Domestic violence is a serious offense worth worrying about especially if you are being charged of the crime. Most of the these charges fall under felony or misdemeanor. Of course the charge of felony has more severe penalties such as imprisonment while the misdemeanor case only requires short period of jail time at the most. Individuals who are facing this type of charge should contact their attorney as soon as possible so they can discuss their case and get together their evidences and counter arguments in order to escape jail time.

You have to know the distinction between a felony and a misdemeanor before you take a closer look at the penalties. Misdemeanor are domestic violence cases that did not result into any injury or only slight injury at the most, while the felony charge resulted in serious injury. Some of the times, prosecutors can jump the charge to a felony if the defendant already committed violent acts prior to the case.

Not all penalties are the same for domestic violence, whether misdemeanor or felony. It differs from state to state, the level of the crime and the past convictions of the defendant. For misdemeanor domestic violence charge, it includes probation, mandatory treatment programs, fines, paying restitution to the victim and short to moderate jail sentence.

Although judges are usually lenient to first time offenders, there are still some cases where defendants found guilty faced up to a year in county jail with an additional fine for each of the charged offense. You get to pay for your crime in jail time and in dollars as well.

If you are proven guilty of felony domestic violence, expect the penalty to be more severe than that of misdemeanor. It includes short prison time and moderate fines at the very least and longer jail time plus larger fines at the most. In some states where death penalty is being enforced, domestic violence that resulted in death could mean a death sentence for the defendant if proven guilty.

There are many excuses people use when it is time to defend their case in court. Excuses like having a bad day at work, too much pressure on the relationship, losing a job, lying and cheating. The number of domestic violence case in the United States of America is alarmingly increasing, add to that other domestic violence cases yet to be reported. Whatever the circumstance may be, there is no excuse to hurt or to threaten a person in your household.