Domestic Violence

Police departments around the world are noting one unanticipated benefit from the global response to the Covid-19 / Coronavirus pandemic: crime rates in country after country have plummeted.

In fact, nearly the only category of calls that have surged are those for domestic violence. In this case, experts are not puzzled. By limiting movements, ordering many businesses closed, and urging people to stay at home unless a trip is absolutely necessary, Chicago saw drug arrests fall by 42% and overall crime drop 10%.

El Salvador, gripped by gang terror for years, has watched its murder rate shrivel from a high of 600 a day a few years ago to two per day over the last month. One mortician in Peru, where crime has fallen 84% since Coronavirus response policies went into effect, told reporters that he has almost no business. He normally sees up to 15 bodies a day. “There are almost no killings or car accidents these days,” he said.

On the other hand, numbers are beginning to come in about a troubling uptick in domestic violence. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters that aggravated assaults were up 10% in the last two weeks of March and first week of April, largely fueled by disputes between family members in the home.

Authorities in Missouri are concerned that calls to the state’s child abuse and neglect hotline have fallen off by half since the state went under stay-at-home. They fear that with kids at home instead of in school, no one is willing to make the call.

The tri-state area has been hit harder by the coronavirus pandemic than nearly any other area on Earth, and state agencies across the region are noting increases of 15-20% in reports of domestic violence.

After New York City’s Family Justice Centers, which work with victims and survivors of domestic violence, were ordered closed, domestic violence advocacy groups saw a sharp rise in website visits. New Jersey’s Coalition to End Domestic Violence (NJCEDV) released a statement that said, “Avoiding public spaces and working remotely can help to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but for many survivors, staying home may not be the safest option.

Abuse is about power and control. During times of crisis, and especially forced isolation, incidents of domestic violence often rise, and violence may escalate.” If you are home with an abuser, or if you have been arrested for domestic violence in New Jersey, it’s vital to you and your children that you get the help you need during this time of crisis.

Call Matt Reisig today at 732-385-3339 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey domestic violence lawyer.

Around the country, police departments and municipalities are reporting an alarming rise in domestic violence calls amid the unprecedented stay-at-home orders in place in most states, including New Jersey.

In California, which went into lockdown before many other states, San Francisco Mayor London Breed told reporters that the city saw a first-week spike in domestic violence calls of 60% over the same week the year before.

In New Jersey, services that assist victims of domestic violence are finding themselves stretched thin. In an ordinary year, New Jersey’s domestic violence agencies serve more than 18,000 victims of abuse, and everyone anticipates that 2020 will be much, much worse.

According to Susan Dyckman of Women Aware of New Brunswick, “Many adults cannot go to work. Children are not in school. Stores, malls, libraries, gyms, restaurants are closed.

Social distancing discourages visits with extended family or friends. Fear, anxiety, frustration and uncertainty are running high. Families are together day and night. In a domestic violence situation, this is the perfect storm to trigger an escalation in abuse.”

If you find yourself in a dangerous situation with a family member during the lockdown, or you have been arrested on domestic violence charges, an experienced New Jersey domestic violence attorney can see that you and your children are safe, and that your rights are protected.

Call Matt Reisig today at 732-385-3339 for a free, confidential consultation.

As the Coronavirus pandemic spreads, we are living through an unprecedented event that is straining not only our public resources and economy, but taxing us personally as well.

For many people, the adoption of stay-at-home orders has been difficult. Jobs have been erased, supplies can be difficult to find, and everyone is living with the fear of contracting the virus.

Unsurprisingly, police, hospitals, and lawyers are reporting an uptick in domestic violence incidents.  Just because so-called ‘non-essential’ parts of our community are closed, that doesn’t mean that police aren’t responding to calls about violence in homes.

In normal times, a domestic violence arrest is a huge problem. In the current environment, it’s that and so much more.

