Domestic violence charges
A domestic violence charge is a criminal charge, such as assault or harassment, where the accused and the complaining witness are family, partners or share a household. These cases often come with a court order that limits contact, sometimes before you have spoken to a lawyer. The most important rule starts now: no contact with the protected person, even if they reach out to you.
What the charge means
"Domestic violence" is usually not a single crime. It describes an ordinary charge, such as assault, harassment or criminal mischief, between people with a family or household connection: spouses, former partners, relatives, people who live together, or parents of a child in common. Anyone of any gender can be accused, and anyone can be the complaining witness.
What makes these cases different is the order. Courts often issue an order of protection or a restraining order early, and it can bar you from your own home, from calling, or from coming near the protected person.
Do not contact the protected person in any way: no calls, texts, social media, gifts or messages through family or friends. This holds even if they call you, invite you over, or say they want the case to go away. If they reach out, do not respond, and tell your lawyer.
Court by court
New York
When a criminal case involves a charge between spouses, former spouses, parent and child, or members of the same family or household, the criminal court may issue a temporary order of protection [1]. Read the order carefully with your lawyer; it says exactly what you may and may not do.
New Jersey
Under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, domestic violence means one of the listed offenses, among them assault, terroristic threats, harassment, stalking, criminal mischief, burglary and robbery, committed against a protected person such as a spouse, former spouse, present or former household member, or a person with whom the accused has a child in common [2]. A complaint may be filed in the Family Part of the Superior Court, filing it does not prevent a criminal complaint for the same act, and when the court is closed an assigned judge may issue emergency relief as a temporary restraining order [3]. A prosecutor may move to detain a person charged with any crime or offense involving domestic violence [4], and when release conditions are needed they include no contact with the alleged victim [5].
Florida
Domestic violence means listed offenses, among them assault, battery, stalking, kidnapping and false imprisonment, or any criminal offense causing physical injury or death, by one family or household member against another. Family or household members include spouses, former spouses, relatives by blood or marriage, people who live or lived together as a family, and parents of a child in common [6]. A family or household member may also petition the circuit court for an injunction for protection against domestic violence [7]. In the criminal case, pretrial release conditions always include no contact with the victim [8].
Pennsylvania
Under the Protection From Abuse Act, abuse includes attempting to cause or causing bodily injury, or placing another in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury, between family or household members, intimate partners, or people who share biological parenthood [9]. A hearing on a protection from abuse petition must be held within ten business days of filing; you are told of the right to a lawyer when given notice; and if the petition alleges immediate and present danger, the court may enter a temporary order after an ex parte proceeding [10].
What to do now
- Get a copy of any order and follow it exactly, starting immediately. If you do not understand it, ask your lawyer before you act.
- No contact with the protected person, in any form, even if they reach out first.
- Do not talk to the police about what happened. Ask for a lawyer.
- Do not post about the case or the other person, and treat every jail call as recorded.
- If you need belongings from a shared home, ask your lawyer how to get them. Do not go back on your own.
- Ask your lawyer whether the order says anything about firearms, and follow it.
For the steps ahead in your court, use What happens next or the court pages for New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania.
Common questions
They called me and want to talk. Can I answer?
No. Do not answer, call back, text or send a message through anyone else. Even friendly contact can break an order and lead to a new charge, whoever started it. Tell your lawyer about the contact.
They want to drop the case. Does that end it?
Not necessarily, and do not discuss it with them. Tell your lawyer what they said and let your lawyer handle it.
Sources
- N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 530.12(1) (rev. 2026-08-28). Current as of November 11, 2026. Official text
- N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19(a), (d). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- N.J.S.A. 2C:25-28(a). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- N.J.S.A. 2A:162-19(a) (P.L.2014, c.31, § 5). Current as of November 11, 2026. Official text
- N.J.S.A. 2A:162-17(b) (P.L.2014, c.31, § 3). Current as of November 11, 2026. Official text
- Fla. Stat. § 741.28(2), (3) (2026). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- Fla. Stat. § 741.30(1)(a), (e) (2026). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.131(a). Current as of November 11, 2026. Official text
- 23 Pa.C.S. § 6102(a) (definition of "abuse"). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
- 23 Pa.C.S. § 6107(a), (b). Current as of November 12, 2026. Official text
Arrested, or think you might be? Call before you answer any questions.
Call and tell us who was arrested or contacted and where the case is. A lawyer will tell you what happens next and what to do tonight. Please do not type what happened into a form or an email. We will talk about it on the phone.