There’s an unconstitutional, patently unfair, catch-all felony crime in the Connecticut penal code that is the thorn in the side of every top Stamford and Greenwich Connecticut criminal lawyer. It’s an arrest for Risk of Injury in Stamford, Darien, New Canaan or Greenwich Connecticut under CGS 53-21, and they are more popular than ever. Why? For starters, the statute is so broadly written that sneezing in your kid’s face could qualify for an arrest. And with today’s CYA / cover-your-butt mentality of Connecticut cities and municipalities, Greenwich, Stamford, Wilton, and Darien police are tacking on Risk of Injury arrests to almost any domestic violence arrest where a child under 16 is in earshot.
Can anything be done? Plenty.
Keep reading to learn how you may be able to get your 53-21 Risk of Injury arrest in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, and Ridgefield Connecticut dismissed as quickly as possible…
Why are the best Stamford, Greenwich and Darien Connecticut criminal lawyers so offended by the language of Connecticut’s Risk of Injury statute? The answer lies in how broadly Connecticut police interpret and apply the statute. You see, you can be arrested in Connecticut for Risk of Injury to a Minor if you place any child under the age of 16 in physical danger, or if you “compromise their moral, physical or mental health.” Compromise their moral or mental health? What does this mean? Why isn’t this defined in the statute? Do the police have a forensic psychiatrist on scene to assess whether cursing at your spouse in front of your child, spanking your child, or shoplifting with the child in a stroller compromises their physical or mental health? It seems police and prosecutors think they can slap on felony charges at their whim, as top Connecticut criminal lawyers are seeing more and more arrests for Risk of Injury in Connecticut for conduct that has little or nothing to do with a child’s safety.
The most common and frustrating arrest for Risk of Injury in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien or Greenwich Connecticut is when the police unnecessarily tack on the 53-21 Risk of Injury arrest charge to a low-risk domestic violence arrest between two spouses, when the children are upstairs, safe and sleeping. What police and prosecutors fail to appreciate is how much more damaging a gratuitous Felony arrest in Stamford, Greenwich and Darien Connecticut for Risk of Injury is to these children when the father loses his Wall Street or corporate job for having a felony charge pending against him. When will police and prosecutors get this?? This punishes the kids far more when they have to move out of their home and switch schools. On top of this, there’s the media fallout of your Connecticut arrest for Risk of Injury. If you have been arrested for Risk of Injury in Stamford, Greenwich, Westport, or Darien Connecticut, then you know the online internet reports of your arrest can be as punitive as the arrest itself (that’s why firms like our have dedicated resources and years of hard work in fighting media companies to remove online arrest reports in Connecticut from the internet).
As any top Connecticut DCF Investigation criminal lawyer attorney can assure you, when the police arrest you in Greenwich Connecticut for 53-21 Risk of Injury to a Minor (or anywhere else in Connecticut), it’s almost a certainty that you are going to be getting a call or a visit from a Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigator. The best Connecticut DCF lawyers and attorneys know that the arresting police officer is required by law to make a referral of the criminal case not only to the local Superior Court, but to DCF to investigate whether any additional services or court intervention is necessary to protect the children involved in the Connecticut Risk of Injury arrest. While you can learn more about fighting DCF investigations Stamford, Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan Connecticut by clicking here, know that DCF investigators usually follow two investigative protocols when conducting investigations: (1) the low-risk Family Assessment Response (the “FAR”), or (2) the comprehensive “Full Investigation” which determines whether abuse or neglect has taken place.
At the end of a Full DCF investigation in Stamford, Greenwich, Wilton, Ridgefield, and Fairfield Connecticut, the DCF workers will determine whether you pose a risk to the child’s health or safety, and whether such findings shall be recording in the DCF Central Registry, which is available for public search and scrutiny. With all these moving parts to a Connecticut DCF Investigation—especially when it’s contemporaneous with a Connecticut Risk of Injury arrest—you should definitely consult with a top Connecticut DCF lawyer attorney to better understand the process before speaking with a DCF investigator. (Remember that Connecticut DCF investigators and local police do routinely share information, and don’t need your permission to do so).
Thankfully, the best Stamford, Greenwich, Danbury and Fairfield Connecticut criminal lawyers who frequently fight Connecticut Risk of Injury arrests regularly huddle up and aggressively refine their tactics of persuading prosecutors to reduce the Risk of Injury charges, or consent to their dismissal. They present technical legal arguments, pick apart the evidence, and propose outside-the-box case dispositions that will not only give state prosecutors assurances that you are not a threat to children, but will also clear and expunge your criminal record. And when prosecutors will not acquiesce, top Connecticut criminal lawyers will leapfrog these stubborn prosecutors and go directly to the Connecticut criminal judge, filing motions and paperwork that ask the Connecticut criminal court to suspend prosecution of their felony Darien Connecticut Risk of Injury arrest and dismiss their case after a sufficient period of time. These suspension of prosecution motions are often made over the objection of state prosecutors, and over the protests of Connecticut DCF agents, but are critical to getting your Greenwich, Darien or Stamford arrest for Risk of Injury dismissed.
So if you have been unfairly arrested for Risk of Injury in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, or any Connecticut jurisdiction, don’t settle for anything less than a dismissal of your Connecticut Risk of Injury arrest. The Connecticut Risk of Injury criminal lawyers at Mark Sherman Law understand the havoc that comes with these arrests and will work quickly and cost-effectively with you in furtherance of the goal of getting your Connecticut Risk of Injury arrest dismissed, and shutting down the corresponding Connecticut DCF investigation without any public registry recordings. So call us today at (203) 358-4700 for a consultation.
