Los Angeles Domestic Violence Sentencing
What can you expect from the justice system when it comes to sentencing in Los Angles for domestic violence charges? This is the kind of thing that we want to take a look at today. Before we do though, it is important to note the increased seriousness that law enforcement now puts on charges of domestic violence. There was a time in society when such situations were more or less considered to be private affairs to be dealt with between spouses. That is not the case anymore.
Domestic violence is a very serious matter. It can result in felony charges being leveled against a suspect even if it is their first arrest. That is something to keep in mind when considering the sentencing for this type of crime. Law enforcement very much wants to crack down on the number of cases of domestic violence to help keep the public safe and to stop using so many resources on these situations.
Prison Or Probation?
Will a person receive a prison sentence for their domestic violence charges or will they simply have to serve some probation. This is obviously a very critical question for the person who is facing these charges in the first place. The answer to the question is a little complex. It is dependent upon if the crime is being charged as a felony or a lesser charge. That largely has to do with the details of the particular case. It also matters if this is the first time a person has been charged with this kind of offense in the past. First-time offenders are often given more leeway by the courts.
What Probation Looks Like
Probation in Los Angeles may be supervised or unsupervised at the discretion of the judge in the case. It is something that will require the guilty party to follow a number of guidelines with the state in order to remain in compliance with their probation terms.
Common guidelines for probation in domestic violence cases would be to have the guilty party complete anger management courses as well as possible serve some weekends in jail as well. There may be some emotional counseling sessions and dispute resolution courses also assigned to the guilty party. The purpose of all of these things of course is to make sure that the person who goes through these can come out the other end as an individual with more tools in their toolbox to work through some of the issues with anger and emotions that they might have.
The point of probation is not just to be punitive for the sake of doing so. Rather, the courts would like to help the people that they put through these programs get their lives a little more together. They want to help protect the public from outbursts from these types of individuals in the future, and they want to keep those who have already faced their wrath and anger from ever being harmed again.
All in all, the point of probation is to help a person straighten up their life and avoid making the same mistakes a second time. It is entirely possible that an individual could learn from their mistakes and actually get to the point where they are able to make better choices going forward.