Protective orders are taken very seriously in the Commonwealth of Virginia. After receiving one, there are strict guidelines and rules that need to be followed. If one believes that they have violated their protective order, the consequences can be extremely serious. There can be various penalties since their might be multiple ways the order has been broken. It is crucial to contact a lawyer experienced with Virginia protective orders right away to best understand what to expect following a protective order violation.
The aggravating factor is the circumstance by which they violated. It is not the fact that it is violated and it is not the fact that they are doing another crime. The circumstance by which they violated the protective order is extremely important to look at.
If an individual is violating the protective order in a particularly heinous way, that is going to be aggravating. If an individual is violating the protective order by doing anything where they have a weapon on them, that is going to be particularly aggravating even if it is a lesser technical crime.
An individual can be committing a crime that is considered a felony but maybe the violation of the protective order is not as aggravated. That felony might not be a charge involving any violence, assault, or battery. What matters is the circumstances by which an individual is violating it.
Certainly, alibi evidence and phone records are important pieces of evidence if one has violated a protective order. Credibility issues come into play a lot so if somebody is alleging that someone tried to contact them, it cannot be proved with any documentations. Any evidence that shows that the person is saying that they are violating it, if it is truthful, that is helpful information to bring together.
Any information about bias would be helpful, as to why the person would be trying to violate an individual even if they did not do it. Then any mitigating evidence if an individual is technically in violation but it was an accident, or if they are technically in violation but they did not knowingly do it.
Somebody who is accused of violating a protective order should absolutely contact a Virginia protective order attorney because the consequences can be so severe. The consequences can have mandatory minimum jail time depending on what the charge is. Ir can be a felony conviction depending on what an individual is alleged to have done. The stakes are way too high to not consult with an experienced lawyer
When an individual has mandatory minimum jail time up to six months depending on the circumstances, that is serious. Mandatory minimum time is not something where an individual can get a good time. An individual cannot get released early and it will affect the rest of your life.
If charged, one needs to consult with a Virginia protective order attorney right away to figure out what exactly they are alleging that an individual did.