Stay Away Orders in Ohio Domestic Violence Cases – A Logistical Nightmare

Ohio defense attorney Brian Joslyn explains stay away orders in Ohio domestic violence cases and the logistical nightmares they often cause. If you’ve been arrested or accused of a domestic violence offense in Ohio, call Joslyn Law Firm at (614) 444-1900 today for a free consultation to discuss your case wtih an attorney.

One complexity in domestic violence cases, once they get started, is that, it’s very common for the court and the prosecution to request a stay-away order during the pendency of the case. Now, this can be a logistical nightmare for a couple in general, that have kids together, intertwined their finances, and don’t have any other family. Because essentially, the defendant is left homeless or at least to fend for themselves, to find their own residence temporarily while this case is going on. And sometimes, financially that’s just not an option. And so we advocate hard for these stay-away orders not to be imposed. But we are quick to inform our clients, frequently, that unfortunately, these things are somewhat rubber-stamped. And unless we can make a fairly hard argument with the alleged victim there, in most cases the stay-away order is going to be in place, while the case is pending. Which means that, wherever the listed address is for the alleged victim which is often where the defendant resides, they’re not gonna be able to go back there. They can’t go back there to get their clothes. They can’t text them, they can’t call them, they can’t do anything, no social media. They can’t have someone else contact them. Because they’re gonna be in violation of their stay-away order which would be in violation of their bond. Which means that if they get caught doing that, they’re gonna end up sitting in jail while their case is pending. In a typical domestic violence case, regardless of what county you’re in, in Ohio is normally not gonna be any less than 2 months, and easily exceed 6 months. And that’s a long time to either be sitting in jail, or if you’re abiding by the bond conditions, not being able to go home, not being able to communicate in the family unit as they normally would. And it creates quite the logistical nightmare. And we try to advocate as strong as we can, to the prosecutors and to the judges of this collateral consequence of this case. But oftentimes they’re unsympathetic to it. And so we’re very quick in domestic violence cases to hit a conclusion quickly. Whether that’s gonna be in some type of plea arraignment, or whether we have to go to trial. And for that reason, in domestic violence cases, we almost never waive speedy trial rights, ever. And the reason being, is that in domestic violence cases, if you do not waive speedy trial rights, the case must be tried within 90 days. And if you’re in jail, that has to occur in 30 days. And so that is a very quick turnaround, and things have to move quickly in the prosecutor’s office. And oftentimes, not waiving speedy trial is a tactic for us as attornies to squeeze a favorable outcome quicker. Whether that’s through a trial or whether that’s through some type of a deal, that can get people back to some type of normalcy.