Q: Evidence
I sent in evidence to district attorney for domestic violence. Can I withdraw the evidence? Is there anything I can do for them to not use it in court?
A:
You can ask them not to use it but you can't really unring a bell. The DA will probably need your cooperation to introduce the photo into evidence... and that basically means you would testify about things like the circumstance of when, where, and why the photo was taken, that it is an accurate depiction of reality at the time it was taken, that it has not been altered... those sorts of things. If the DA needs the photo for their case and they don't care that you don't WANT to help them then they MIGHT get a "subpoena duces tecum" which is basically a court order to force you to testify about it in court.
In a domestic violence case, a photo shows that a person has an injury but it doesn't really show why or how the injury happened. If the injury was the result of a fight, it doesn't show who started the fight or why. For example, the DA has had some really gruesome "victim" photos in some of the domestic violence cases that I've won on grounds like self-defense and protection of property grounds.
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