Domestic Violence Defense Attorney in Sheridan, Wyoming

A domestic violence charge in Wyoming doesn’t go away because the other person doesn’t want to press charges. In Wyoming, the State decides whether to prosecute, not the alleged victim, and that surprises almost everyone we talk to. A first domestic battery is a misdemeanor, but repeat charges can climb into felony territory with up to 10 years in prison. Just Criminal Law defends people accused of domestic violence in Sheridan and across Sheridan County. Our founding attorney, Christina L. Williams, began her legal career as a special prosecutor handling domestic violence cases, so she knows exactly how the State builds them.

What Counts as Domestic Violence Under Wyoming Law

Wyoming’s domestic violence statutes apply to “household members,” a term defined in W.S. 35-21-102 that reaches well beyond spouses to include people who live together, share a child, or have dated. The two core charges are:

• Domestic battery (W.S. 6-2-511): a household member knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another household member by physical force. A first offense is a misdemeanor, up to 6 months in jail and a fine up to $750.
• Domestic assault (W.S. 6-2-510): a household member attempting to cause bodily injury when they have the present ability to do it. Also a misdemeanor on a first offense.

Here’s where it gets serious. Domestic battery escalates with priors. A third or subsequent domestic battery within 10 years becomes a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Strangulation of a household member is charged separately as a felony under W.S. 6-2-509. A charge that starts as a misdemeanor can carry consequences that follow you for life, including a federal firearms prohibition that applies even to a misdemeanor domestic conviction.

Penalties for Domestic Battery in Wyoming

These offenses add up, and previous convictions from other states and tribal courts count.

• Strangulation of a family member (§ 6-2-509) is a standalone felony with a maximum sentence of ten years. No visible injury is required. Attempting to impede breathing counts as strangulation and is usually added on top of the charge for battery, rather than replacing it
• First offense: misdemeanor, up to six months in jail and a fine of $750
• Second offense within five years: up to one year and a fine of $1,000
• Third or subsequent offense within ten years: felony, up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000
• Aggravated assault and battery (§ 6-2-502) for serious injury or use of a deadly weapon: a felony, carrying up to ten years, with no prior record required

Wyoming Protection Orders and the 72-Hour Hearing

The protection order is a separate case. It has a different file and a different burden of proof. People lose it because they treat it like paperwork attached to a criminal matter.

A petitioner files a petition with the circuit court clerk. If the affidavit indicates a danger of further abuse, the judge can grant a temporary ex parte order without the petitioner being present (§ 35-21-104). The court then must hold a hearing within 72 hours or as soon as it can hear the case. The order issued there can last for three years and can be renewed.

It may require you to leave your home, prohibit all contact, set temporary custody terms, and require you to surrender firearms. Willful violation of this is a separate misdemeanor under § 6-4-404. Contact is one text. So is passing a message through a relative. Responding when the petitioner makes contact first is still a violation. The order restricts you, not them.

Letting the order to enter by default seems easier. It is not. It could bar you from your home for years and lead to a custody case as a judicial finding of abuse. Contesting it is often as urgent as defending yourself against a criminal charge.

Consequences That Outlast the Sentence

Your gun rights.

A misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a lifetime federal firearms ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the Lautenberg Amendment. First offense, no jail served, ban applies anyway. Wyoming cannot undo a federal prohibition, and the exception letting officers and service members carry duty weapons does not cover it. In ranching and hunting country, clients care about this most and learn it too late.

Your children.

Wyoming courts must treat evidence of spousal or child abuse as contrary to the children’s best interests (§ 20-2-201 (c)), and must structure visitation to protect them if family violence is found. The Wyoming Supreme Court calls this one factor among several rather than an automatic bar, so there is room to argue. A pending charge alone can still be used against you.

Your record.

Misdemeanor domestic battery can be petitioned for expungement under § 7-13-1501, generally within five years. Felony battery and strangulation are not eligible for expungement. Expungement does not reliably restore federal gun rights for non-citizens. A crime of domestic violence can lead to deportation.

How These Cases Actually Work in Sheridan County

Wyoming is not a mandatory arrest state. § 7-20-102 allows officers to arrest without a warrant based on probable cause within 24 hours of an alleged offense. There is also no predominant aggressor statute, so both parties can be charged. Calling 911 first does not prove that you were the victim.

Once a report is filed, the case becomes the property of the state, and retraction does not stop it. One trap that ruins otherwise defensible cases is not contacting the alleged victim and asking them to drop the matter. That call could be considered witness tampering and jail calls are recorded. The bond conditions also usually include a no-contact order, separate from any protective order. Two orders, two ways to break them.

Defenses to Domestic Violence Charges in Wyoming

Self-defense is often the strongest argument available. Wyoming imposes no duty to retreat where you are lawfully present, and § 6-2-602 supplies a presumption of reasonable fear in certain home entry situations. When both people live there, the case turns on who was the aggressor and whether the force was reasonable.

False allegations cluster in contested divorces and custody fights, where a protective order can change who lives in the home within days. Men are victims of domestic violence too, and a man who has been hit by a partner is less likely to be believed and more likely to end up in handcuffs. That story deserves to be heard. Save texts, call logs, and names of witnesses.

Then there are injuries that do not match the account, timeline conflicts between the 911 call and the report, and body camera footage contradicts the narrative. The footage is the first piece of evidence to disappear if nobody demands it. And if the relationship does not fit the household definition, the charge falls away entirely, leaving a simple assault or battery charge.

A Former DV Prosecutor on Your Side

Christina Williams started out prosecuting domestic violence cases for the State. She knows the playbook from the inside: how these cases are charged, what evidence prosecutors lean on when a witness won’t testify, and where the proof is weaker than it looks. That isn’t a line on a resume. It’s the practical knowledge that tells us which cases to fight at trial and which to resolve, and how.

We’re careful with what we promise. Some of these cases come down to one person’s word against another’s, and outcomes are never guaranteed. What we can do is make sure your side is fully developed and that the State is held to its burden on every element.

Why Clients in Sheridan Choose Just Criminal Law

• A former DV prosecutor’s perspective: Christina L. Williams prosecuted domestic violence cases before defending them.
• 25+ years, 10,000+ cases: Our team has handled more than 10,000 criminal matters since 2009.
• Discreet, direct counsel: These cases are personal. We treat them that way.