Legal Question in Criminal Law in Mississippi
The victim signed an affivdait that they wanted to drop charges that was pressed on me but my public defender said it didn't mean anything and the DA office is trying to scare the person into testifying
2 Answers from Attorneys
You have a public defender. Listen to him or her. You can always hire counsel
Your Public Defender is correct. The charges are not "property" which "belongs to the victim" to do with what the victim desires, it is a State matter and it is solely up to the Prosecutor to prosecute the charge or not. In fact it is not uncommon in cases of "Domestic Violence" where the alleged victim frequently attempts to recant his or her story to the Police and thereby try to maintain "peace" within the relationship. The victim can be forced to testify with a subpoena and will be forced to tell the truth or else suffer the penalty of perjury. The best thing you can do is to scrupulously follow the advice of your Public Defender without question. His or her experience will far outweigh your "ideas" of what should or could occur with regard to the case. If you are dissatisfied with the Public Defender you should pay for an Attorney but it is unlikely you will find the recommendation to be much different.
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