Fort Lauderdale Criminal Attorney Blog
Fort Lauderdale domestic violence defense often turns on on the question of whether the State charges the defendant misdemeanor or a felony. Most domestic arrests in Broward County begin with an allegation of simple battery or simple assault. A weapon, a serious injury, a pregnancy, or a prior record can turn the same allegation into a felony with years of prison exposure. A new Florida law that took effect July 1, 2026, raises the stakes further for anyone with a prior domestic violence offense.
Domestic Violence Is a Label, Not a Specific Type of Crime
Florida has no standalone crime called “domestic violence.” Section 741.28 defines the term as a list of offenses committed by one family or household member against another. That list includes assault, aggravated assault, battery, and aggravated battery. The domestic label brings no-contact orders, batterers’ intervention programs, and other consequences. The underlying charge sets the penalty.
Simple battery is a first-degree misdemeanor under section 784.03, punishable by up to one year in jail. Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor under section 784.011, punishable by up to 60 days. Neither carries state prison time. The aggravated offenses do.
Aggravated Assault Under Section 784.021
Assault is a threat, not a touch. Under section 784.011, assault is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence. The person making the threat must have the apparent ability to carry it out. The threat must create a well-founded fear that violence is about to happen. No one has to actually be hurt.
Section 784.021 makes an assault aggravated in two situations. The first is an assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. The second is an assault with intent to commit a felony. Aggravated assault is a third-degree felony. It carries up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The deadly weapon element drives most domestic aggravated assault charges. A person who picks up a kitchen knife during an argument faces a felony even if the knife never touches anyone. The same is true for a person who displays a handgun during a dispute. Florida law looks at how an object was used or threatened to be used, not at what the object is. A frying pan, a screwdriver, or a car can qualify when used in a way likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
Firearms add a mandatory minimum. Florida’s 10-20-Life law, section 775.087(2), requires a three-year minimum prison sentence for aggravated assault when the accused actually possessed a firearm.
Aggravated Battery Under Section 784.045
Battery requires an actual and intentional touching or striking against the other person’s will, or intentionally causing bodily harm. Section 784.045 makes a battery aggravated in three ways. The accused intentionally or knowingly caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. The accused used a deadly weapon. Or the person struck was pregnant, and the accused knew or should have known it.
Aggravated battery is a second-degree felony. It carries up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. When the State alleges the accused actually possessed a firearm, section 775.087 requires a 10-year minimum. Discharging the firearm raises the minimum to 20 years.
The pregnancy provision matters in domestic cases. The State does not need to prove any injury. A push that would be a misdemeanor against anyone else becomes a second-degree felony when the partner was pregnant and the accused knew or should have known.
“Great bodily harm” is often contested ground. Florida courts have long held that the term means harm that is great, as distinguished from slight, trivial, minor, or moderate harm. Owens v. State, 289 So. 2d 472 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974). Bruises and scratches often fall short. Medical records, photographs, and the timing of treatment decide which side of the line an injury falls on.
Other Paths From Misdemeanor to Felony
Aggravated charges are not the only way a domestic battery becomes a felony. Under section 784.03(2), a person with one prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, or felony battery faces a third-degree felony for any new battery. The prior does not need to involve the same person.
Section 784.041 creates two more felonies. Felony battery applies when a battery causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement, even if the accused intended only the touch and not the injury. That distinction separates felony battery, a third-degree felony, from aggravated battery, a second-degree felony. Section 784.041(2) also makes domestic battery by strangulation a third-degree felony.
What Changed on July 1, 2026
The Florida Legislature passed HB 277 without a single no vote in either chamber. The law reclassifies a second or subsequent domestic violence offense to the next higher degree. The practical effect is steep. An aggravated assault that would be a third-degree felony can become a second-degree felony. An aggravated battery that would be a second-degree felony can become a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
HB 277 also lowered the threshold for felony injunction violations. A person with one prior conviction for violating an injunction now faces a third-degree felony for the next violation. The old rule required two priors.
The lesson is simple. A quick plea to a misdemeanor domestic battery today can become the prior that enhances a felony tomorrow.
Why Weapon Cases Move Fast
Prosecutors and judges treat weapon allegations in domestic cases as danger signals. Research supports that instinct. A multisite study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that an abuser’s access to a gun and prior threats with a weapon were among the strongest risk factors for intimate partner homicide. That research shapes how courts set bond, how strictly they enforce no-contact orders, and how prosecutors approach plea offers. A person accused of aggravated assault or aggravated battery should expect the system to treat the case as serious from the first appearance.
Defenses in Aggravated Domestic Cases
Every element of an aggravated charge is an opportunity for the defense. The State must prove the object was a deadly weapon as it was actually used. A phone tossed onto a couch is not a deadly weapon. The State must prove the fear in an assault case was well-founded and caused by the accused’s conduct. In an aggravated battery case built on injury, the State must prove the harm was great and that the accused intended or knew it would result. In a pregnancy case, the State must prove the accused knew or should have known about the pregnancy.
Self-defense applies in domestic cases just as it does anywhere else. Section 776.012 allows force when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to defend against imminent unlawful force. Section 776.032 provides immunity from prosecution and a pretrial hearing where the State carries the burden to overcome a properly raised claim.
Evidence problems also matter. Domestic cases often rest on statements made in the first minutes after a 911 call. Those statements can conflict with body camera footage, text messages, neighbor accounts, and later testimony. Juries can also consider lesser included offenses. An aggravated battery charge can end in a conviction for simple battery when the proof of the aggravating element falls short.
The Charge Is Decided Early
Police make the arrest. The Broward State Attorney’s Office decides what to file. The window between arrest and formal charge is the most important stretch of the case. During that window, defense counsel can put evidence in front of prosecutors: photographs, medical records, texts, witness statements, and proof of self-defense. That evidence can lead the State to file a misdemeanor instead of a felony, or to file nothing at all. Once a felony information is filed, the path back to a misdemeanor gets harder. After HB 277, every domestic conviction also follows the accused into the next case. Hiring a defense lawyer as soon as possible can give you a better shot at minimizing the impact this matter will have on your life.
Criminal Defense Attorney Richard Ansara represents people charged with domestic violence offenses in Fort Lauderdale and throughout Broward County. Anyone facing an aggravated assault or aggravated battery allegation should contact Ansara Law before the State makes its charging decision.
