Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Dropping Charges

Why do you want to go easy on this man?? For that matter, why is he still your finace?? He is obviously dangerous and poses a serious threat to your life and the lives of others. Do you think marrying him will turn him into a gentleman? Do you think he is the kind of person who should be around children -- especially yours?

My guess is that I am not the first person to say these things to you and that you will not heed my words any more than those of your friends and relatives who have already urged you to get this man out of your life. Since you seem determined to sacrifice your own interests to protect a man who is likely to maim, torment or even kill you in the future, here are the answers to your questions:

It is entirely up to the D.A. to decide whether to prosecute, and you can't force him to drop the charges. Such decisions can be influenced by the victim's preferences, but that is not likely to happen here. The victims in domestic violence cases often ask the D.A. to drop the charges, but this is usually because of pressure from the suspect rather than the result of a genuine change of heart. Prosecutors understand this and they seldom abandon a case when the victim asks them to. There are obviously other witnesses in your case and even another victim, so you should not expect your request to have any effect at all on the prosecutor's decisions.

You cannot refuse to testify if the D.A. subpoenas you, and you can be reasonably sure that this will happen. If you refuse to come to court after being properly subpoenaed, the judge will issue a bench warrant and will order the local sherrif to find you and bring you to court. In a case this serious you can expect this order to be carried out immediately, and the deputies will take you in by force if you don't cooperate. Once you are in court you will have to testify truthfully. Remember that giving false testimony about material facts while under oath is purjury -- a serious crime which carries serious penalties.

And there is no law anywhere in the United States that says fiances don't have to testify against one another. Such laws only apply to spouses, and here in California there is an exception to that law in domestic violence cases. In other words, even marrying him before trial will not release you from the obligation to testify.

Re: Dropping Charges

I urge you to seek counseling geared toward the issues faced by survivors of domestic violence, because I want you to remain a survivor! Here is some contact info:

Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles (no, you don't have to be Jewish): 818-505-0900

YWCA of Glendale's Domestic Violence Project: (818) 242-1106

Re: Dropping Charges

Hi. The District Attorney brings the case on behalf of the People of the State of California, not you personally. So, you cannot bring nor drop the charges against another person. When the police are called to a situation they prepare a report and then send that report on to the District Attorney's Office. A D.A. decides what charges, if any, are appropriate and charges accordingly. You can always speak to the District Attorney and let them know how you feel about the defendant and that you don't want him to go to jail or prison. The District Attorney generally won't contact you until the case is getting close to a preliminary hearing or trial, so if you want to let them know how you feel about the situation, you will have to contact them.

Good luck,

Re: Dropping Charges

Thank you for your posting.

What you've asked is a common question, but you can't drop charges, because you are not the one filing the charges, the D.A. is. Unfortunately, there also is no fiancee privilege (and even the spousal privilege is very limited), to prevent you from testifying.

At trial, the D.A.'s office often puts on a psychologist to talk about "battered woman syndrome", and how you may recant your testimony, or even ask for the charges to be dropped, or refuse to testify, because that is part of the well documented syndrome in such cases. Even if you don't testify, refuse, or recant your testimony, that can be used against your fiancee at trial.

As you can see, this is a more complicated issue than you might think at first blush. You may want to seek the help of the resources listed, and your fiancee certainly can benefit from the best attorney possible.

I hope that this information helps, but if you want more information, have further questions, or feel that you need legal representation, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected]. It's my pleasure to assist you in any way that I can.