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A domestic battery arrest can turn your life upside down overnight. You may be held in jail for at least a day, ordered to stay away from your own home, and kept from seeing your children, all before a judge has heard your side. A conviction can cost you your right to own a gun, follow you on background checks, and affect custody.
As a prosecutor, I reviewed domestic battery cases and decided which ones to file and how to resolve them. I know how these cases are built, where they are weak, and what prosecutors weigh when deciding what to do with them. I now use that experience to defend people charged with domestic battery.
Domestic battery is knowingly or intentionally touching a family or household member in a rude, insolent or angry manner. It also covers placing bodily fluid or waste on a family or household member in a rude, insolent or angry manner.
The State does not have to prove an injury. A push, a grab or a slap with no mark at all can be charged as domestic battery. That is one reason these cases depend so heavily on who is believed about what happened.
The definition is broader than most people expect. It includes someone who:
A minor child of either person in one of these relationships also counts as a family or household member of both.
You do not have to live together. An argument with an ex you have not lived with in years can still be charged as domestic battery.
Domestic battery starts as a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.
It becomes a Level 6 felony, punishable by six months to two and a half years and a fine of up to $10,000, if any of these apply:
It becomes a Level 5 felony, punishable by one to six years and a fine of up to $10,000, if it caused serious bodily injury, involved a deadly weapon, caused bodily injury to a person you knew was pregnant, or if you have a prior battery or strangulation conviction against the same person.
It is also a Level 5 felony if it causes bodily injury to a family or household member who is under 14 when the accused is at least 18, who has a mental or physical disability and is in the accused's care, or who is an endangered adult. More serious levels apply when serious injury or death is caused to a young child or an endangered adult.
The "child present" rule surprises many people. A child does not have to see anything. It is enough that the child was there and might have been able to see or hear it. Indiana's Court of Appeals has upheld this enhancement where a toddler was asleep about six feet away. This allegation is often worth a close look.
Strangulation is a separate felony. It means knowingly or intentionally applying pressure to the throat or neck, blocking the nose or mouth, or pressing on the upper body in a way that impedes normal breathing or blood circulation, done in a rude, angry or insolent manner. It is a Level 6 felony even without any visible injury, and a Level 5 felony if the person was pregnant and you knew it, or if you have a prior unrelated strangulation conviction.
Strangulation is often charged alongside domestic battery based on what the other person tells police. Whether the evidence actually shows impeded breathing or circulation is frequently the central question.
Knowingly or intentionally contacting the protected person in violation of a no contact order is a separate crime called invasion of privacy. The other person's consent is not a defense, even if they reached out first or agreed to the contact. That includes texts, calls, social media messages and asking someone else to pass along a message.
Invasion of privacy is usually a Class A misdemeanor. It is a Level 6 felony if you have a prior unrelated invasion of privacy or stalking conviction. A violation can also get your bond revoked. And if a new domestic battery happens while a no contact order is in effect, it is charged as a felony.
If the no contact order is causing real problems with your home, your children or your job, the right step is to ask the court to modify it. A lawyer can file that request for you.
No. Once a case is filed, it belongs to the State of Indiana, not the person who called the police. The prosecutor decides whether to go forward. Many people are surprised to learn this, including the person who made the report.
What the other person wants still matters. Their account, their willingness to testify, and whether their story has changed can all affect the case. But the defendant must never ask, pressure or encourage them to change their story or skip court. That can lead to new charges and makes the case harder to defend. Any contact about the case should go through your lawyer.
Very likely, if you are convicted. Indiana law says a person convicted of a crime of domestic violence may not possess a firearm. Possessing a firearm after a domestic battery conviction is a separate crime.
Indiana allows a person to ask the court to restore gun rights, but not until at least five years after the conviction, and the judge may say no.
Federal law can separately prohibit possession of firearms and ammunition after a qualifying domestic violence misdemeanor or felony conviction. These restrictions can be long-lasting, although a limited five-year exception applies to certain dating-relationship misdemeanor convictions. An Indiana expungement or firearm restoration order should not be assumed to remove every federal restriction. Both state and federal law must be reviewed before you possess a firearm or ammunition.
At sentencing, the judge must decide whether the offense was a crime of domestic violence and tell you the consequences. For anyone who hunts, carries for protection or works in security, the military or law enforcement, this can matter as much as the sentence itself.
Indiana law does not allow a judge to enter a Level 6 domestic battery offense as a misdemeanor at sentencing under the usual alternative misdemeanor sentencing statute. Later conversion may be possible in limited cases involving no bodily injury, but strict eligibility requirements apply.
That makes the charge itself very important. Whether the case is filed or resolved as a felony or a misdemeanor often depends on the facts behind the enhancement, such as a child's presence or the level of injury, and those facts can often be challenged. Whether a conviction could later be converted requires a careful review of the facts and your criminal history.
Often, yes, but eligibility depends on the conviction and whether the offense caused injury. Eligible misdemeanor convictions generally have a five-year waiting period. Eligible Level 6 felony convictions that did not result in bodily injury generally have an eight-year waiting period. Felonies involving bodily injury or serious bodily injury follow different rules and may require additional time or the prosecutor's written consent. Other eligibility requirements also apply.
Expungement alone does not restore firearm rights after a crime of domestic violence.
Every case is different, but these are questions I look at in every domestic battery case:
Depending on the evidence, your history and available local options, a case may be resolved through dismissal, a reduced charge, or an eligible alternative program. No particular outcome is guaranteed.
Yes. Domestic battery charges and protection order cases often happen at the same time, and what you say in one can be used in the other. I handle both, and it helps to have one lawyer looking at the whole picture.
Every case depends on its own facts. This page is general information, not legal advice, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.