In rendering the judgment, the Court is also mandated to make an appropriate record that supports the reasons for the judgment. The statement of judgment does not have to be a long enumeration of the reasons, but the Court must make a sufficient record to support the judgment. A conviction for domestic violence, even if it is your first offense, can have potentially serious consequences with far-reaching impacts on your future, your family and your freedoms. Colorado law is very detailed and clear about the process and procedures that must be followed by the Colorado Springs police officer who responds when arriving at the scene of incidents involving alleged domestic violence.
Domestic violence also includes any other crime against a person or their property (such as a pet) when used to coerce, control, punish, intimidate, or take revenge on a current or former partner. Online or correspondence classes have not been approved by the Colorado Domestic Violence Offender Management Board, as they do not meet the requirement of court-ordered treatment for domestic violence offenders. In addition to penalties for battery, the defendant may face additional penalties related to domestic violence. Supervised probation is generally considered important for domestic violence offenders, even though there is no legal requirement.
According to the State of Colorado, domestic violence is a threat or an act of violence against a person that the perpetrator had or is in an intimate relationship with. Colorado also has a unique restraining order called an “extreme risk protection order,” which requires alleged offenders to surrender their firearms if they are believed to be at risk of committing firearm violence. This means that under Colorado law, El Paso County prosecutors can present evidence that previous convictions for crimes such as disturbing the peace or battery “included an act of domestic violence, even if jurors in those previous cases did not reach the same conclusion. With a qualified domestic violence lawyer, your charges may be reduced to spousal assault, which could mean no or less jail time and fines.
Under Colorado law, the definition of domestic violence is “an act or threat of act of violence against a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship. Taking a stand against your abuser can be a scary and stressful situation, but a Colorado domestic violence lawyer can help you. Domestic violence charges cannot be dismissed unless a prosecutor declares under oath in court that he cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court can always order the evaluation and treatment of domestic violence, even if the defendant is not convicted of a crime involving domestic violence.
Intimate partners, for example, don't have to live together or be married to start a domestic violence charge. If a person has three criminal convictions for domestic abuse in Colorado, they are labeled as a habitual domestic violence offender.