Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
By 30-Year Veteran Criminal Lawyer Atlanta Larry Kohn Who Has Over 600 5-star AVVO Reviews and a Super Lawyers Rating
If you or someone you love has been arrested for family violence battery or simple battery in Georgia, you are not alone—and you are not beyond help. A single argument, a misunderstanding, or a false accusation should not define the rest of your life.
At Kohn & Yager, our Atlanta criminal defense lawyers have helped thousands of people in your position protect their freedom, their record, and their family relationships after a domestic‑violence arrest. We can explain, in non-legal terms, what these charges mean and what we can do right now to improve your situation.
What Is Simple Battery in Georgia?
In Georgia, simple battery is often the starting point when police are called out after a fight, argument, or heated confrontation.
You can be charged with simple battery if the State says you either made physical contact of an “insulting or provoking nature” with someone else, or you intentionally caused them physical harm—this can include pushing, grabbing, slapping, or any other unwanted touching.
For most people, simple battery is a misdemeanor, which means a maximum of 12 months in jail and a fine, along with probation, classes, and other court conditions if you are convicted or plead guilty.
What Is Battery (Visible Injury)?
Georgia law also has a separate crime called battery, which is more serious than simple battery because it involves visible or “substantial” bodily harm.
Battery is charged when the State claims you caused visible injuries such as bruises, cuts, swelling, black eyes, or other harm that another person could easily see.
Like simple battery, battery is typically a misdemeanor, but judges and prosecutors often take it more seriously because the injuries are greater, and penalties can include lengthy probation, jail time, and strict no‑contact orders.
What Makes It “Family Violence” Battery?
The conduct in a regular battery case and a family violence battery case may look almost identical. What changes everything is who the alleged victim is.
Under Georgia’s Family Violence Act, battery becomes family violence battery when the alleged victim is a family or household member. That includes spouses or ex‑spouses, parents and children, stepparents and stepchildren, foster families, parents of the same child, and people who live or have lived in the same household.
If visible injury is alleged and the relationship falls into this family‑violence category, the State can file the harsher charge of family violence battery instead of a “regular” battery, even if it is your first ever contact with the criminal system.
Simple Battery vs Family Violence Battery: Why It Matters
To most people, a shove is a shove and an argument is an argument. But legally, the difference between simple battery and family violence battery can change the rest of your life.
Regular battery and simple battery are generally misdemeanors, even if a person picks up more than one conviction over time. In contrast, if you are convicted of family violence battery once, a later family‑violence battery allegation can be charged as a felony with one to five years in prison.
The family violence label also ramps up consequences in child‑custody cases, immigration, gun rights, and background checks long after you walk out of a courtroom. That is why it is critical to have an Atlanta criminal defense lawyer work to avoid, reduce, or carefully negotiate any family‑violence finding.
Conviction Penalties and Loss of Gun Rights
For a first offense, family violence battery is usually a misdemeanor, but the fallout can still be life‑changing.
Judges often put strict no‑contact orders or temporary protective orders (TPO) in place, order you to leave your home, require family‑violence intervention programs, and lay out long probation terms—even when the alleged victim does not want to prosecute.
On top of court‑imposed conditions, federal law can bar people convicted of certain domestic‑violence offenses from possessing firearms, and any family‑violence conviction can be a serious problem for non‑citizens, licensed professionals, and anyone who needs a clean record for work.
Protective Orders, No‑Contact Orders, and Your Home
Many clients are stunned to learn that they can be ordered away from their home or children based on a single incident and a single accusation.
In addition to the criminal case, the alleged victim can seek a TPO in civil court, which may be extended into a 12‑month or even longer order after a hearing. These orders can limit contact, force you out of a shared residence, and affect how judges view your role in your children’s lives.
An experienced Atlanta domestic violence defense lawyer can appear with you in both the criminal case and the protective‑order hearing, to tell your side of the story, present evidence, and fight for conditions you can actually live with.
Common Defenses in Family Violence and Simple Battery Cases
Not every argument is a crime, and not every injury is the result of a one‑sided attack. Many family‑violence and simple‑battery cases are built on incomplete facts, assumptions, or one person’s version of what happened.
Depending on the evidence, your defense may involve showing that you acted in self‑defense, that you were not the primary aggressor, that any contact was accidental, or that the relationship does not legally qualify as “family violence.” In some cases, we can also challenge whether there was truly visible bodily harm or whether the injuries were exaggerated or came from another cause.
Even when the State has evidence of some physical contact, a skilled defense team can often negotiate to a reduced charge, a non‑family‑violence disposition, or an outcome that avoids a felony and minimizes long‑term damage to your record and your relationships.
Call an Atlanta Family Violence Battery Lawyer Now
If you have been arrested in Atlanta or anywhere in Georgia for family violence battery or simple battery, you are facing more than a court date—you are facing decisions that can affect your family, your job, and your future for years.
The earlier you involve a defense lawyer, the more options you may have: challenging the accusations, negotiating a resolution that avoids a family‑violence tag, seeking bond modifications, addressing protective orders, and protecting your rights at every hearing.
Call Larry Kohn or Cory Yager when you can have a private conversation for a confidential, no‑obligation lawyer consultation. We are here to give you clear answers, real options, and a plan to move forward—starting right now, while the case is still fresh and change is still possible.
Larry and Cory have over 40 years of combined criminal defense courtroom experience, and Cory is a former cop who was involved in many domestic violence situations with the Roswell GA Police Department and the Cobb County Police Department. An accusation is not a conviction.