Q: approx 1 month ago, my sister living in Prescott, AZ came home from work to find her boyfriend drunk and wielding a gun.
conflict ensued, he tried to shoot her, she got the gun and shot him. He spent 3-4 days in hosp. and is now home. my sister is in jail facing an agg. assault charge. She needs criminal atty as court app. atty. is not interested in making a defense! she's been on vacation for 2 wks. My sister has pleaded not guilty. why is this not self defense, and there is history of domestic violence. Please advise.
A: There is a good self defense claim here and your sister should pursue it. The downside to this case is it comes down to a he said, she said battle which might go against your sister. If the case is fairly new, the public defender may be trying to negotiate a settlement with the prosecutor which may take some time. If there is no success there, then the other option is to go to trial and have her plead her case. Hopefully your sister has a clean record or else it may not be wise for her to testify at trial since the priors will usually be told to the jury. Let us know if you would like to speak more about this or possibly retain us to help your sister. 480-935-6545 or Zach@Divellaw.com
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