Here’s why you need an experienced domestic violence attorney right away if you’ve been arrested for domestic violence in New Jersey during the Covid-19 lockdown:

• Jails are a hotspot for virus transmission. You need to be released as soon as humanly possible to protect your health and your family’s health.
• Domestic violence charges can lead to a restraining order that prevents you from going home. Where are you supposed to stay while the pandemic burns through our communities? What friends or family are going to welcome you into their homes after you’ve been in jail where, as noted, the virus spreads freely.
• Domestic violence charges will impact your ability to see your children, and during the current crisis, it’s hard to imagine a judge allowing you face-to-face contact with your kids without a 14-day quarantine after your release.

Now more than ever, you need a lawyer who knows how to fight.

Again, domestic violence charges in New Jersey are extremely dangerous to you in the best of times. During a public health emergency like the Coronavirus crisis, charges like this can endanger your health and make you homeless.

The stakes are far too high to try to navigate this on your own. You need a lawyer who’s been there, done that, and knows the judges and prosecutors involved in your case.

Matthew Reisig has defended the rights of New Jersey residents facing domestic violence charges for more than two decades now, and has built the experience and the relationships to help you find the best outcome in a bad situation.

Because of the dangers of holding you in custody and forcing you out of your home while a potentially deadly virus is circulating, you need a lawyer who can effectively argue for creative solutions while your case works its way through the system.

Let’s all remember: despite the numerous victim’s protections written into New Jersey’s domestic violence laws, you are innocent until proven guilty. Contracting a dangerous virus is not a penalty that appears in New Jersey statute, and you shouldn’t have to run that risk because of a mere allegation of wrongdoing.

If you or a loved one have been arrested for Domestic Violence in New Jersey while the state is under a stay-at-home order, call Matthew Reisig right away at (732) 625-9661.

The consultation is 100% free, and it can make a huge difference not only in the eventual outcome of your case, but in the immediate impacts of an arrest during the Covid-19 outbreak. Do not delay.

Yes, your spouse can be compelled to testify against you in a domestic assault case, and can face perjury charges if the prosecutor believes they are lying on the stand.

This is a change from the ordinary procedure in New Jersey courts, where spouses are typically exempt from testifying against one another.

Because of the risk of ongoing violence against a victim of a domestic assault, prosecutors have more discretion in how they can question a spouse who is also a victim.

Often, a spouse will seek to remove themselves from a criminal case against their partner.

That usually doesn’t end the case, and the prosecution can move forward.

If your spouse wishes to recant a statement or withdraw as a witness, they should consult an attorney of their own to represent their interests, as such actions can draw the ire of prosecutors and sanctions are not unheard of.

Have your spouse call Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9661 for strong advocacy in determining how they will interact with a domestic violence prosecution.

Criminal Mischief in New Jersey is the destruction or tampering with property belonging to another, and is generally charged on a scale to reflect the value of the property in question.

Behaviors that fall under the law include things like breaking windows or tagging a structure, but there are other circumstances where the seriousness of the charge is considered higher.

For instance, getting into a fight with a spouse and smashing their cell phone can constitute Criminal Mischief, and it would fall under the umbrella of New Jersey’s domestic violence statute.

Depending on the value of the phone, the charge might be a disorderly persons offense or a crime in the fourth degree (or even third degree), but conviction on a domestic violence can carry much more significant penalties than jail time alone.

Restraining orders can make it difficult to see your children, and you may even be ordered out of your home.

Once domestic violence is in play as a factor in your case, your life will get much, much harder.

Protect your rights and freedoms when facing a criminal mischief charge. Call attorney Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9661 for a free consultation.

Contrary to common understanding, Domestic Violence is not a criminal charge in New Jersey, but a civil action taken when the victim of a related offense falls into a particular relationship category to the offender.

Generally, if an adult or emancipated minor has been subjected to one of the fourteen different crimes enumerated as a Domestic Violence crime, and has or has had an intimate relationship with the perpetrator of the crime, the victim is entitled to relief in the form of temporary and final restraining orders.

So even though no one is charged with “domestic violence,” the consequences for crimes falling into that bucket can be massive.

When a restraining order is in effect, it can compromise a parent’s ability to remain close to his or her kids, and cause major financial loss as you’re forced to move and make other lifestyle adjustments.

Fight back against criminal charges in New Jersey.

Call attorney Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9661 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney today.