Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Criminal Threats

Technically speaking, it is not your decision whether to file or drop the charges. It is the prosecution who represent the People of California who make those decisions. A crime against a victim is a crime against the public. The people get to decide, not the victim or person who reported the crime.

These philosophical musings aside, there is a lot you can do to persuade the prosecution not to proceed with the case. If you make a convicting case you do not want to press charges and make it clear right from the start that the report does not reflect the truth and your initial statements were not reported accurately and, most importantly, you come across as believable you might succeed. Be careful how you do it though. If you want to entirely recant what you previously said you could expose yourself to charges of filing a false police report against you.

One effect of your revised story might be that the prosecution will realize they do not have a strong witness and the case and they will drop it. But again, proceed with caution.

A lot will depend on the seriousness of the case and whether the prosecution will think that the other person presents a danger to the public.

Hope this helps,

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

www.lentzlawfirm.com

310.273.1361