Not a lawyer, but my brother dealt with this a couple years back. He could have fought and possibly won his domestic violence charge, she instigated fights and he defended himself, but he didn't want to gamble with jail on the line and plead guilty. Probation, no out of state travel without permission and only for work, no booze and having to take piss tests for a couple of years, AA meetings, anger management classes. Some of that may have been conditions to allow him to see how kids though. I don't remember how long but after a few years the felony domestic violence charge would drop to a misdemeanor on his record if he keeps his nose clean, which he is. He was lucky that he works a trade and they tend to be more lenient on felonies, he had a bit of a hard time finding an apartment though. Edit - Good luck man, seriously. Going by what he dealt with its gonna be rough for a while, keep your chin up.