Arguments between loved ones are nothing new—most, if not all, couples have experienced them. Oftentimes, these arguments become physical. When one spouse or significant other calls the police during a physical altercation, the police will come out and arrest somebody—usually the person responsible for the assault. I say ‘usually’ because that’s not always the case!
In my experience, almost every time a woman accuses her male spouse or boyfriend of domestic assault, the male goes to jail—regardless of his version of the story. In fact, many times the male isn’t even questioned about what happened (this is quite unfortunate). Read More >>
This hard-line approach against males has to do with public policy. Statistically speaking, women are the victims of domestic violence in a vast majority of cases. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, the majority (73%) of family violence victims are females: 84% were spousal abuse victims and 86% were victims at the hands of a boyfriend (U.S. Department of Justice, 2005). In fact, according to the Texas Health and Human Services more than 982,916 Texas women were battered in Texas alone.
But statistics don’t speak to every case. Your case is unique and must be treated fairly and justly. I’ve dealt with cases where the true victim was the husband but the police arrested him anyway; I’ve tried cases where the female victim recants her story because she did not tell the police the truth when they came out that night. I’ve seen cases where a mistake was made, the spouse doesn’t want to press charges, but the prosecutors do, anyway.
In fact, once the police get involved and arrest you for assault/family violence, the DA’s office will prosecute you vigorously. You can count on that. They will prosecute you even without the cooperation of your spouse or significant other. Even if you did make a mistake and use force against your wife or loved one, the District Attorney’s office is not interested if your spouse or loved one wants to drop charges. In fact, many people are under the misconception that a person has to file charges against another person, which is simply untrue. If you are charged with domestic violence, your charges are being brought against you by The State of Texas, not your wife or loved one. Only the District Attorney’s office has the discretion to dismiss any charges against you, which is a rarity.
The job of the State and of the defense is to find the truth. Unfortunately, police investigation does not always find the truth. What happens when no photos of injuries are taken? What happens when there are no visible injuries on the female? What happens when the only injuries are on the male accused of battery? What happens if the officer only asks the female for a written statement, but not the male (who has already been arrested)?
It is important to vigorously defend yourself if you are accused of assault/family violence. Pleading guilty to such charges just to move on with your life can have severe consequences. For instance, a second family violence case against you may be filed on you as a felony even if the underlying first assault was that of a Class C misdemeanor (punishable by a fine only).
Keep in mind that under Texas law, even if you hug your spouse and she did not want you to, she can technically call the police and they can file a Class C assault against you (punishable by fine only). And if you grab your spouse’s wrist or push her, and she felt pain—there doesn’t have to be any actual injury—that is a Class A misdemeanor assault, punishable by up to one (1) year in jail.
Assault/family violence charges are very, very serious, and you need an experienced lawyer to make sure you are treated fairly and your rights are not violated. You need aggressive, competent representation!
