Sexual Assault

What Constitutes Domestic Abuse?

Under Maryland law, certain criminal acts can be prosecuted as domestic violence when committed against a household or family member. Those crimes which can qualify as domestic violence include:

Simple or aggravated assault;
Stalking or harassment;
Sexual assault, including rape;
Child abuse or violence toward a vulnerable adult; and
Any act causing serious bodily harm or a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm.

Maryland applies the concept of domestic violence broadly, including actions between current or former spouses; individuals who cohabitate; parents and children; stepparents and stepchildren; and anyone else related by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Experienced Maryland Domestic Violence Lawyer

Attorney Jonathan Scott Smith brings more than three decades of experience to men and women throughout Baltimore County and across the state of Maryland who have been arrested for or charged with domestic violence. Attorney Smith is AV-rated by other attorneys under Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review System and has been named a Maryland SuperLawyer. A recipient of AVVO’s Client’s Choice Award, with an average client review of 5 stars(the highest rating possible), Attorney Smith also has a perfect 10.0 (Superb) AVVO rating as a litigator and was listed as a 2012 Top-Rated Lawyer by The American Lawyer magazine.

Attorney Smith will tenaciously protect your rights in any criminal matter, whether you are under investigation or already arrested and charged. He’ll verify that there was probable cause for arrest and that all your constitutional rights were respected. He’ll carefully investigate the facts and circumstances of your case in order to make the most persuasive arguments in your defense. Smith is a proven trial attorney with the skill, knowledge, and resources to protect your rights in any criminal matter.

Frederick County Criminal Defense Attorney

Contact experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Scott Smith online or call us at 410-740-0101 to set up an appointment. We handle criminal matters in Howard County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, Prince George’s County, and Montgomery County in Maryland.

Former Howard County School Teacher Sentenced for Sexual Assault of Boy

sexual-assault-of-boy

A former Howard County school teacher was sentenced to five years in jail after luring a 14-year-old boy out of his bedroom at night by misrepresenting himself as a 16-year-old. The teacher, who worked as a technology teacher and as a coach in the Howard County School system since 2003, pled not guilty last year to a third-degree sexual offense. Prosecutors say he went on a teen dating website, posted false pictures and misrepresented his age. They say that he lured the 14-year-old out of his home to meet him on a local tennis court in July, 2014. The boy subsequently reported the teacher to the police, who conducted an investigation that led to his arrest the following December.

After the teacher was convicted, his attorney asked that his sentence be suspended, but the judge only suspended four of the five years, and placed him on five years of supervised probation.

Criminal Defense Attorney in Maryland

Maryland Super Lawyer Jonathan Scott Smith has fought for the rights of criminal defendants for more than 30 years. Smith has a perfect 10.0 Superb rating as a litigation attorney from AVVO, and is also respected by his colleagues in the legal profession, who have given him an AV-rating under Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating System. Because of his record and reputation, he has been a multiple recipient of the Client’s Choice Award from AVVO, based on an average client review of 5 stars (the highest rating possible). Smith was also lauded as a 2012 Top Rated Lawyer by The American Lawyer Magazine and Martindale-Hubbell.

Top-Rated Ellicott City and Columbia, MD, Criminal Defense Lawyer

We aggressively defend people throughout Maryland who are facing criminal charges. Contact us by e-mail or call us at 410-740-0101 to schedule an appointment. We represent criminal defendants in Howard County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, Frederick County, Prince Georges County and Montgomery County in Maryland.