Q: My bf was arrested on a false felony DV charge because his baby mama's boyfriend.. but he lives in another county
My boyfriend is in a custody battle... How can these charges be dropped since he lives in another county and domestic violence is within a household? He is still in jail in a different county than the warrant was issued as he is awaiting transfer to the county the warrant is out of. He was never notified that he had anything from the other party. How do we fight these false claims? We really need help!
A:
The best advice is to contact a family law attorney for the custody matters and a criminal law for the DV claim (some attorneys handle both family law and criminal law matters).
The residence of the parties is not a factor for DV claims. For DV claims there must be a injury (personal or property) and the parties needed to have a domestic relationship at some point (note: DV claims do not need to occur at a household and can include 3rd parties connected to the people who had/have a domestic relationship).
For custody matters, the county where the child lives should be where the filing occurs (if the location is improper a motion must be filed immediately to challenge the forum, so if the custody matter has proceeded beyond the initial status conference there is little to no change of changing the forum).
He should have received formal service for any civil custody matters (being in jail may cause a delay). If he is not served, custody matters must be handled by publication (which is a big deal for the mother) and/or the custody matter will be rejected by the court for failure to provide notice.
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