Cleveland Family Crime Lawyer

Being married to more than one person at a time is a crime in Ohio, and prosecutors can and do charge people with bigamy. Sometimes, the charges are based on a mistake, such as believing that you were divorced when you remarried. Still, being convicted of bigamy can have serious negative ramifications outside of the criminal scope, including voiding a marriage you thought was valid. If you’re convicted of this first-degree misdemeanor charge, you’ll face up to six months in jail. Bigamy and other plural marriage arrangements have a long history in many religions and cultures but are illegal in all 50 states. It doesn’t matter where your marriages were performed. If you are a resident of Cleveland, then prosecutors have jurisdiction to charge you.

ORC Child Endangering (O.R.C. 2919.22)

Parents have a duty to take appropriate actions to protect and support their children. Failure to live up to that standard can have serious consequences. When parents neglect their children, physically abuse them, or engage in conduct like drunk driving with a young child in the car, they can be charged with endangering children by Cleveland prosecutors. The grade of the charge has to do with your specific conduct and the consequences of it.

For instance, driving drunk with a minor child in the car will be charged as a first-degree misdemeanor unless the child was injured. Depending on the severity of the injuries to the child, endangering children, in that case, will be charged as a fifth or fourth-degree felony. You could face 180 days, 12 months, or 18 months in prison for drunk driving with a child in the car, and your exposure to jail time has everything to do with the results of the conduct. In cases of child abuse, torture, or extreme disciplinary actions that result in harm to the child, you can face charges as serious as a second-degree felony and up to 8 years in prison.

Parental Education Neglect (O.R.C. 2919.222)

Parents of children who are suspended or expelled from school or who are excessively absent or truant may be subject to mandatory parental education classes by the local school board. Failure to attend these classes can result in criminal charges against the parent. Parental education neglect is charged by Cleveland prosecutors when the parent of a suspended or expelled student fails to meet the requirements set forth by the local school district.

Parental education neglect is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and conviction can result in up to 30 days in jail. Parents work hard to provide for their children—and some are forced to work multiple jobs with little or no support. Maintaining a stable roof over the family’s head and putting food on the table shouldn’t subject you to harassment from Cleveland prosecutors.

Misrepresentation Relating to Provision of Child Care (O.R.C. 2919.224)

Daycares and other childcare facilities operate under a strict regulatory regime intended to protect children, ease the minds of parents, and ensure high standards of safety and security. When a childcare provider misrepresents facts about their facility, staff, or other elements of their operation to a parent, guardian, police officer, inspector, or investigator, they can be charged with misrepresentation relating to the provision of child care. This is a first-degree misdemeanor charge that can result in six months in jail. Because these cases so often hinge on a he-said, she-said type of allegation, it’s vital that you work with experienced Cleveland family crime attorneys who know how to rebut the charges against you and challenge the testimony from the other side.

Interference with Custody (O.R.C. 2919.23)

While interference with custody charges is usually applied when a non-custodial parent refuses to abide by a court order and fails to return their child to the custodial parent, there are other circumstances. For instance, removing a child from juvenile detention or a mental health facility is also an interference with custody, as is aiding or enticing a child to leave their custodial residence. Penalties vary based on the specifics of the case.

For removing a child from an institution they’re ordered by law to be in, you’ll face a third-degree misdemeanor charge and up to 60 days if convicted. Keeping a child away from his or her custodial parent is a first-degree misdemeanor, with a six month sentence possible if convicted. If the child is taken out of state, the charge is a felony of the fifth degree, with a maximum sentence of six to 12 months. If the child is injured as a result of the violation, the charge is a fourth-degree felony, and you could go to jail for as long as 18 months if convicted.

Interfering with Action to Issue / Modify Support (O.R.C. 2919.231)

When legal action is pending between actual or alleged parents, it is against the law to use threats, harassment, or violence to try to stop the other party from pursuing or modifying an existing order. The law is strongly interested in ensuring that all members of the community have access to the courts to resolve their disputes.

