I knew someone in this situation years ago. He was lucky. He had a friend who who was a ranking officer in the sheriffs dept. He was advised not to take prayer for judgement (like the his lawyer advised him to do) because that would be a conviction, and that would prevent him from owning firearms.
Instead, the fellow went to anger management therapy, and got a letter from his therapist stating that this fellow was not a habitual "wife beater" (no previous record of any crime), and that he felt it was an isolated instance. He went to therapy before his court date so he had that to present, along with the letter. The charges were dismissed. He got lucky, and learned his lesson.
If he listened to his lawyer, he would have been screwed. His lawyer did not mention anything about the restriction of firearms, and the guy did not know anything until his deputy friend gave him the word.
