Required

Virginia Domestic Violence Arrests

When Virginia police officers are dispatched to a domestic disturbance and they arrive and it appears clear to them that some form of assault has taken place or some form of domestic violence has taken place, they are required under their general orders to arrest the person they believe committed the act. Once this has taken place, getting the help of anĀ experienced domestic violence attorney is very important.

How Arrests Take Place

The majority of arrests that take place in Virginia are actually quite similar to arrests involving domestic violence because the majority of arrests do not come after an arrest warrant has been issued. Police can arrest people without a warrant under a great many conditions under the laws of Virginia.

There are some cases where the police must obtain an arrest warrant prior to arresting a person. The majority of cases in Virginia do not require an arrest warrant before an arrest is made.

Probable Cause

Probable cause is bigger than Virginia law. It is a constitutional term that requires police to have a reason to believe that some crime has been committed. Probable cause is a very gray area and is one of those things that legal scholars debate furiously as to what level of proof is required. Generally speaking, it is accepted that one word to gauge proof is zero being no proof whatsoever and 100 being incontrovertible proof. Probable cause is somewhere in the 40s.

Post Arrest Process

Once an arrest has taken place the individual will be physically taken into custody and usually put in the back of a police car where they are taken to the jail to meet a magistrate. The magistrate will issue an arrest warrant based upon the sworn statements of the police officer who arrested the person. Then the magistrate will consider the issue of whether or not to allow that person to post any kind of a bond so the person can be released from jail prior to his or her trial.

If the magistrate issues a bond, then they should be released shortly after they have posted that bond. However, if the magistrate decides to not issue a bond for that person, then the person must sit in jail until their trial happens or until they hire an attorney to come to court on their behalf and file a bond motion in front of a judge.

In the vast majority of these cases, the best evidence that the police have comes right from the defendant. For that reason alone, people need to not talk to the police until they have had a chance to consult with an attorney to determine whether or not it’s a good idea to talk to the police.

Contacting a Lawyer

Once a person is arrested, the police are going to continue to want to talk to that person about what happened. Having an attorney by their side early on in the process can assist them in shutting that down.

If charged, please contact an experienced lawyer today to help analyze and build a case.