People who engage in conduct designed to impede that access may be in violation of the law. As a base charge, this is a first-degree misdemeanor, and you could spend up to six months in jail. If you’ve been convicted under the statute in the past, you’ll be charged at the fifth-degree felony level and face up to a year behind bars.

ORC Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

O.R.C. 2919.24 charges that a parent has contributed to a child’s unwillingness to submit to authority, to attend school as required by law, or that a parent has otherwise encouraged conduct in a child that could harm their morals or health, can be devastating to an entire family. Prosecutors can charge contributing to unruliness or delinquency of a child against people who aren’t parents as well; however, most often, the allegations are that a parent or guardian is encouraging behavior that puts a child’s welfare at risk.

The charge is a first-degree misdemeanor, but importantly, each day of violation can be charged separately. For instance, if your child refuses to attend school on separate occasions and you are aware of the behavior and not taking reasonable actions to rectify the situation, you can be charged for each of those occasions. Each count can lead to a six-month jail sentence. These are extremely serious charges that you have to protect yourself and your family from.

Motion for & Hearing on Protection Order (O.R.C. 2919.26)

In cases where the victim of certain crimes is a family member or member of a defendant’s household, the victim may ask for a temporary protection order to be issued by the court as a condition of your release from jail. This order can have a significant impact on your life, limiting your access to your home, work, school, and job.

The rules governing how protection orders are issued are covered in the statute. While judges tend to err on the side of protecting alleged victims, it’s important that you get experienced legal help right away when facing a temporary protection order. Aside from the charges you’re facing, you’ll also have to contend with hearings related to the protection order and dealing with possible allegations of violations, even if inadvertent. Our protection order defense page covers the civil side of these orders.

Evaluation of Mental Condition of Defendant (O.R.C. 2919.271)

In certain cases, defendants in criminal matters can be ordered to undergo an evaluation of their mental state by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or social worker in order to establish a clearer understanding of the thought processes that led to situations like violation of a protection order, stalking behaviors, and related conduct.

The defendant will pay for the examination as part of the court costs applied to the criminal case. Under the statute for the evaluation of the mental condition of the defendant, the mental health professional tasked with the evaluation can even request info from family members and others in your household if they feel they need it. However, those people are not obligated to provide anything. In complex criminal cases where mental state is considered a factor, you must work with the most experienced Cleveland family crimes lawyers you can find.

Protection Order Issued by Court of Another State (O.R.C. 2919.272)

If you are subject to a protection order issued by a family court in a state outside of Ohio, that order can be registered with the courts in this state, and local law enforcement and prosecutors can hold you accountable to its terms. A protection order issued by the court of another state provides the framework by which an out-of-state protection order can be registered here and stipulates that any costs associated with the filing can be assessed to you.

People who’ve been involved in criminal cases in another state may believe that moving away will give them a chance to start fresh, but when protection orders are in the mix, you may find your trouble has followed you.

Get Experienced Help Now: Contact a Cleveland Family Criminal Defense Lawyer

Patituce & Associates defends family-related criminal cases in Cleveland and throughout Ohio. Read Joseph C. Patituce’s attorney profile, and see our statewide family crimes overview for cases outside Cleveland. We are former prosecutors from right here in Ohio, so we have extensive knowledge of how criminal cases are built and prosecuted. We are former prosecutors from right here in Ohio, so we know how criminal cases are built and prosecuted. That background shapes how we test the State’s evidence, its charging decisions, and its plea offers.

The intimate nature of many family offense charges means that your attorneys have to be able to protect your reputation as well as your freedom. In a high-profile case or a case that’s gained notoriety in the community, you don’t have to be convicted to face serious repercussions from the allegations against you.

You need a criminal defense lawyer who understands how family-offense cases are charged, litigated, and resolved in Ohio courts. Our Cleveland family crime lawyers know how to manage every aspect of your case, from protecting your privacy and reputation to fighting the charges against you every step of the way.

When you’re facing charges for family crimes, call a criminal defense attorney at Patituce & Associates right away at (440) 771-1175.