapon in self defense is the
subjective
belief of the person asserting self defense. Was this level of force necessary when they had been attacked? If you talk to a Louisville criminal defense lawyer, then they should know the law of self defense.
Your criminal attorney needs to know evidence law and how it affects what is admissible in a self defense case. Necessary force and this subjectivity. What do you mean?
Like other areas of law, the subjective belief of someone is what they believed at the time self defense was used and was it justified. So, it is not what the reasonable person believes at the time, but instead what the assaulter believed at the time of the event. So, it is often important to know if the person asserting self defense knew the person stabbed. What did he know about him? It helps in regards to use of force if he knew the person assaulted and knows that he had a violent history, liked to fight, had seriously harmed people he had fought before and he had heard he actually killed someone in his past.
It doesn't matter if the reputation of the person assaulted was right or wrong, it only hinges upon whether the person assaulting someone thought it was. If these were what we knew about this person it would seem as though self defense was lining itself up as a privilege that negates all culpability. It would be shaping up as perfect self defense.
Now, the jury would have to go back in the jury room and discuss everything about the case. They would be instructed that they should look at the case as though they were the defendant himself and with all the knowledge about the victim that he knew. They are instructed that although it is subjective, it has to be reasonable. He can't be afraid of martians and ...
Self Defense in Kentucky is strong. It becomes a negative element of the crime of Assault. The prosecution has to believe each element of the crime and also the negative of self defense, beyond a reasonable doubt. So, in plain language the prosecution has to convince the jury that all the elements of the assault occurred and that the Defendant was not entitled to self defense. Not entitled to it "beyond a reasonable doubt." It becomes the prosecution's burden. It is great.
I love to try the assault cases. Like I said, if even a remotely fair fight and the jury finds complete self defense.
Here is a clip from an Assault First Degree Trial. Although my client is very intelligent, which alway helps, he also knew and was entitled to fight for himself.
Best Domestic Violence Attorney in Louisville
Domestic abuse is misconduct that is multi jurisdictional. Domestic Violence not only has a criminal court aspect, but the Emergency Protective Order is a type of restraining order issued out of Jefferson Family Court. If the domestic charge is egregious enough then the federal government has simultaneous jurisdiction, to. The standard for a criminal trial is "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt," but only "preponderance of the evidence" in a civil proceeding.
All this rolls and spindles uphill to the Federal Domestic Engine that further defines these infractions, criminal and civil.
We try to beat the EPO, and are very successful, often leading to dismissal in criminal court.
As a side, domestic violence is created by drama and fabricated to get particular humans to the position they desire. I have video of EPO Hearings where the alleged domestic victim fabricated the story in an effort to obtain citizenship. An illegal immigrant that is victim to domestic violence qualifies immediately for a permanent green card status.
Domestic Violence Quickie: the history, policy, those that gaff the system, those that bust them and the REDNECK CUSTODY HEARING (variation of the redneck divorce. See next section of webpage.)
In the next section of this webpage, I give an overview of domestic violence. How it is promulgated from the federal government, to the states, to each municipality.
As stated, the research of Domestic Abuse, Violence, and assaultive behavior is for the purpose of helping the general public. Educate the public and domestic violence will decrease.
Liars. Inevitably, people will use the laws, meant to be for the good of the public, for their own benefit.
Who would do this? No way!?! Yep, way.
Here is an EPO hearing where there was an EPO and an Assault 4 in Criminal Court Pending.
Don't lie in front of me and in open court because I will stop your gaffing!
The Redneck Custody Hearing. This video is someone who was attempting a the beginning of the Redneck Custody Hearing much like the Redneck Divorce explained in the Overview, next section of the webpage.
It is really unimaginable that someone would outright lie from the police officers at the scene, to filling out a petition for an Emergency Protective Order to testifying under oath in the hearing.
Well, it happens, often. This video is one.
Domestic Violence Law: Overview by Brendan McLeod Kentucky Domestic Law up to U.S. Domestic Law
Domestic Violence and Abuse Law and its current state in Kentucky, Louisville and other counties, distinguished.
An in depth overview of the laws regarding Domestic Abuse and how they reach the states from central government. Also, the Redneck Divorce.
Having taught Business Law at the University of Louisville I found this type of information interesting to students (as much as it can be), and the public.
If you are arrested for a domestic violence assault crime or even terroristic threatening crime which includes physical, emotional and psychological abuse, you become a statistic in a much bigger picture created by the Federal Government. All areas of domestic violence are tracked by the federal government by reporting requirements of local municipalities. Domestic Abuse Crime is a catch all to include assault crime, terroristic threatening crime, harassment crime, intimidating a witness crime, violation of an emergency protective orders and many others.
Domestic Abuse, just like many other areas of policy and law are promulgated from the federal government to the states. If you were arrested in Louisville for domestic violence crime then you need a domestic assault attorney in Louisville for the job. The Congress is known for its power of the purse, or its ability to divert federal money to individual states. In getting individual states to adopt standards that the Federal Government thinks are best it will tempt the states with Federal money. (i.e, "Every state that implements the .08 standard for DUI will receive an extra $300 million for infrastructure repair.")
