What Evidence Is Helpful To My Criminal Defense Attorney In My Domestic Violence Related Case?
In a domestic violence case, evidence that is helpful to a criminal defense attorney includes your past criminal history, remembering what you were doing the day of the occurrence, remembering the exact way the altercation started, where you were, and how it went down. In any assault and battery case, self-defense is a defense for the crime. If you’re being charged, but your partner escalated the argument to a physical one and you were trying to defend yourself, that’s an important factor. That can provide a defense for the charge.
An alibi is another strong defense. If the events did not happen and you were somewhere else, that can absolve you from alleged domestic violence charges. In this day and age, technology can help with evidence. Keeping voicemails, text messages, or direct messages from social media can be very important. These methods of communication can show whether the victim was potentially scared of you, or provide a snapshot of where the relationship was at the time. You want to be completely open and honest with your attorney and provide as much information as you can. There are no silly or stupid questions. If you think something could be helpful, you should mention it to your attorney because it might be useful to your case.
If An Alleged Victim In A Domestic Violence Case Changes His Or Her Story After Charges Were Filed Against Me Or Doesn’t Want To Press Charges, Does That Mean My Case Will Be Dropped? Will The Charges Go Away?
When it comes to domestic violence cases, the charges never just go away. If someone changes their story about how things transpired, that’s helpful, but it doesn’t provide a defense in and of itself. However, it clouds the water and makes defending the case easier. A victim cannot drop a case. Once the charges are issued, it becomes the state and prosecutor’s case. A victim is merely a witness. It is not their case. Therefore, they cannot drop it. A prosecutor will absolutely ask for the victim’s input on potential punishments that they would like to see and how they would like the case prosecuted. However, that’s only for input purposes. The victim does not have control over how a case goes, nor can they dictate whether to pursue or drop a case.
If the victim does not want to participate and cooperate with the prosecution, that makes proving the case extremely difficult. It will put the case on track for a dismissal, but the case still has to go through the gears of the system. The case still has to go through the gears of the system and get to its potential ending point of a dismissal, likely before a trial just because a victim calls the DA and says, “Hey, I don’t want to go forward. I would like the charges dropped,” that does not mean the charges will be dropped. There’s still a lot of work that has to be done, especially on the part of the attorney. Nonetheless, an uncooperative victim or a victim who cannot reliably remember the events is very helpful in defending a case.
What Are Possible Defense Strategies In Domestic Violence Cases? Is Self-Defense A Viable Defense?
In Domestic violence cases, self-defense is a viable defense. Self-defense is an established defense for any assault and battery charge. That’s why it’s important to give accurate information to your attorney about how the events transpired.
Another tactic would be whether the events transpired at all. There are a lot of false complaints about domestic violence. There are also instances where the police blow things out of proportion. They are called because of a tumultuous argument, but no one was hitting each other. Maybe something breaks in the course of the argument. And so, they show up and make the determination that instead of having the matter escalate and someone getting hurt, they’re going to remove one of them from the house and charge them with domestic violence. In that instance, you have to attack the elements of the charge. Actual contact and intent need to be there. All of these tidbits of information have to be proven in order to actually support a conviction for assault and battery. A defense attorney’s job is to make sure that the prosecution jumps through all the hoops to actually get there.
For more information on Domestic Violence In Massachusetts, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (617) 718-5550 today.
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