{"id":5655,"date":"2023-12-09T10:21:26","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T10:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lawyersreadytofight.com\/?p=5655"},"modified":"2023-12-12T10:31:33","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T10:31:33","slug":"will-i-face-domestic-violence-charges-if-my-spouse-doesnt-press-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lawyersreadytofight.com\/2023\/12\/09\/will-i-face-domestic-violence-charges-if-my-spouse-doesnt-press-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Will I Face Domestic Violence Charges If My Spouse Doesn\u2019t Press Charges or Testify?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Indiana\u2019s criminal justice system, the supposed victim of domestic violence does not hold sole power to pursue or abandon charges. Prosecutors have ultimate authority to charge you with domestic violence, meaning you may face criminal charges even if the purported victim doesn\u2019t testify or participate in the charging process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prosecutors Pursue Domestic Violence Charges (or Don\u2019t) on a Case-by-Case Basis<\/b><\/p>\n

Once law enforcement officers respond to a domestic violence call, those involved in the domestic dispute lose control of the situation. For instance, a spouse may honestly explain that there was only a verbal dispute, but law enforcement officers may interpret that spouse as lying to protect an abusive partner.<\/span><\/p>\n

A law enforcement officer may even view a visible injury completely unrelated to the domestic dispute, assume that the injury resulted from domestic battery, and arrest the partner under suspicion of domestic battery. In such cases, the supposed victim\u2019s refusal to pursue charges or testify may be irrelevant to the law enforcement officer and the prosecutor overseeing the next steps in the criminal justice process.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Majority of Domestic Violence Arrests in Indiana <\/b>Do Not <\/i><\/b>Lead to a Conviction, but That\u2019s Often Because of Capable Criminal Attorneys<\/b><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI)<\/span><\/a> (p.6) notes that in a single year, there were 11,610 domestic battery arrests but only 3,172 convictions for domestic battery and invasion of privacy offenses in Indiana. However, this gulf between arrests and convictions does not mean that prosecutors simply did not pursue charges in the cases that did not lead to a conviction.<\/span><\/p>\n

In many cases, a criminal defense attorney likely:<\/span><\/p>\n