It’s important because domestic violence cases require a hands-on approach to a degree that other cases don’t. You want a lawyer who’s used to putting in the work required for these cases and who knows what they’re doing because they’ve handled many of these cases before.
For example, take a simple drug case where someone is arrested after a traffic stop for drugs that are found in the car. You can learn most of what you need to know by reading through the police report, watching any dash camera or body camera video, and briefly interviewing your client and whoever else was in the car. Of course, there are other things you can do, like getting the officers’ records, but that’s an example of a type of case where, if the lawyer is inclined to be lazy, they don’t need to do a lot of work to adequately represent you on your case.
An assault on a family member case is the exact opposite. When you get the offense report, it’s going to tell you very little of what you need to know. It is just a police officer’s report of what other people have said happened after the fact. It’s not going to tell you what’s been going on in that relationship for years that ultimately resulted in the police getting called. It’s not going to tell you about other calls that the police that the complainant may have made where the police didn’t do anything because the complainant was lying. It’s not going to tell you about other relationships that the complainant may have been in where she made the same false allegations on her exes. It’s not going to tell you what text messages or communications were sent immediately before the alleged assault took place.
There is a ton of background research and investigation that your defense attorney is going to have to go into to adequately defend you on a domestic violence case. Most of it not going to be apparent just through reading the state’s file. You need to do extensive interviews with the client, with the complainant (if the complainant is willing to talk to you), and with friends and family members. You’re going to need to look at medical records if the complainant went to the hospital, possibly past offense reports, text messages, emails, Facebook posts—a whole host of things.
Every domestic violence case is more complicated than it first appears. They’re complicated because people and relationships are complicated, with often lengthy histories and motivations to lie.
If you don’t hire a defense attorney who knows what to look for in a domestic violence case and has experience getting all of the necessary information to defend you, you’re going to be at a major disadvantage. You want somebody who has done this many times before and knows what arguments to make to a prosecutor to get you a dismissal and what arguments to make to a jury to get you a not guilty verdict.
For more information on Experienced Domestic Violence Attorney, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (346) 567-8671 today.