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Can my boyfriend get his case for malicious mischief 3 dismissed?
Anonymous2 views3 answers
My boyfriend of 8 years and I have had some troubles recently, mostly loud arguments. On the night in question, my boyfriend and I had both drank heavily and the night is really foggy. Basically, a few things in our shared apartment and my car were damaged and we made a lot of noise, and a neighbor called police. He took off before they got there but they found him and he was arrested. I could not remember how anything was damaged as I had blacked out and the cops wrote a report stating he caused all of the damages, which I had signed in my inebriated state. I have damaged my own property in the past during arguments, so I would not be surprised if I had done some of the damage myself. Does he have a good chance of getting the case dismissed?
It depends on the prosecutor and it depends on the police. If you want to help him to get the charges dropped, you need to speak to his attorney and give him a statement saying what you said here. Realize that you signed a statement under oath so there will be pressure on you to repeat what you don't remember of face charges yourself. This is often a pointless threat as it would be a waste of time charging a drunk person with an intentional act. If the prosecutor plays that game I am sure that the defense attorney will call him on it.
More often than not, the prosecutor will go forward with the charges and allow a judge or jury to decide his fate. Hence go to his lawyer as soon as you can and see if he can get your friend a dismissal.
Good luck.
What did the neighbors see and hear? What did your boyfriend say about what happened? What's his criminal history, i.e., how motivated will the prosecutor be to convict him? Any time you are considering changing you testimony (your written statement is likely an affidavit) you'll want to speak with an attorney because you could be subjecting yourself to perjury allegations.
At your service,
It is possible. It will depend a lot on the prosecutor handling his case and what other evidence, if any, there is that he caused the damage. If the prosecutor believes there case is weak, knowing what your testimony is likely to be about being drunk and not remember what happened or making that statement, they may decide not to go forward. However, prosecutor's are used to people changing their statements in these types of cases and often will go forward regardless, arguing that your original statement was accurate and the new one is not. An experienced defense attorney can evaluate the case and any possible issues and try to convince the prosecutor that they do not have a case.
There may be other ways to agree to dismiss the case. Sometimes prosecutors are willing to amend the charges to non-DV charges and allow a compromise of misdemeanor -- where the victim agrees that they have been compensated for any damages and that they do not want the defendant prosecuted. It is important for him to get an attorney as soon as possible and may be helpful for you to get an attorney as well.
