While there are many types of family violence in Mississippi, they all involve crimes committed against members of your household or your family. This might include:

• Your current spouse
• Your former spouse
• Your child
• The child of your current or former spouse
• Your parent
• Your grandparent
• Your grandchild
• A current or former significant other
• The parent of your child

Essentially, family violence may be committed against a wide range of individuals. If you are wondering whether your crime might constitute family violence, consider getting in touch with an attorney for more accurate advice.

Simple Domestic Violence

As the phrase suggests, simple domestic violence is a less serious crime compared to other forms of family violence in Mississippi. However, it is still a serious offense. You can be charged with simple domestic violence if you attempt to cause or cause serious bodily injury to a member of your household. You can also be charged with this offense if you “negligently” cause bodily injury to a member of your household with a deadly weapon. This might include the accidental discharge of the weapon.

Finally, you may be charged with simple domestic violence if you “attempt by physical menace” to put another person in fear of imminent serious bodily harm. In other words, this involves some kind of threat.

Aggravated Domestic Violence

Aggravated domestic violence is obviously the more serious of these two charges. You can be charged with aggravated domestic violence if you attempt to cause or cause a serious bodily injury to a member of your household with “extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Essentially, this means that the act occurs in an extremely reckless or careless manner. You may also be charged with this offense if you use a deadly weapon or you attempt to strangle someone. The penalties for this crime are more serious, and you may face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Violent Child Abuse

If your alleged acts of violence are targeted toward children, you face more serious penalties. There are many crimes that fall into the general category of child abuse, including:

• Child abuse
• Child neglect
• Child endangerment

Perhaps most notably, you can face consequences if you allow a child to be abused or harmed under your watch. For example, you may be aware that a member of your household is harming a child in your family. If you do not report this crime, you could face legal consequences – such as child neglect or child endangerment.

The most serious child abuse crimes involve acts of extreme violence and torture, including burning, choking, poisoning, starving, and so on. You will almost certainly face felony charges if you are accused of causing permanent disfigurement to a child through scarring, blinding, burning, maiming, and so on. Crimes such as these often involve penalties of at least five years in prison, and it is possible to face a life sentence for some of the more serious child abuse offenses in Mississippi.

Psychological or Verbal Abuse

If you have been accused of psychological or verbal abuse against a member of your household, your penalties depend on the nature of your alleged crimes. Simply insulting or degrading your spouse or family member is not illegal in Mississippi. However, you may face consequences for overt verbal threats of physical violence against family members.

Where Can I Find an Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney in Mississippi?

If you have been searching for a qualified criminal defense attorney in Mississippi, look no further than Vic Carmody Jr., P.A. Over the years, we have helped numerous defendants pursue positive results when facing domestic violence charges and other violent offenses. If you have been accused of this crime, do not hesitate to get in touch and discuss your legal options.

The Passenger Was Not a Child

If the circumstances regarding the underlying DUI offense seem impossible to fight, it may be worth establishing that there was no child in your vehicle at the time of your DUI. Many police officers take a quick look inside vehicles and determine an occupant’s age simply by glancing at them. However, this is not an accurate way of determining a child’s age. Some children look much younger than they actually are, and some look much older. Sometimes, the easiest way to beat a DUI child endangerment offense is to simply provide the court with a copy of the minor’s birth certificate.

Note that this will not help you avoid penalties for the underlying DUI offense. Because of the enhanced penalties associated with DUI child endangerment, however, this could mean the difference between incarceration and less severe penalties.

Fourth Amendment Violations

You should also know that police officers are only allowed to search your vehicle if they believe that the search could uncover evidence of a crime. If they search your vehicle without your consent and discover the presence of a child, this could represent a Fourth Amendment violation. For example, your child may have been completely invisible due to tinted windows. If a police officer had no reason to believe that evidence of a crime lies within the vehicle, they may have been unjustified in executing a search. As a result, all evidence uncovered during the unlawful search would be inadmissible in court – potentially including the presence of a child.

You Were Not Intoxicated

Another option is to show that you were not intoxicated at the time of the arrest. If you were not intoxicated, the presence of your child should not enter into the equation at all. Basic DUI defense strategies apply in this situation. The Breathalyzer test result may be unreliable. Your level of impairment may not have affected your ability to drive. Perhaps the officer did follow the correct procedures during a test, and they failed to calibrate the device before using it. Maybe they relied solely on subjective evidence during Field Sobriety Tests, and they did not use any chemical tests at all. In addition, certain medications and foods may trigger inaccurate Breathalyzer results. For example, certain fermented foods and drinks like Kombucha or horseradish can potentially provide positive Breathalyzer results when consumed in large quantities.

You Were Not Driving

Finally, you might choose to argue that you were not actually driving your vehicle at the time of your arrest. For example, you may have been sleeping in your vehicle alongside your child. Maybe you simply wanted somewhere warm to wait. Perhaps someone else was driving your vehicle, and you simply got into the driver’s seat to adjust the air conditioning while the driver went into a store to purchase a snack. Whatever the case may be, you can only face DUI charges (and subsequent child endangerment offenses) if you were driving the vehicle.

Find a Qualified DUI Defense Attorney in Mississippi

If you have been searching for an experienced DUI defense attorney in Mississippi, look no further than Vic Carmody Jr., P.A. Over the years, we have helped numerous DUI defendants in the Magnolia State – including those accused of DUI child endangerment. The penalties for this offense can be quite serious. To avoid these penalties, it makes sense to begin formulating a defense strategy as soon as possible. Contact us today for a consultation to discuss your case and learn about your options.