Q: I pressed assault charges on my husband, we are seperated. I have court tomorrow do I need a lawyer?What should I expect
My child's "father" has supervised visitation that he agreed to. when he was asked to leave because his visit was over, he was refusing to leave unless I gave him a hug. I told him multiple times to NOT touch me & to leave. He finally walked towards me & pulled me up by my arm & said "I JUST WANT A HUG". I called the police & when they arrived, I told them what happened. they told me that they couldn't arrest him but I could press charges. So I did, that same night. He was arrested 2 weeks later. & I have not heard from him since. Monday I got a call saying I have court Thursday. Do I need to have a lawyer? What's going to happen in court or what should I expect? If I don't have a lawyer & he does, can I ask for time to find myself a lawyer?
A: When you had him arrested, the magistrate determined that there was probable cause to believe that your ex committed a crime. So its not you against him, its the state of NC against him and you are a witness for the prosecution. So, no, you don't need a lawyer. The district attorney represents the state and will prosecute the case. When you go to court tomorrow, find out who the witness coordinator is and talk to that person. The witness coordinator works for the district attorney's office and its their job to explain the process to you. They can give you a lot of information about what to expect. If the case is not resolved tomorrow, and that is likely, you can ask the witness coordinator to place you on telephone standby for the next hearing in the event the case is continued again. Its not unusual for criminal cases to be continued 3-4 times. You should not have to show up every time, but if you don't have permission to not appear, the case could be dismissed in your absence. If there is a domestic violence agency in your county, you can also talk to an advocate about how these kinds of cases are typically handled in your district. Here is a list of domestic violence agencies across the state of NC: http://www.nccadv.org/get-help/programs-list
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