Legal Question in Family Law in Florida
Criminal Domestic Battery
My boyfriend was arrested for Domestic Battery in Ft. Lauderdale. It is his first offense. No firearms involved. It is a Class A misdeameaner. He did not make bond (his bond amount was $7500) and he has been in jail awaiting the hearing for over 6 weeks. The State decided to press charges last week. The hearing date for the charges has not yet been set. He has no money, no car and no job.I have a Domestic Violence injunction restraining order that gives me Possession of the Home, so he also has no place to live. The restraining order is also No Contact. I have 2 questions:
1) tomorrow his public defender has a hearing scheduled on my boyfriend's behalf for a Motion to Release on His Own Recognizance. How likely is it that this will be granted and he will be released tomorrow and be out of jail until the Domestic Battery hearing date?
2) When the hearing for the Domestic Battery charges finally occurs, and IF the judge orders him to attend a ''court ordered'' batterer's program or other counseling programs, who pays for the program? As my boyfriend has no money nor assets, does the court pay for the program? Or do they tell him to get a job and find the money to pay for it himself?
Thank you for your help.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Criminal Domestic Battery
With no prior record, the judge may grant him an ROR, but is more likely to just lower his bond. Also, when he goes to court he will most likely be made some kind of an offer. With 6 weeks in, and it being his first offense, he may be able to resolve his case, if that is what he wants to do. If he receives probation, he will have to go to the batterer's intervention program. The Court will expect him to find a job and to attend 26 classes. I tell my clients that each class is worth at least one day in jail. Failure to go, and to pay - they usually won't let a person take the class if they aren't paying, can result in up to a year in jail and most judges are not afraid to give that out.
Good luck & I hope this helps.
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