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Can You Contact the Accuser to Have Domestic Violence Charges Dropped?
When someone falsely accuses you of a crime, resolving the matter seems like a simple fix. You can simply contact the person and tell them to drop their erroneous charges against you, right? For cases involving an accusation of domestic violence—it's not that simple. Any contact with the accuser is sure to make an already bad situation, worse.
1. No-Contact Orders
A charge of domestic violence generally creates a windfall of other processes and procedures for both the accuser and the accused. One of the measures used to protect the accuser is a no-contact order. Based on this order, the accused must not be within a certain number of feet of the accuser or attempt to contact them through any channel, be it by phone, social media, or by sending a message through someone else.
The moment you attempt to contact the accuser to request that they tell the truth, you violate this order. Not only does it jeopardize the outcome of the case, but this move could put you behind bars until a verdict has been reached.
2. Out of the Accuser's Control
In some instances, even if you were able to convince the accuser to change their story, there is not a lot they can do to help. For example, in some states, the accuser has the right to drop the charges at any moment.
Yet, in other states, if the prosecutor believes they have enough evidence to move forward with charges, the case becomes the states and not the accusers. Therefore, even if the accuser did not cooperate with the case, the state could still decide to move forward with charges. In this instance, contacting the accuser is useless.
3. A Legal Channel for Dismissal
There is a legal way to go about dropping a false domestic violence charge and it involves providing evidence. When the accused can provide recordings, messages, offer testimony, or provide any other proof that the accuser is not being honest, they can get their charges dropped.
However, it is important to understand that not all evidence is considered permissible in court, such as a recording in which the person being recoded was not aware, they were being recorded. It is best to work with an attorney to ensure that the evidence you have can be used to clear your name.
If you have been falsely accused of domestic violence, do not take matters into your own hands. Let a domestic violence lawyer protect you and clear your name the right way.