Ocean City Risk of Injury to a Minor Lawyer
Someone facing a risk of injury to a minor charge should contact an Ocean City risk of injury to a minor lawyer because the charges are serious. There are several different laws in Maryland that potentially a person could be charged with for a risk of injury to a minor child. Some of them are misdemeanors and some of them are felonies, but they are all serious. If the person is convicted, they are going to end up with a criminal record.
Any criminal record is something to be avoided, but especially when talking about anything on a person’s record that involves children. For some charges that are placed on an individual because of things that happened with children, there could be a reasonable defense. It is also possible that with some conversations with the prosecutor’s office, the case could be resolved without the matter having to go to trial. If an individual has been charged with risk of injury to a minor, they should speak with a dedicated domestic violence attorney that could fight for them.
Difference Between Risk of Injury to the Mental Health of a Child vs the Physical Well-Being
Under Maryland law, there are a couple of different ways that an injury, either a mental health issue or a physical well-being issue, could be charged. There is not necessarily a differentiation between the two and that is important for people to understand. A person could be charged with endangering the physical well-being of the child and that does not mean that there has to be any sort of injury or that something has to be physically done to the child. It is the act of endangering the child and putting the child at risk, so the penalty would not be different. There are a lot of different ways that somebody could be charged with putting the child in harm’s way or behaving in a reckless manner that endangers the child. Under Maryland law, the state does not make a distinction between a mental health injury and a physical injury. If an individual is charged with risk of injury to a child’s mental or physical health, they should consult an Ocean City risk of injury to a minor lawyer that could help them.
Corporal Punishment Laws
The laws surrounding corporal punishment and physical discipline of a child in Ocean City do not necessarily prohibit corporal punishment, it does not specifically criminalize spanking a child or some other type of physical punishment. It has more to do with something that is taken just one step too far. To be convicted of child abuse, there would have to be a physical injury that was sustained and it would have to be done as a result of cruel or inhumane treatment of the child. Spanking a child without causing physical injury is technically legal in the state of Maryland, but if the child is spanked with a belt and there are marks left on the child, it constitutes child abuse. It is a question of stepping over the line of legal behavior into illegal behavior. It is a matter of degrees. For example, swatting a child’s behind as a form of punishment is not prohibited but swatting a child to the point where one leaves bruises or other types of marks is probably going to end up with a charge of child abuse.
Value of an Ocean City Risk of Injury to a Minor Attorney
It is always worthwhile to consult an Ocean City risk of injury to a minor lawyer and figure out what the options are. Sometimes people think that they do not need to hire an attorney and all that they need to do is explain to someone what the circumstances were. The reality is that the court does not work that way. The prosecutor’s office does not work that way. It is always important to have an attorney who could work as an advocate and give more explanation or place an event in context. Sometimes that is what needs to happen for a charge to be dismissed or potentially resolved in a way short of going to trial.