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Pembroke Pines · Broward County
Domestic violence charges carry immediate consequences — including a no-contact order and mandatory arrest. Attorney Tyler Williams fights to protect your rights, reputation, and family.
In Pembroke Pines, a domestic violence call almost always ends in an arrest, because Florida law pushes officers to make one when there is probable cause. Pembroke Pines Police Department takes you to the Broward County Main Jail (BSO), where you will be held until first appearance the next morning. A no-contact order is usually put in place at that hearing, which can keep you out of your own home before you have been convicted of anything.
Domestic violence isn't a single crime. Under section 741.28, it's a label the State attaches to an underlying charge, usually battery, when the accuser is a spouse, an ex, a relative, someone you live with or used to, or someone you share a child with. The usual charge is domestic violence battery, a first-degree misdemeanor with up to a year in jail.
It becomes a felony fast. A prior battery conviction, serious injury, a weapon, or a pregnant victim turns it into felony or aggravated battery. Domestic battery by strangulation under section 784.041 is a third-degree felony on its own, and the State charges it whenever a hand went near a neck.
Florida law pushes officers toward arrest. If they find probable cause on a domestic call, someone is leaving in handcuffs, and the person who called 911 can't undo that by changing their mind. The arrest belongs to the State the moment it happens.
You're held without bond until first appearance the next morning, where the judge almost always imposes a no-contact order. That order can keep you out of your own home before you've been convicted of anything, and violating it, even with a text the other person asked for, is a new charge. Separately, the other person can file for a civil injunction under section 741.30, a different case in front of a different judge with its own consequences for your home, your firearms, and your kids. I handle both tracks together, because what you say in one shows up in the other.
On paper, misdemeanor domestic battery is up to a year in jail and a year of probation. The statute adds more. If you're adjudicated guilty and the court finds you intentionally caused bodily harm, section 741.283 requires at least 10 days in county jail, and probation comes with a batterers' intervention program that takes about six months to complete, at your expense.
Then the consequences that don't appear on the sentencing sheet. A domestic violence conviction, even with adjudication withheld, can never be sealed or expunged in Florida. A misdemeanor conviction triggers a lifetime federal firearm ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). If you aren't a U.S. citizen, it can affect your status. A fast plea to make it go away is how people end up with a record that follows them for life.
These cases are built on one person's account, and that account gets tested. I pull the 911 recording, the body camera footage, the photographs, and the written statements, and I compare what was said at the scene to what was said at the station to what was said a week later. Those versions rarely match. Self-defense is a real defense here. Florida's Stand Your Ground law applies inside a home, and a mutual argument where both people put hands on each other isn't a one-sided battery no matter who called 911 first.
The State Attorney's Office decides whether to file in the first few weeks, and that window is where a lot of the work happens. A complainant who doesn't want to go forward can't dismiss the case, but without that witness the State's case is usually hearsay. When I was at the Broward Public Defender's Office, domestic battery was a steady part of the docket. I know how the State's domestic violence unit evaluates a file, and I put the weaknesses in front of them before they file.
Misdemeanor domestic battery cases from Pembroke Pines Police Department are generally heard at the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood. Felony charges such as aggravated battery or strangulation go to the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, and the civil injunction, if there is one, is handled at the downtown courthouse. Booking and first appearance details are on the Pembroke Pines criminal defense page.
A misdemeanor assigned to a regional courthouse is transferred downtown if the State certifies it is seeking jail time or if the defense demands a jury trial.
Not directly. Once there is an arrest, the State Attorney decides whether to file and whether to proceed. A victim who does not want to go forward matters a great deal to that decision, but the case belongs to the State, not the complainant. I work with that reality from day one.
I file a motion to modify the no-contact order, usually with the alleged victim’s input if they support it. Judges in Broward routinely consider these motions early in the case. Until the order is changed, any contact can mean a new arrest, so follow it exactly.
Yes, the arrest record exists as soon as you are booked, even if the case is later dropped. A domestic violence conviction cannot be sealed or expunged in Florida, which is one reason fighting the charge rather than taking a quick plea matters so much.
This page is general information about Florida law and Broward County procedure, not legal advice for your specific case. Penalties and court assignments can change. We confirm the details when we speak.
Your first case strategy session is free and completely confidential. Attorney Tyler Williams answers personally, 24/7. Se habla español.