Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: juvenile assault & battery

Alot depends on your sons prior record, if any. Plea deals are often a good option if no prior record. Each case is different, so I would advise you to contact me at www.kliszlaw.com for a free phone consultation. Tim Klisz

Re: juvenile assault & battery

It depends if the prosecutor still wants to pursue charges. If the victims and their parents do not want it pursued, and are not willing to testify, the prosecutor will likely just drop it, especially considering there were no injuries (and assuming your son has no prior record).

Contact the police department to ask the status and whether the report has been sent to the prosecutor's office for review.

Even if the prosecutor does press charges, they will likely be dropped once he learns that the victims do not want to pursue it.

Re: juvenile assault & battery

I have some isues with Ms. Arndt's response. She suggests that if the victim does not want to pursue the case then the prosecutor will probably not issue it. That is an overstatement ... and ignores the simple fact that every case has to be reviewed individually. The victim's wishes are important, but the victim's wishes-of-the-day (which may change the next day) do not control. The prosecutor is elected, in part, to make decision like this ... and we are confronted every day with this dilemna. These are not civil cases where the victim is the plaintiff and files the court papers and may be able to withdraw them. Victims do not file criminal charges -- prosecutors do.

I am also concerned about attorney Arndt's un-subtle suggestion that, even if the prosecutor issues the case and subpoenas you or the victim that the victim can "decide to not show up" which will force the prosecutor to dismiss. A subpoena is a COURT ORDER to come to court. If you are served, you must show up as ordered or risk being held in contempt of court.

Also, even if the case got dismissed because a witness/victimm did not show up, the prosecutor can re-issue the case. So, what is ultimately gained by this "tactic"?