Heber City, UT asked in Domestic Violence, Juvenile Law and Criminal Law for Texas

Q: my mom lied to cops saying i hit her ..im 17 and did not hit her. what do i do?

That day my mother tricked me saying we were going to a job cite but really we were going to a mental institution. i didnt agree to it ;unaware of my rights i left . i didnt want to sign up for anything i was not informed of. she grabbed me by the hair and punched me several times trying to stop me. i told her that if shed let go of my hair i would cooperate. i said it about 4 times before i got frustrated and grabbed her wrist in an attempt to release my self. Still, she did not let go.she kept pulling my hair until some ladys car drove up. Then she called the cops saying i hit her physically and she tried telling them i was on drugs .i never hit her nor did scratched her and for sure i was not on any drugs. i have questions to my rights in this case because im 17 about about to be an adult and i know cops wont believe me right now. i also dont have money to pay my 600$ bond . I feel like it would be unjust to do time for a lie. i just need some advise..what should i do?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: This question is marked both Utah and Texas. This response assumes the incident happened in Texas. If it didn't happen in Texas then you can disregard everything else I have to say below...

You just posted an online confession to assaulting your mother by grabbing her wrist. In Texas, self-defense only protects you from an assault conviction when you were using force to protect yourself from another person's illegal use of force. However, a parent is legally justified in using force against a child under age 18 for discipline or to protect the child's welfare.

The good news for you is that our justice system is run by people, not robots... and people can have compassion for your situation. Stop posting confessions and hire a criminal defense attorney with an office in the county where the case is pending. Ask the attorney about the wisdom of getting a hair folicle drug test ASAP. The fact that your mom lied about where she was taking you and lied about the drugs might help support the idea that she lied about you hitting her could make a difference to prosecutors, who are people... not robots.

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