Zionsville Domestic Violence Attorney
Domestic violence charges can have devastating consequences on your life, even before a potential conviction. The accusations alone can harm your personal and professional life, and a protective order can affect your job, child custody, and living arrangements. If you are convicted, there can be more extreme consequences for your freedom and your future. A Zionsville domestic violence lawyer is essential to begin strategizing your criminal defense.
Choose the Right Zionsville Domestic Violence Attorney
You need a dedicated and experienced criminal defense lawyer when you are facing criminal accusations of domestic violence. At The Criminal Defense Team, we have collective decades of experience in criminal cases, and we can help you protect your future. Our firm includes a former prosecutor with a background in felony and homicide cases who now uses their insider knowledge to challenge the government’s evidence.
Your case benefits from a powerhouse of knowledge—over 100 years of combined legal experience, shared through collaborative brainstorming. There are several benefits to working with The Criminal Defense Team of Baldwin, Perry & Wiley, PC, including:
- Five board-certified* criminal trial specialists
- Each case handled by teams of at least two attorneys and a paralegal
- Resources to manage massive discovery and evidence review
- Significant contact and responsiveness with clients
- 24/7 attorney on call
Our firm offers aggressive legal defense and compassionate guidance for our clients. We know how stressful it is to face life-altering accusations of domestic violence. Our goal is to fight to minimize the impact these charges have on your life and your reputation. We aim to reduce your charges or prevent conviction entirely.
Understanding Domestic Violence in Zionsville
There were 532 arrests in Indiana for offenses against the family and children in 2019. In 2020, the state averaged 20% higher compared to the national average for domestic violence firearm deaths.
While there is not one specific criminal statute that outlines domestic violence offenses, there are certain domestic violence offenses, such as domestic battery. Additionally, Indiana civil law defines domestic violence. It is defined as certain acts committed against a family or household member, including:
- Trying to cause or threatening to cause physical harm
- Causing physical harm
- Putting them in fear of physical harm
- Using force, threat of force, or duress to cause them to involuntarily engage in sexual activity
- Abusing, torturing, or killing certain animals to harass, threaten, intimidate, or terrorize the person
The definition also includes sex offenses and stalking, even when those offenses are not committed against a family or household member. Domestic violence does not apply when these actions are committed in self-defense.
A family or household member means when the alleged victim and offender have one of the following relationships:
- Spouses or ex-spouses
- Currently dating or have previously dated
- Currently or previously in a sexual relationship
- Related by blood or adoption
- Currently or previously related by marriage
- Currently or previously has a legal relationship such as foster parent, guardian, ward, custodian, or similar relationship
- Having a child together
- One adopts the child of the other
Offenses That Can Be Charged as Domestic Violence Crimes
There are many violent crimes that can be charged as domestic violence offenses under these definitions, including:
- Harassment. This occurs when someone calls, communicates with, or sends a message without intending to have legitimate communication but intending to harass, threaten, or alarm the other person. It is a class B misdemeanor.
- Intimidation. This offense involves the use of threats against a person with the intent of causing results like evacuating a building or causing the person to engage in actions against their will. Intimidation is a class A misdemeanor, but can become a level 6 or level 5 felony if there are aggravating circumstances.
- Stalking. This involves intentional conduct of continual harassment, which would lead any reasonable person to be terrorized or intimidated. Criminal stalking is a level 6 felony, which can become a level 5 or level 4 felony with aggravating factors.
- Invasion of privacy. This offense occurs when someone violates a protective order or other restraining order to contact a party. Invasion of privacy or property is a class A misdemeanor, but it can become a felony after repeated offenses.
- Assault and battery. Although Indiana does not have a statute for assault offenses, battery and other offenses are reported under federal definitions of assault. 15% of aggravated assault cases reported by the Zionsville Police Department were between a parent and child, 12% were between people who were dating, and 12% were between spouses between 2020 and 2025.
- Criminal confinement. This offense occurs when someone intentionally confines another person without their consent. It is a level 6 felony, but aggravating factors can make it a more serious felony. It can be charged as severely as a level 2 felony if it is done for ransom or with the intent to use the person as a shield.
- Kidnapping. This is the offense of using fraud, threat, force, or enticement to intentionally move someone from one place to another. It can be charged as a level 6 felony, up to a level 2 felony.From 2020 to 2025, the Zionsville police reported 33 kidnapping offenses. 40% of these offenses were committed by a dating partner of the victim, and 20% were committed by an ex-dating partner. 20% were committed by grandchildren, and 20% were committed by spouses.
- Domestic battery. This is the offense of touching someone in a rude or angry way, and does not always require bodily injury. This is a class A misdemeanor, but it can be elevated to a felony offense for aggravating factors. This can include committing bodily injury. committing the offense in the presence of someone 16 or younger, or committing the offense in violation of a protective order.
- Homicide. Homicide includes murder, manslaughter, and reckless homicide. Reckless homicide is a level 5 felony, while murder is charged as felony murder.
Other offenses can include criminal trespassing, neglect and abuse, aggravated battery, and violation of a protective order.
We can help with a wide variety of criminal charges, even those not addressed here. If you need help with a criminal situation, please connect with our team. We are happy to discuss your situation and can provide reliable legal advice right away. Our team can represent you in Boone County Courts, including those at the historic courthouse at 310 Courthouse Square in Lebanon.
Hire a Domestic Violence Lawyer in Zionsville Today
If you are convicted of domestic violence offenses, it can lead to fines, imprisonment, and a criminal record. In addition, felony offenses can cause you to lose the right to vote, your gun rights, and your immigration status. Conviction can affect your employment, your educational and professional opportunities, and even your custody arrangements and parental rights.
With so much on the line, it is important that you reach out to The Criminal Defense Team today. Our five board-certified* criminal trial specialists can help you understand the accusations against you, uncover weaknesses in the prosecution’s case, and advocate for your future.
*Our attorneys are certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.