Is there any way to get domestic battery charges dropped against my wife?
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Is there any way to get domestic battery charges dropped against my wife?
My wife was arrested. She is not a violent person at all. She was just having an off day and having some woman problems at the time. She did hit me a few times. The judge ordered a no contact order until after her court date in 3 weeks). Is there any way that I can get the charges dropped? I love my wife more than anything and will not testify against her no matter what. I want our marriage to workout and be like it is supposed to be. Is there anything that I can do?
Asked on December 2, 2010 under Criminal Law, Illinois
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Whether or not to prosecute a case or drop charges rests with the DA's office, not with an alleged victim. This means that, a criminal case may be prosecuted over your objection. The states case would be stronger with your testimony but if there is other evidence to support the charge, the case could well go forward.
However, an experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to use the fact that you do not want to cooperate to obtain a favorable result for your wife. A skilled lawyer may possibly be able to talk the prosecutor into dismissing the charges. You should be aware however that prosecutors can be unwilling to simply drop these types of cases; they do not want offenders to think that that if they can intimidate a victim and get away with what they have done.
As for testifying, if you are subpoenaed and fail to appear, you can be held in contempt of court and jailed. So don't refuse to testify without first speaking to legal counsel.
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