Q: My boyfriend was arrested for Domestic assault and battery. He did not touch me. Will the case get dismissed.
A: Whether the case gets dismissed or not largely depends on the evidence, not just on whether you testify or not. There are many factors such as if/who made the 911 call. The 911 call may be admissible under certain circumstances, based on case law. Did the police enter the home and take pictures of any disarray or broken items? Did they take pictures of any bruises, cuts etc? Were there any other witnesses? Did you tell the police originally that you were harmed? If so and you were not you could have a 5th Amendment right not to testify against him but whether it is dismised or not relates to any other evidence they can use to prosecute. Most Courts will not dismiss just because a woman says she wasnt hurt or changed her mind about pressing charges. When a domestic violance case is dismissed it is usually on a trial date. WHen a case starts there are many preliminary hearings and dates before a trial date is selected. So it could be some time before it gets dismissed. Navigating through the case and the legal issues requires knowledge of the case law, evidence, and procedure involved. This is the kind of case where having a lawyer makes a difference for both the Defendant and the witness. You may want a buffer between yourself and the victim witness advocate too. There are many of us experienced in domestic violence cases here on Justia you can talk to. Good luck!
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