Q: If I press charges can he press them back on me? ( I just wanna know if it’s better for me to Just stay quiet?)
Currently I’m 22 weeks pregnant. My husband & I got into an altercation, it got physical on both sides. Now I was trying to defend myself (he left a variation of bruises on me, him on the hand only had one). I would like to press charges on him but he threatened me, he said that if I press charges on him he would press them back on me & we both be going to jail. I fear going to jail because I’m illegal & I have a history myself of domestic violence with my ex husband (I have a simple assault charge). He has said multiple times that he would use my past against me to take away our unborn child from me. He saids he knows they’ll deport me but he won’t allow them to deport our child, I know if I get deported I lose 100% custody of my child & I don’t want that. So I’m just fearful of whatever might happen if I decide to press charges on him. I just feel like I can’t stay quiet anymore....
A:
Talk to a Texas-based immigration lawyer about whether or not deportation is a legitimate concern under current case law out of the 5th circuit as it relates to recklessness as a culpable mental state in the Texas assault statute.
A person can report a crime to law enforcement, but they will decide for themselves whether or not to actually investigate or move forward with a criminal case. Here in Austin, the police are very unlikely to pursue charges against both parties because they know that each will claim self-defense. Instead, they just make a choice and then pretend that one person was totally bad and the other was totally good.
The following can influence the choice of who is the "victim" and who is the "aggressor" in no particular order:
* which party called first
* who "lost" the fight or has the biggest injury
* a male is more likely to be seen as the aggressor
* previous criminal history involving violence, alcohol, or drugs
If the aggressor attempts to "report" the other person they won't take it seriously and may even decide that the aggressor is trying to illegally intimidate the victim.
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