Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Massachusetts
friend wants this charge dismissed
I threw a remote control at my very drunk annoying friend; she called the cops they arrested me and kept me until my child brought $40 to release me. My friend does not want to press charges and did not show up at pretrial but the D.A. and judge want me to accept parole and fines even tho no charges are filed by my friend and she even called them and said she does not want to press charges and would not show up at any trial. I now have to go to another pre-trial conference because the d.a.and judge are treating me like a woman beater which i am not. what should I do and what should friend do to get rid of this mess?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: friend wants this charge dismissed
If the case is charged as a mere misdemeanor (Section 13A) you may be able to wrap it up through a process called "Accord and Satisfaction." If it was charged under Section 15A as assault/battery with a dangerous weapon (remote control) then the courts will not accept the accord and the case will head towards a trial where it will either be tried or dismissed for lack of evidence. Which court is the case in, and when is the next court date? You may be interested in my article on who decides to drop charges:
http://www.levlaw.net/blog/index.php?itemid=28
Re: friend wants this charge dismissed
This happens all the time. The DA often can't drop the charges, even if the victim refuses to participate, for political reasons (like the guy they let go kills someone next week; the DA gets skewered in the media and public opinion).
However, the DA can't go forward at trial without any witnesses or evidence of the crime. You certainly won't testify against yourself and the DA can't make you say anything. Absent testimony of the victim, a lawyer can determine if there will be enough evidence for the DA to proceed without the testimony of the victim. If not, on the day of trial (and not before, the DA can't do anything before then), your lawyer can argue that the DA should dismiss and not proceed to trial for lack of evidence supporting the crime charged.
Were there other witnesses to the incident, and will they testify? Assuming the DA will have no other witnesses (except the police officer/s), and the victim truly doesn't testify, you or your lawyer could then press the DA to dismiss b/c they cannot prove their case.
The DA might try to proceed with only the police officers, seeking to get statements made by the victim into evidence thru hearsay exceptions, but that's probably not enough for the DA to try the case with. You probably need a lawyer to make the hearsay exception arguments to prevent the officers from testifying to the elements of the crime, and to deal with any other witnesses who might show up the day of trial.
If you'd like help thru the process, feel free to contact me directly.
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