We are Experienced and Aggressive Criminal Domestic Violence & Contempt Defense Attorneys
Defending your freedom, protecting your clean record, and keeping you out of county jail when facing domestic simple assault, harassment, or restraining order violations in local and county courts.
If you are arrested or charged during a domestic dispute in New Jersey, you are not facing a standard, single-court case. Under New Jersey’s strict domestic violence laws, a single argument or incident almost always triggers two completely separate legal battles in two different courtrooms:
- The Civil Docket (Family Part): Your spouse or partner can file for a civil Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to evict you from the home and restrict custody. This is a civil proceeding held in the Family Court (which we cover in our Family Law section).
- The Criminal Docket (Municipal or Criminal Court): Regardless of whether a restraining order is filed, the state can charge you with a criminal offense, such as simple assault, harassment, or criminal contempt.
Because the state acts as the prosecutor in criminal domestic violence cases, the victim does not have the legal authority to drop the charges. Even if you and your partner reconcile and want to move past the incident, the local municipal prosecutor or county assistant prosecutor is legally mandated to proceed with securing a criminal conviction.
At Raff & Raff, LLP, we have defended residents of Paterson, Passaic County, and Northern New Jersey for over 100 years. We approach criminal domestic violence and contempt defense with absolute honesty and forensic investigation. We analyze the police reports, audit any available communications, and work systematically to secure a complete dismissal, a diversion program, or a non-criminal downgrade to keep your record completely clean and keep you out of jail.
Navigating a domestic violence criminal charge in New Jersey requires a strong, aggressive understanding of how the family and criminal court systems intersect. A conviction for domestic simple assault, harassment, or criminal contempt for allegedly violating a restraining order under N.J.S.A. 2C:29-9(b) carries severe, life-altering penalties—including mandatory county jail time, weapon forfeitures, and permanent listings on state registries.
“In New Jersey, a domestic violence complaint can be weaponized as a first strike to immediately evict you from your home and strip away your parental rights before a divorce or custody battle even begins. Believing that ‘the truth will just come out’ or that the prosecutor will naturally see through false allegations is a dangerous mistake. You need an aggressive trial lawyer who will immediately secure bodycam footage, audit text messages, and dismantle these tactical accusations before they destroy your life.”
— Daniel A. Levy, Esq.
Domestic Violence Criminal Charges We Actively Defend
We represent individuals facing all categories of criminal domestic violence offenses throughout Northern New Jersey, including:
Domestic Simple Assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1a)
This is one of the most common charges prosecuted in local municipal courts, arising from heated arguments, physical scuffles, or allegations of unwanted physical contact.
- The Law: Charged when a person attempts to cause, or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to a protected household or dating partner.
- Our Defense: We evaluate self-defense claims, defense of property, and challenge the consistency of witness statements. If the incident occurred during a mutual fight, we work to show mutual combat to downgrade or dismiss the charge.
Harassment (N.J.S.A. 2C:33-4)
Often filed alongside simple assault or domestic disputes, harassment charges frequently involve electronic communications, text messages, phone calls, or verbal arguments.
- The Law: Harassment occurs when a person communicates anonymously, at extremely inconvenient hours, or in coarse language with the purpose to alarm or seriously annoy.
- Our Defense: To secure a conviction, the state must prove you had the specific intent or purpose to harass. We review communication logs to prove the messages were part of an ordinary, non-criminal dispute or argument.
Terroristic Threats (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3)
A much more serious charge, terroristic threats is an indictable felony-level offense handled strictly at the County Superior Court level.
- The Law: Charged when a person threatens to commit a crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize another, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror.
- Our Defense: We analyze the exact language used. For a conviction, the threat must be credible and of such a nature that it would cause a reasonable person to fear for their life or safety. We work to show the statement was mere venting, hyperbole, or lacked the legal intent to terrorize.
Contempt of a Restraining Order: N.J.S.A. 2C:29-9(b)
If a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or Final Restraining Order (FRO) has been issued against you, and you make any contact with the plaintiff, you will be arrested and charged with Criminal Contempt.
It is vital to understand that New Jersey has a zero-tolerance policy for restraining order violations:
- What Constitutes a Violation? A violation does not require physical contact or threats. Sending a text message like “Can I pick up my clothes?”, liking a social media post, sending an email, or having a third party pass a message is a formal violation of the restraining order.
- The Immediate Arrest Mandate: Under New Jersey law, the police are statutorily required to make an immediate arrest on a warrant if there is probable cause to believe you knowingly violated any provision of a restraining order.
- The Two Grades of Contempt:
- Disorderly Persons (DP) Contempt: If the violation does not constitute a separate crime (e.g., sending a text message), it is charged as a DP offense. Penalties include up to 6 months in county jail and a 1,000 dollar fine.
- Fourth-Degree Indictable Contempt: If the violation constitutes a separate crime or indictable offense (e.g., committing a new assault or stalking while the order is active), it is a felony-level fourth-degree crime. Penalties include up to 18 months in state prison and a 10,000 dollar fine.
The Mandatory 30-Day Jail Sentence Trap:
Under New Jersey Statute N.J.S.A. 2C:25-30, if you are convicted of a second or subsequent restraining order violation (contempt), the sentencing judge is legally mandated to sentence you to a minimum of 30 days in the county jail.
