Washington State “Domestic Violence” Laws

What constitutes “Domestic Violence” in Washington State?

Domestic violence is defined under RCW 26.50.010 is defined as: physical harm, bodily injury, assault, the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, sexual assault, or stalking of one family or household member by another family or household member.

Who is a “family or household member” under the law?

The definition is surprisingly broad and includes “spouses, domestic partners, former spouses, former domestic partners, persons who have a child in common, adult persons related by blood or marriage, adult persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past, persons sixteen years of age or older who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past and who have or have had a dating relationship, persons sixteen years of age or older with whom a person sixteen years of age or older has or has had a dating relationship, and persons who have a biological or legal parent-child relationship, including stepparents and stepchildren and grandparents and grandchildren.” Thus, if you have ever had any previous contact with the other person the charge will probably qualifies for a “domestic violence” enhancement. While some of the categories make sense others are not so logical. Apparently it is worse to get in a fight with your brother than some stranger in the Lynnwood police station parking lot, or to slap your husband instead of your co-worker. The law may be well-intended, but can be ludicrous as applied.

What difference does a “domestic violence” designation make?

Of course nobody wants to be known as a perpetrator of domestic violence or suffer the social stigma that goes along with this designation. Beyond that there are some important practical and legal consequences. Domestic violence prosecution typically receives additional funding. In many jurisdictions this means there is a prosecutor hired strictly to prosecute domestic violence charges. Because of the political pressures prosecutors are more reluctant to negotiate domestic violence cases.

Most prosecutor’s offices have “domestic violence advocates.” This is a person that is theoretically hired to help domestic violence victims get essential service. Domestic violence advocates are a great resource victims that are scared or truly cannot help herself. However, in my experience these victims make up a very small minority of the overall number of so-called domestic violence victims (I do recognize that there are serious cases of domestic violence that exist and do not mean to minimize the impact of a serious assault on a victim). Instead, many “domestic violence advocates” are misused as an extra law enforcement arm that sees it’s job coerce witnesses into testifying and coach them on how to testify.

No contact orders are routinely entered when a domestic violence charge is filed. This may mean that you are excluded from your residence, your work or contacting your children. Most courts will not drop the order simply because you or the victim ask that for it to be quashed. There are strategies to increase your chances of dismissal of the domestic violence no contact order and a Lynnwood domestic violence attorney can help you with this.

Will I lose my firearm rights if convicted of domestic violence?

If you are convicted of a domestic violence offense, even a misdemeanor, you will lose your firearm rights. This right can be restored by a court after a minimum of three years. If the conviction that resulted in the disqualification is not a sex offense or class A felony, the person seeking restoration of his or her rights to possess a firearm must have no felonies that still count in his or her SRA offender score and must have spent five or more consecutive years in the community without having been convicted or currently charged with any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor. If the conviction was for a nonfelony offense, the individual must have completed all conditions of the sentence, must have no felony convictions that would count in an SRA offender score, and must have spent three or more consecutive years in the community without being convicted or currently charged with any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor offenses.

Can I ever remove a domestic violence conviction from my record? If the domestic violence was a “violent offense” felony under RCW 9.94A.030 you cannot have your firearms restored short of a pardon by the Governor. If you were convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence assault a court can vacate the conviction and expunge the domestic violence from your record if you have:

(i) provided written notification of the vacation petition to the prosecuting attorney’s office that prosecuted the offenseand the court;

(ii) have not been convicted previously for a domestic violence offense (two strikes and your out);

(iii) at least three years have elapsed (five years for some offenses) since the person completed the terms of the original conditions of the sentence;

(iv) have not been convicted of a new crime since the date of conviction;

(v) have never had the record of another conviction vacated; and

(vi) you are not the subject of a domestic violence protection order, a no-contact order, an antiharassment order, or a civil restraining order.

Can I just pay for the damages and ask them to drop the charges?

In general, a misdemeanor offense may be resolved with a Compromise of a Misdemeanor. This involves paying for the damages and the victim signing an affidavit indicating he or she does not want to prosecute. The court can then dismiss the charges on defense motion (although the court is not required to do so). Charges with a domestic violence tag are prohibited from this type of resolution. Occasionally, the prosecutor will agree to amend the charge to a non-domestic violence charge to allow for a Misdemeanor Compromise to be entered. This should always be negotiated through experienced counsel as there are too many traps for the ordinary citizen to fall in.

What if the victim drops the charges?

The prosecutor is the one that actually charges a domestic violence case and the only one that can drop it. The victim does not have the power to initiate or dismiss the charges. Legally the victim is simply a witness to the domestic violence. Prosecutors rarely listen to victim’s wishes to drop charges. It is important to understand that if there is a no contact order you cannot contact the other party to discuss this (or anything). Again, a Lynnwood domestic violence lawyer can help you through this process.

What can a good Lynnwood criminal defense attorney do for me?

Domestic violence cases are very emotional and political and must be handled with care. However, they are hard to prosecute if you have experienced counsel on your side. Because you often cannot have contact with the other party (and even if you can, you are not allowed to talk about the case or tamper with the witness in any way) a domestic violence attorney can help you in gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, arranging for retrieval of property, modifying no contact orders, negotiating a resolution that avoids the problems associated with domestic violence charges and preparing your Lynnwood domestic violence case for trial.

The Law Office of Scott Lawrence, PLLC represents clients charged with domestic violence assault, including King County, Snohomish County and other counties on a case-by-case basis, including Arlington, Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Brier, Edmonds, Everett, Issaquah, Kirkland, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mill Creek, Mukilteo, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Redmond, Sea-Tac, Seattle, Shoreline, Snohomish, Tukwila, and Woodway, Washington.