How to Prove Innocence in Domestic Violence

It can be immensely frustrating to go through the legal process when you have been accused of acts of domestic violence you did not commit. From restraining orders to court dates, not to mention the possibilities of arrest or even jail time and the fees from attorneys can add great stress to what are already difficult circumstances. Add not being able to have contact with your child or children and the prospect of facing consequences such as a long stretch of incarceration and it can break almost anyone.

Is there a way a prosecutor will decide to drop charges of domestic violence? Normally this will only happen in two circumstances, read on to learn more.

Proving Innocence

When you honestly did nothing wrong it is highly likely the charges of domestic violence against you will be dropped. There is an obligation of ethics binding prosecutors to ensure not a conviction but to make sure justice is done in each and every case they handle. When it is believed by the prosecutor that a crime has not been committed, or the evidence is insufficient to support the likelihood of a conviction, they are obligated to dismiss the case for not meeting with agreed and accepted standards of ethics.

Convincing law enforcement of your innocence can be multi-faceted if you want to be successful. Electronic evidence (for example, a CCTV camera) may show you were not even at the location at the time the incident was alleged to have taken place. Accusations of violence may not be backed up by the available physical evidence, however, although your instinct may be to protest as much as you can to law enforcement of your innocence, be very cautious about whatever you say or information you share with law enforcement.

Can The Victim Drop the Charges?

People sometimes falsely think charges of domestic violence are initially filed and then dropped by the person alleging to be the victim of said acts. This is not the case. They are in fact filed by prosecutors with the county or state. In circumstances where an alleged victim decides not to testify or will only testify under protest when it comes to trial, it may be there is insufficient evidence to warrant a prosecution – this is up to the prosecutor to determine. Many jurors go to great lengths to ensure a verdict of guilty is not passed in situations when the alleged victim has made their own decision that the case should not even be handled in a court.

Proving Innocence with a Domestic Violence Attorney

Without question, it is crucially important to seek the services of an experienced criminal defense attorney if you want your charges of domestic violence to be correctly assessed and argue on your behalf that they should be dropped.

Source: Coble, Christopher. “How to Get a Domestic Violence Charge Dismissed.” Findlaw, 21 Mar. 2019, https://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2017/04/how-to-get-a-domestic-violence-charge-dismissed.html.