If my husband comes to my preliminary hearing and wants to drop the domestic assault charges against me, will this help my case?
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If my husband comes to my preliminary hearing and wants to drop the domestic assault charges against me, will this help my case?
Asked on October 27, 2015 under Criminal Law, Virginia
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
The fact is that whether or not to prosecute a case (i.e. drop charges) rests with the prosecutor and not with the victim. This means that a case may be prosecuted over a victim's objection. The while states case would be stronger with your husband's cooperation, if there is other evidence to support the charge the case may still go forward.
That having been said, an experienced criminal law attorney may be able to use the fact that your husband does not want to assist in your prosecution to obtain a favorable result for you. They may possibly be able to talk the prosecutor into dismissing the charges. Although, you should be aware that prosecutors can be unwilling to simply drop these types of cases under these circumstances since they do not want offenders to think that that if they can intimidate their victims and get away with what they have done.
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