Virginia Beach Treatment of Assault Cases

Below, a Virginia beach assault lawyer discusses how assault related offenses are treated in Virginia Beach. To learn more about assault or discuss your case with an experience lawyer call to schedule a free consultation.

Judges Treatment on Virginia Beach Assault Cases

Judges take a hard stance on assault cases particularly when they are against a family member. It is very common to see a victim recant their story in an attempt  to have the charges dropped. However in Virginia Beach this is really difficult to do because once the case is given to the prosecutor it is not up to the victim whether the charges will be dropped. Prosecutors take domestic assaults very seriously because they don’t want to let someone off the hook simply because the victim changed their mind and then find out later that the victim was killed by the same accused party that they let go before.

Law Enforcement Officers Assault Focus in Virginia Beach

Well law enforcement officers treat the assault about the same as any other criminal matter. Since many times it is someone’s word against someone else’s they don’t always get involved right away.

We had a client recently actually who called the police on her husband for domestic assault. The police came and ultimately left because no one was injured and there was just no evidence at the scene. They ended up coming back later because the situation had escalated. Some items had been broken. Then our client’s husband called the police to come back and they actually arrested our client who was the victim instead.

Common Mistakes in Assault Charges

The most common mistake we have seen is that people leave out information because they don’t believe information helps them. Many times individuals will give an edited version of the events and leave out important details like the fact that they had been provoking the victim for weeks and had been threatened with the protective order against them. It is really difficult to build a strong defense when the core of the defense is shaken up by facts that changed the entire dynamic of the story. This can be avoided obviously by telling everything from the beginning. It is much better to know all of the pieces of the case that aren’t going to help before walking into a courtroom. We tell our clients that the damaging information will always come out. It is just up to them whether they give me the chance to fight it in advance or if they want me to be surprised with it during the trial where we are less likely to be able to mitigate it.

What to Expect From an Assault case in Virginia Beach

What someone can expect if it’s an assault and battery, he or she is charged with a misdemeanor so he or she does run the risk of jail time and he or she can expect to have to go into court and listen to the victim saying what the individual did. One should expect to have to go into court and deal with this case. These usually do not get dismissed outside of court.

Evidence Presented by Prosecution in an Assault Case

Often, photographs of the injuries are used. Any weapons used are collected. Torn clothes can be collected, just as witness statements can be collected.

Virginia Beach Assault Treatment

A lot of these are driven by how seriously the complaining witness takes them. Often times, you will see people fake out charges and then drop them in court or not come to court, so that’s something the court has to take seriously or take into consideration. Other times, though, you will see people come to court and they will have everything lined up and they will want to fight to show/do everything they can to get a conviction.