Darien Threat to Harm Lawyer
Being arrested on second-degree threatening charges can upend your entire life, which is why retaining help from a skilled defense attorney is often so crucial to getting your life back to normal. Retaining a Darien threat to harm lawyer could make the difference between a painless resolution to your case, and a criminal conviction that results in fines, restraining orders, and potentially even imprisonment.
What is Threatening?
There are technically two degrees of criminal threatening codified under state law, but charges of threatening in the first degree usually only apply to situations where someone is suspected of making a terroristic threat to a populated area. When someone is arrested for allegedly making a credible threat during a domestic dispute or another personal argument, they are usually charged with threatening in the second degree instead.
Under Connecticut General Statutes §53a-62, second-degree threatening can entail any of the following actions:
- Attempting to or succeeding at making another person fear for their immediate physical safety
- Terrorizing someone by threatening to commit a violent crime
- Threatening to commit a violent crime without intent to terrorize, but with “reckless disregard of the risk to cause such terror”
A skilled Darien threat to harm attorney could offer further clarification about how law enforcement defines this offense and how courts tend to treat people accused of it.
Can I Go to Jail for Threatening?
Under most circumstances, second-degree threatening is a class A misdemeanor offense, which means the most a defendant could be sentenced with upon conviction for this offense is a $2,000 fine and a year-long sentence in local or county jail. If someone criminally threatens to harm someone in a school, day care center, religious community center, or house of worship during operating hours, the offense is enhanced to a class D felony punishable by a $5,000 fine and five years in prison.
Is Threat to Harm a Domestic Violence Offense?
If someone allegedly threatens to harm a family member, spouse, relationship partner, or household member, their subsequent criminal charges will likely be classified as domestic violence. Separately from any associated criminal consequences, defendants facing domestic violence charges will also have to contend with family court proceedings, during which they will almost certainly have at least a temporary restraining order issued against them.
Even if a threatening charge stems from a simple misunderstanding or an argument that has since been peacefully resolved, the impact of protective orders, investigation by the Department of Children and Families, and other related consequences can still wreak havoc on a defendant’s personal and professional life. A threat to harm lawyer could advocate on a Darien defendant’s behalf for mitigated penalties and a favorable final resolution in both criminal and family court.
Talk to a Darien Threat to Harm Attorney About Legal Options
The best way to get past this kind of accusation is almost always to have a qualified Darien threat to harm lawyer help you fight it. Click here to read our certified avvo.com client reviews, and call today to learn more about threat to harm cases and how to fight your case.