Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Maryland

A friend of mine was arrested a few months ago for domestic abuse. Ha and his girlfiend had gone out for drinks and she became intoxicated with alcohol and started hitting him. When she went to hit him in the face he blocked it and accidentally hit he in the eye. She then called the police and he was arrested. She later bailed him out and they have been together since then. But since the situation did escalate to an arrest he now has to appear in court and it is him vs the county that he lives in. The girlfriend will be contacting the DA prior to the court date to to explain that she was intoxicated at the time and that there was no domestic abuse. In a situation like this, what is the most common outcome?


Asked on 6/05/11, 7:59 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

Your friend should do the following:

1. Hire a criminal defense attorney ASAP. It is not up to the girlfriend anymore whether the county prosecutes your friend -- it is out of her hands.

2. With that said, if the girlfriend refuses to testify against the boyfriend, or the girlfriend testifies that he was simply defending himself against her aggression, he stands a much better chance.

3. Once the matter is over, your friend needs to break up with the girlfriend and move on with his life. It's unfair, but 9 out of 10 times the man will be blamed for a domestic situation when there's violence involved.

No one can predict the outcome. Sometimes the case is dropped. Sometimes the judge wants to make sure that the legal system is not burdened with a case like this again and orders the parties to stay away from each other (even if they don't want to). Sometimes the judge will find the party guilty and impose fines, jail time, community service, counseling, restraining orders or a combination of some or all of the above.

Best of luck.*****The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.******

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Answered on 6/05/11, 12:02 pm


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