How domestic violence allegations are actually charged in Pennsylvania.

What we do in the first week.

• Read the petition and the affidavit together

  The PFA petition and the police affidavit are usually written from the same account. Inconsistencies between them are the first place a defense gets traction.

• Lock down the messages

  Texts, call logs, ring-camera clips, and social messages disappear or get overwritten. We preserve them before the ten-business-day hearing window closes.

• Map the no-contact terms

  Bail conditions and a temporary order can overlap and conflict. You need one clear rule about what you may do, in writing, on day one.

• Protect the firearms position

  Where relinquishment is ordered, § 6108.2 and § 6108.3 set out lawful transfer and third-party options rather than improvised hand-offs.

• Coordinate with custody

  If a custody case exists or is coming, PFA testimony and temporary custody terms need to be handled with the custody record in mind.

• Decide what gets said where

  Testifying at a civil hearing while criminal charges are pending has consequences. That decision gets made deliberately, not in the hallway.

Sources & statutory citations

1. [1]18 Pa.C.S. § 2701 — Simple assault — M2 generally; M3 for a mutual fight; M1 where the victim is under 12 and the actor is 18 or older.
2. [2]18 Pa.C.S. § 2702 — Aggravated assault — F1 for serious bodily injury caused or attempted; F2 for bodily injury with a deadly weapon or against an enumerated victim.
3. [3]18 Pa.C.S. § 2706 — Terroristic threats — M1 generally; F3 where the threat causes the diversion or evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation.
4. [4]18 Pa.C.S. § 2709 — Harassment — summary offense generally; graded higher for repeated or lewd communications.
5. [5]18 Pa.C.S. § 2711 — Probable cause arrests in domestic violence cases — warrantless arrest authority for assault-type offenses between family or household members.
6. [6]18 Pa.C.S. § 2718 — Strangulation — M2 generally; F2 against a family or household member or where a protective order applies; F1 with a prior strangulation conviction or where the actor used an instrument of crime.
7. [7]23 Pa.C.S. § 6102 — Protection From Abuse definitions — what counts as 'abuse' and who qualifies as a family or household member for PFA purposes.
8. [8]23 Pa.C.S. § 6106 — Commencement of PFA proceedings — who may file a petition and the verified-petition requirements.
9. [9]23 Pa.C.S. § 6107 — PFA hearings and temporary orders — the final hearing is set within ten business days of filing; ex parte temporary relief requires immediate and present danger of abuse.
10. [10]23 Pa.C.S. § 6108 — Relief available in a PFA order — no-contact, eviction and exclusive possession, temporary custody, and firearms relinquishment under § 6108(a)(7); a final order may last up to three years.
11. [11]23 Pa.C.S. § 6113 — Arrest for violation of a PFA order — police may arrest without a warrant on probable cause that the defendant violated the order.
12. [12]23 Pa.C.S. § 6114 — Indirect criminal contempt for violating a PFA order — up to six months imprisonment and a fine of $300 to $1,000 per violation.
13. [13]23 Pa.C.S. § 5328 — Custody best-interest factors — the court must weigh present and past abuse and any continued risk of harm to the child.
14. [14]18 Pa.C.S. § 6105 — Persons not to possess firearms — enumerated convictions, including certain assault offenses and active protective orders, bar firearm possession.
15. [15]18 U.S.C. § 922(g) — Federal firearms prohibitions — § 922(g)(8) covers persons subject to a qualifying protective order and § 922(g)(9) covers misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence.

Statutes are summarized for public reference. Confirm current text at palegis.us. This page is attorney advertising, not legal advice.