If I was assaulted by someone, is it legal to contact the guy and ask him if he’d prefer to pay the dental/ER bills and I’ll drop the charges?

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If I was assaulted by someone, is it legal to contact the guy and ask him if he’d prefer to pay the dental/ER bills and I’ll drop the charges?

He head-butted me in the face. I was knocked out for a few minutes. I got a split lip and 6 chipped teeth and went to the ER. I pressed charges and court hearing is coming up.

Asked on August 6, 2012 under Criminal Law, Pennsylvania

Answers:

Andrew Goldberg

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Now that you filed charges, the answer is No. However, just before the Preliminary Hearing, you can ask the Assistrict Attorney to make that deal. The prosecution of this case is not your decision. You are now essentially a witness to the Commonwealth's prosecution. If the defendant applies for ARD  ( the first time offenders' program ), you eventually can agree to that. As part of the ARD program, the defendant will have to make restitution to you. As part of any sentence, the defendant will be ordered to make restitution to you.


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