Domestic Violence Initial Appearance Hearing

Initial appearance is the first court hearing after a person is arrested for a domestic violence charge or charges in Florida.  The purpose of the initial appearance hearing is for the court to determine if probable cause exist to justify an arrest for a domestic violence charge or charges, if the arrested person should be given a bond and if so what the bond amount will be and what the conditions of release will be.

To make these determinations the judge normally wants information from the victim on what the conditions of release should be to protect the victim from the arrested person.  The judge normally either gets this information from in person testimony from the victim at the initial appearance hearing or from the prosecutor at the initial appearance hearing who has already called the victim before the initial appearance hearing and discussed with the victim the conditions of release needed to protect the victim from the arrested person.

If the victim is not present at the initial appearance hearing and the prosecutor has not been able to speak to the victim by phone prior to the initial appearance hearing then the judge will normally order the conditions of release to be no contact with the victim and no return to the residence of the victim.  If you would like to discuss how I can help, the consultation is free.  Please call me at 407-740-8300, text me at 407-616-8808 or email me at [email protected].

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Orlando Criminal Defense Lawyer