The government uses positive reinforcement so that the states implement a more harse "negative reinforcment" for citizens, misgivings, or breaking the law. DUI threshold for Kentucky is now .08. This .08 is signifcantly down from .15 that was not even 20 years ago. The laws in regards to DUI have gotten much more stiff. What I am noticing is longer suspension rates, larger fines and 3rd party technology such as Ignition Interlock Device (IID) and SCRAM systems you put on your body. Louisville Domestic Violence Crime laws are implemented to be lockstep with what the federal government mandates, requiring you to protect your self and get the best Assault Crime Attorney you can. Even in the ranks of cities that share much smaller counties a Domestic Assault Crime Attorney is necessary to prevent a charge that can ruin your reputation and criminal record.
Domestic Violence Crime, as stated, is something the Federal Government researches and tries its best to lower its rate. To lower the occurrence of Domestic Abuse Crime, the Federal Government follows the same positive enforcement incentives that DUI law. Research dollars have poured into the "cycle of domestic violence" and its affect on individuals, families and development of children in that kind of environment. Individuals my age can probably remember a time when there was NO domestic violence. Well, there was plenty to go around, but there was no branding, or telling people "that is domestic violence that you are witnessing." And I don't recall many people, couples or otherwise, arrested for domestic violence. Like many other things in United States History, it was much the "Toys in the Attic" problem. You don't see what you don't want other people to see and neighbors knew better than to get involved. I bet if you ask someone in their mid-50's and older if they had heard of Anger Management growing up the answer is no. Batterer's Intervention Program (BIP) and other programs, as well.
Domestic violence and abuse is often outed and made public because of the effort of Government to brighten the lights on perpetrators. So, awareness and the outing of offenders is a positive outcome. Educating the public and creating a society of awareness is also a positive.
Louisville Assault Attorney
18 USCS 922(g) Prohibited persons...
What you or your attorney doesn't know can hurt you!!
FEDERAL ASSAULT ATTORNEY - 18 USCS 922(g)
DANGEROUS FEDERAL PREEMPTION OF THE LAW.
YOU BETTER KNOW THE LAW. Your Attorney better know it !!!!
Arrested for a Domestic Violence Charge you better think about it again and you better get the best criminal defense attorney you can find. The ramifications for domestic are some of the furthest reaching set of statutes that any defendant will ever face. Kentucky Statutes which address domestic violence and domestic assault are published under KRS 403 and also the Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 508. However, it does not end there.
18 USCS 922 is a federal Statute which preempts any state statutes controlling domestic violence, assault and the legal repercussions. 18 USCS 922 is simply titled "Unlawful Acts" in the Federal Code Books. To be sure, 18 U.S.C.S. 922(g)1-9 is titled Firearm Possession Prohibition Federal Law. The subsection (g) reads in its entirety as:
Specifically, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1-9) prohibits the following from possessing, shipping/transporting, or receiving any firearm or ammunition:
(1) a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding one year;
(2) a person who is a fugitive from justice;
(3) a person who is an unlawful user of or who is addicted to a controlled substance;
(4) a person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or who has been admitted
to a mental institution;
(5) an alien who is unlawfully in the United States or who has been admitted to the
United States under a nonimmigrant visa;
(6) a person who has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable
conditions;
(7) a person who, having been a citizen of the United States, renounces his citizenship;
(8) a person subject to a court order that was issued after a hearing in which the person
participated, which order restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening
an intimate partner or partner’s child, and which order includes a finding that the
person is a credible threat to such partner or partner’s child, or by its terms prohibits
the use, attempted use or threatened use of such force against such partner or
partner’s child;
(9) a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
WHAT YOUR ATTORNEY DOESN'T KNOW CAN HURT YOU!
If you are arrested for domestic violence, such as an assault, it is bad. However, if you are convicted or plea to a domestic violence charge then you have just created an irreversibly horrible situation. This is further exacerbated if you work in law enforcement or if you are in the military. Well, take if further. If you have a job requiring you to possess a gun then a domestic violence plea or conviction will take that right from you for the rest of your life. Yes, forever.
For real, for real.
It gets easier to lose your right to bear arms. You don't even need to take a criminal charge against someone in order to take away there right to possess a firearm. An Emergency Protective Order, or EPO, is a civil proceeding that acts like a quick adjudication concerning domestic violence. The standard for a civil proceeding, like that of an EPO hearing, is Preponderance of the Evidence. This is the lowest standard in the law. Keep in mind that for a criminal charge to affect you the government would have to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This discussion is better off at a later time with more resources, but I say right now that people set themselves up worse than a sitting duck. To think that simply above preponderance of the evidence would result in the inability to possess or procure a firearm or handgun.
DO NOT BE LULLED INTO COMPLACENCY
Once set up with a room we unpacked, sat around for an hour or so and then we hit the vegas strip. Before, though, when you are served an EPO and if known or reported to have handguns or firearms, then the recipient, or respondent has until some timeframe to surrender the guns in their possession. The Sheriff's are quick to tell you that they will hold the guns for 3 years at which point they will return the guns, if the EPO turned DVO is not extended.
The Sheriff's keep their word and they will return the guns. To return the guns and to accept the guns from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department is illegal. Federal law precludes the return of any guns to anyone who fits in/qualifies with the 9 subsections under 18 USCS 922(g).
