Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Domestic Abuse Victim

If you look at your paperwork in domestic abuse charges, you will generally see that the State of WI is the one suing the defendant in criminal court, rather than the "victim." The victim therefore technically lacks the power to simply "drop" charges since she is not in control of the lawsuit. Typically, however, the government will consider the wishes of a victim in deciding how to proceed. The concern which tends to prevent them from blindly doing what the victim requests is that the victim's decision may be coerced by the alleged perpetrator (or someone acting on his behalf). An equal concern is that the victim may be compelled to drop the charges due to economic circumstances, when there is still a danger of an additional attack upon her by the alleged perpetrator. For these reasons, a person charged with domestic abuse should never have any contact with the victim while the charges are pending. Avoidance of all contact with the victim is also generally a condition of bond, meaning that any such contact is a new crime known as "bail jumping." Bail jumping is often much easier for the government to prove than the underlying charge, hence many domestic charges are ultimately resolved by a bail jumping conviction. The same prohibitions apply to anyone assisting the defendant in contacting the victim on his behalf. This restriction, however, does not apply to an attorney or to his investigators. Attorneys and their staff can therefore lawfully contact a victim and take a statement which he can then be shown to prosecutors for the purpose of trying to get the charges dropped (or a reduced).