The First 48 Hours: Warrants & Pretrial Detention Hearings
In standard criminal cases, a police officer can choose to release you on a “summons” (a ticket with a court date). In domestic violence cases, this option is completely off the table.
- Arrest on a Warrant: If you are accused of domestic simple assault, harassment, or contempt, the police must charge you on a formal Warrant-Complaint.
- Automatic County Jail Booking: Once arrested on a warrant, you are taken immediately to the county jail (such as the Passaic County Jail). Under New Jersey’s bail reform laws, you cannot pay a bondsman to get out.
- The 48-Hour Assessment: You must remain locked in jail for 24 to 48 hours while Pretrial Services conducts a formal risk assessment (the Public Safety Assessment or PSA) to measure your flight risk and danger level.
- The Detention Hearing: If the prosecutor files a Motion for Pretrial Detention, you will remain in jail, and a formal hearing will be scheduled before a Superior Court Judge within 3 to 5 days. If the judge grants the motion, you will remain locked in jail for the entire duration of your case—which can easily take 6 to 12 months—before you ever get a trial.
We represent you aggressively at this emergency detention hearing, presenting evidence and structured release proposals to prove to the judge that you can be safely monitored at home via Zoom or reporting conditions while your case is pending.
Building Your Defense: How We Challenge the Prosecution’s Case
Defending against a domestic violence criminal charge requires an aggressive, highly technical analysis of the evidence. We do not simply plead you guilty; we work to tear down the state’s case using established constitutional and statutory defenses:
Self-Defense & Defense of Others
In many domestic arguments, both parties exchange physical force. If the other party attacked you first, or threatened you with imminent harm, you have a legal right to use a reasonable, proportionate amount of force to defend yourself. We compile medical records, photograph your own injuries, and interview witnesses to establish a valid claim of self-defense.
Lack of Purposeful or Knowing Intent
To secure a conviction for harassment or criminal contempt, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you acted with a knowing or purposeful state of mind. If a text message was sent by accident, if you crossed paths in a public grocery store entirely by chance, or if you had a reasonable belief that the communication was legally permitted, we use this lack of intent to defeat the charges.
Exposing False or Exaggerated Allegations
Unfortunately, some individuals fabricate or heavily exaggerate domestic incidents to secure a Temporary Restraining Order, evict a partner from a shared home, or secure immediate, temporary custody of children. We review text message threads, social media timelines, and police bodycam footage to expose inconsistencies and show the judge that the allegations are being used as a tactical weapon.
Seamless Representation Across Northern New Jersey Courts
Because domestic violence criminal charges are handled depending on their severity, your case will be prosecuted in either the local Municipal Court of the specific town where the incident occurred (for disorderly persons simple assault and harassment) or the County Superior Court (for indictable contempt, terroristic threats, and weapons offenses).
Our central office in Paterson is located just minutes away from major transport hubs, making us uniquely positioned to seamlessly represent clients in local municipal courts throughout Passaic, Bergen, and Essex counties, including:
- Passaic County Superior Court (Paterson)
- Bergen County Superior Court (Hackensack)
- Essex County Superior Court (Newark)
- Morris County Superior Court (Morristown)
- Hudson County Superior Court (Jersey City)
- Local Municipal Courts: Paterson, Clifton, Wayne, Passaic, Little Falls, Totowa, Woodland Park, and surrounding towns.
- And most other municipal courts throughout New Jersey
We are intimately familiar with local court schedules, prosecutor exchange protocols, and scheduling timelines, ensuring your case is handled with absolute efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions About Criminal Domestic Violence Charges
The victim cannot drop the charges. In New Jersey, once a criminal complaint is signed for domestic violence, the local or county prosecutor takes over the case on behalf of the State. Even if the victim writes a formal letter, hires their own attorney, or refuses to testify, the prosecutor can still subpoena the victim to force their testimony, or use police bodycam recordings, 911 call audio, and physical photographs to prosecute you without the victim’s cooperation. Only the prosecutor with the judge’s approval can drop charges.
Yes. This is a highly dangerous legal trap. Even if the Family Court judge ultimately dismisses the Temporary Restraining Order after a trial, you can still be prosecuted and convicted in criminal court for violating that order while it was active. As long as the TRO was legally in effect on the date of the communication, any violation constitutes criminal contempt under 2C:29-9(b).
It depends on the charge. If you are charged with a standard Municipal Court simple assault or harassment, you are strictly ineligible for the Conditional Dismissal program if the underlying offense involves domestic violence (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13.1). However, if your case is handled in Superior Court, you may still be eligible for Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI), provided the prosecutor and the court consent after a rigorous application process. We build exhaustive mitigation packages to maximize your eligibility for diversion.
Yes, dramatically. Under New Jersey child custody law, there is a legal presumption that joint custody is not in the best interests of a child if a parent has a history of domestic violence. A criminal arrest or conviction will be used by the other parent’s attorney to restrict your access to your children, secure supervised visitation, and attempt to secure sole physical custody in Family Court.
Protect Your Record. Protect Your Rights. Schedule Your Free Zoom Consultation Today.
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