Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

My fiance was charged with third degree assault when he was drunk last week. Not against me but my teenage son. Neither my son or I want to see him go to jail and he is not suppose to be around us. Can we appeal this we what can we do? The assault was he pulled my son by the ear after my son had called him a name. He has never been in trouble before and we all feel terrible about what happened. What can we do


Asked on 5/24/11, 9:49 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Who charged him? If it was the stae of MIssouri, then the case is styled "State of Missouri vs. John Doe", not you or your son against John Doe. You and/or your son may be witnesses in the case, but it is not up to you how the case is handled by the prosecutor or the courts. You might be able to contact the prosecutor and request the opportunity to sign an affidavit of non-prosecution, but there is no guarantee that the prosecutor will drop the case. In many cases of domestic violence the alleged victim(s) want to drop the charges, but the prosecutors have seen these same alleged victims attacked again and again so they are not disposed to just drop everything and let the defendant have a second or multiple chances to do serious harm to the alleged victim(s). Your fiance, as you call him, needs to seek counseling or anger management therapy to have a chance to avoid this type of behavior in the future. Most people with experience in these matters would advise you to get that man out of your life immediately and permanently. In many cases the alleged victim(s) can benefit from counseling as well. Good luck.

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Answered on 5/25/11, 7:49 pm


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