Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota
My boyfriend I had were drinking and we got into a heated argument. He ended up getting arrested for disorderly conduct and then when he was in custody they charged him with 5th degree domestic. Before court they asked me if I wanted a no contact order or an Order for Protection and I said no. After court the prosecuting attorney called me and told me that she pushed the no contact order with the judge and it got granted. Now my boyfriend and I have a no contact order so i went into the court house to file for a dismissal and the court administrator told me that I cannot do it because the prosecuting attorney put it on us. I talked to the attorney and she doesn't want to drop it because she feels my boyfriend was filling my head before the no contact order was put on so I would get the charges dropped. Is there anything I can do to get this no contact order dropped if the prosecuting attorney will not do it. Can I write a letter to a judge? Should I go to court next month with my boyfriend? Can you give me some advice and ideas to get the no contact order dropped and to get the 5th degree assault charges dropped. My boyfriend is going to counseling and I want to join him so we can do couples counseling.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Only a prosecutor can press charges and only a prosecutor can drop charges. They can continue to press charges even if you do not want them too.
By the same token, you have no standing to seek a dismissal of the Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO). The only way to have that modified is if the defendant, through his counsel, files a Motion to modify conditions of release and, even then, there is no guarantee. He should have an experienced defense attorney.
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