One of the most classic family law issues has to deal with abuse in the home. Abuse that sometimes relates to domestic violence charges. If you’re charged with domestic violence how are you going to defend yourself?
How do I get a domestic violence case dismissed?
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Regardless of the individuals involved—spouses or ex-spouses, domestic partners who live together or apart, dating or separated couple, parents, and kids—domestic violence is a crime that can happen to anyone, regardless of their age, color, gender, or social class. Domestic violence is a broad category that includes a variety of crimes.
A few examples of these are physical or sexual assault, battery, false imprisonment, emotional abuse, stalking, intimidation, possessiveness, controlling conduct, forced isolation, and economic abuse.
If you’re charged with domestic violence how are you going to defend yourself? How are you going to get that charge dismissed?
Here’s some advice you can consider.
Number one. Determine if the party is willing to move forward with the domestic violence complaint.
Look at the state of your current relationship. Is the relationship you are involved in sustainable? If the domestic relationship is between husband and wife, then the question becomes, are they getting divorced? Are they staying married? How’s that gonna work?
The couple has decided they want to work on their marriage. The odds are that domestic violence looming in the background probably is not the most healthy thing for the relationship.
In a lot of cases, the wife decides to save the marriage. She doesn’t want to prosecute her husband. She decides she doesn’t want to appear in court. She’s not testifying against him. She does not want to participate in court proceedings against her husband.
Domestic conflict victims occasionally decide to retract their statements. They can get in touch with the prosecutor’s office and ask for the charges of domestic abuse to be dropped. The prosecution is likely to press the case even if the victim asks to have the domestic abuse charges dropped.
What you need to understand, is even with your spouse dropping the charges, the prosecutor might decide to pursue the case regardless. In a criminal case, the victim is not going to be you accuser in the process. The victim is a witness for the state or the people represented by the prosecutor.
If the accuser is your spouse or wife, as a witness they can be compelled to testify against you in a domestic violence case.
Someone might be charged with making a false police complaint if the purported victim admits that they lied to the police. For numerous reasons, such as not wanting a significant other to lose their job, get fired, be deported, go to jail, or have a divorce, prosecutors are trained to persuade jurors that victims lie about fabricating charges.
In rare cases, the victim will appear in court and attempt to alter their testimony. The prosecution may now object to the testimony given in court, claiming it is an effort to “rescue” the defendant by distorting the facts or changing the tale.
The victim’s original statement will then be presented to the jury or court as the truth because it was made in an “excited condition,” making it credible because there was no time for them to make up what transpired. Even charges of making a false police report, obstructing the course of justice, or perjury may be brought against the victim in domestic abuse situations.
Number two. Refute witnesses.
The majority of domestic violence accusations are made solely on the basis of the victim’s allegations of assault. Domestic violence is rarely committed in front of witnesses, and the majority of victims do not sustain injuries. This is referred to as “he-said-she-said.” According to Michigan law, a victim’s testimony alone qualifies as evidence and is sufficient for a conviction provided the jury has no reasonable doubts about it.
Your attorney will be focusing on refuting the statement of witnesses if dismissal is the objective. Your attorney will drill down on the motives of the accuser or witnesses. Attacking the false accusations made by the accuser, such as pointing out that the accusations were manufactured to obtain an advantage in a divorce or child custody dispute.
Another way to get a domestic violence case dismissed is for someone to have appropriate witnesses who will basically refute the testimony of the witnesses testifying against you.
So what does that mean?
Maybe there are video cameras or security cameras that caught the event. Or there were neighbors who saw it. Maybe you want to cross-examine the person. Your lawyer can throw questions at witnesses. How come you did not call the police immediately? Why are there no photos?
Every case is different but there are ways to attack the case itself. The best way is to have a no-show, having no witness to testify against you.
Even if the alleged victim decides not to pursue a case and this was just a simple misunderstanding or argument that got out of hand, you could still be charged with a misdemeanor or felony and sentenced to jail or prison if found guilty.
Number three. Attack the evidence.
If there isn’t a no-show possibility then your lawyer can attack the evidence.
In criminal proceedings for domestic abuse crimes, it is essential to preserve all available evidence before it is lost. This can include eyewitness accounts, 911 tapes, and police dispatch tapes. One minor piece of information that undermines the accuser or highlights an irregularity may be all that separates the accused from acquittal or conviction.
You will work closely with your lawyer to record all important information and make sure all required and relevant evidence is preserved and made available for the trial. A competent attorney is familiar with the legal system, has connections with judges and prosecutors, and has a thorough understanding of what it takes to preserve important evidence, build a strong case, and uphold your rights.
Your lawyer is gonna analyze evidence and determine a strategy to approach it, pierce it, and render it useless against you.
Any conviction in a domestic violence case in Michigan might result in severe punishment and could be followed by a two- to a five-year probationary period. While all judges have the authority to impose a range of sanctions, including community work, alcohol or drug testing, and attendance at AA, certain judges may order anger management therapy.
A person charged with domestic abuse may receive a less sentence by working with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about the Michigan courts and judges.
In Michigan, convictions for domestic abuse are expungable, however, there are more requirements than usual. The prosecution will also make an effort to get in touch with the victim in order to get their feedback on the defendant’s expungement request. Even if the victim opposes, the judge may nonetheless allow the expungement if they are of the opinion that the criminal has been given a second chance and that doing so is best for the community.
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