There are few things as damaging as being falsely accused of domestic or spousal abuse. A falsely accused person’s reputation is inevitably damaged and he may be viewed as a monster by friends, co-workers and even some members of his family. He may suffer financially in terms of legal fees, court fees and lost income.
So the question is: what is the solution if you are falsely accused of domestic violence? Here are some answers:
Hire an aggressive criminal defense attorney — Hiring an aggressive criminal defense attorney is critical to defending against false domestic violence charges. An aggressive defense attorney will not permit his client to go down on bogus, trumped up domestic violence charges. An aggressive defense attorney will not be afraid to challenge the district attorney and, if necessary, vigorously cross examine a lying victim about what allegedly occurred. Aggressive counsel will look into the victim’s background to determine if they have a history of prior false allegations and violent conduct. Counsel will locate witnesses, subpoena them to court, and present evidence showing that the alleged victim has a character and propensity for making false allegations.
Make every effort to obtain a statement from the alleged victim — I am absolutely NOT saying that an alleged victim should EVER be harassed or confronted in a confrontational manner. HOWEVER, I am saying that a falsely accused person must make every effort, through his attorney, to obtain a statement from the victim about the incident in addition to any statement that she may have given to the police. Why? When a victim is lying, it is not uncommon for them to be unable to maintain the same false story when asked to repeat it. They tend to forget things, to add things in or to embellish. When a victim makes multiple statements about a domestic incident that are inconsistent, these statements can be used to impeach them on the witness stand.
File a restraining order against the victim — In some cases, it is important for the arrested person to be offensive. If someone is being falsely accused of domestic violence, and in fact THEY are the real victim, they should consider filing a restraining order against the alleged victim. This makes sense in situations where the victim was actually the aggressor or is actively stalking or harassing the arrested person following the alleged domestic incident. When a prosecutor or judge sees that a defendant has sought to obtain a restraining order against an alleged victim, this may give them some concern regarding the strength of the prosecution’s case and the validity of the victim’s allegations.
