Domestic Assault Charges in Ottawa
Céline Dostaler Domestic Assault Lawyer
Ottawa Criminal Lawyer Céline Dostaler offers a defence against domestic assault charges. Contact her to help protect your rights: 613.863.8595
Domestic Assault: Legal Defence
Domestic assaults include all the same types of assault listed in sections 265 of the Criminal code of Canada, but include a family dynamic. Regardless of a spouse’s wishes, if the police believe that they have enough evidence to prove that domestic violence has occurred, they must charge the accused.
When someone is charged with a domestic assault, they may face other issues, such as their desire to reunite with your family, their inability to see their children, their inability to communicate with their spouse, the financial and emotional difficulty of living away from home for an extended period of time, the use of criminal charges against them in family court proceedings, hardship caused by bail conditions, and family pressure to resolve the case as quickly as possible.
Communication with your spouse
Typically, communication between a couple is only restored after a plea of guilt, even when both parties want to resume the relationship. However, if you and your partner want to regain the right to speak with each other, Céline will schedule a hearing date in court to defend your rights to continue your relationship.
Possible Defences
There are many valid defences that can be used when someone is charged with domestic violence. Céline will meet with you to evaluate all the possible defences that can be raised at trial and create an appropriate strategy for your defence.
The Crown must prove that force was applied without consent, and they must show the consequences of the force. If there was no force or real threat of force, then there can be no assault.
If your spouse was attacking or threatening you, you were entitled to defend yourself. Self-defence is one of the most common defences used in domestic assault charges. When an accused person claims that he or she was acting in self-defence, the court’s role is to determine if the amount of force used was reasonable.
Céline Dostaler, an experienced criminal lawyer in Ottawa, can assist in maneuvering through your domestic assault charges.
