Drop domestic charges

[Stupidgirl79]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My bf and I got in an argument while on vacation in Orlando we were both very drunk and I called 911. They came and took him to jail. I went to the first appearance and asked for charges not to be filed that nothing happened and we were just drunk. Now what do I do to make sure charges are dropped.

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My bf and I got in an argument while on vacation in Orlando we were both very drunk and I called 911. They came and took him to jail. I went to the first appearance and asked for charges not to be filed that nothing happened and we were just drunk. Now what do I do to make sure charges are dropped.

You are not the one pursuing charges. The state of Florida is prosecuting your boyfriend. There is nothing you can do. Except obey all laws and show up when you are subpoenaed. Oh and it might be a good idea to quit drinking.

 

[Stupidgirl79]

Drop charges

Yes but is there anything I can do like write a letter to the state attorney office pleading with them. I will not cooperate with them to press charges so would they just drop it?

 

[cbg]

No.

Something like 75% (Ohiogal or cdwjava might have more accurate figures but it's a really, really high percentage) of DV victims recant their story. Prosecutors EXPECT you to recant and will not just drop it because you protest. There is NOTHING you can do that will force them to drop the case. The minute you called 911 it was entirely out of your hands.

OG, what are the chances that she'd get charged with obstruction of justice?

 

[commentator]

I just watched a news clip on local tv where the domestic violence court was working through a backlog of cases, and the women who had called 911, in many of these cases, each took the stand and announced that she did NOT get abused, hit, beaten, forced, nothing happened, she made it all up, they were just drinking, they were just arguing, they were just tired, she did NOT want to press charges, and she was only here because she had been forced by the DA's office to be here. (In other words, show up or go to jail yourself.)

And in each case, the judge gave the boyfriend some jail time. Writing a letter or something like that would be ineffectual and they've certainly seen it before. Refuse to cooperate, or at least show up, and they'll come after you. You should internalize this, if you call 911, someone goes to jail. And once it happens, you can't unring the bell. It's just too easy for the offender to talk the victim into dropping charges, recanting, pretending it didn't happen. They may try it with sweetness, or they may try it with genuine threats, but they almost always try it. This whole thing is about whether they can control you and what you do, and that's why the law is fixed so it doesn't do them any good to get you to drop charges.

If they believe there's enough there, they'll press charges. May not, in this case, however. I'm sure they see a lot of these vacation meltdowns, but you certainly can't do anything to influence them. It depends on what they saw and heard and found out that night it happened.

You can call yourself "stupidgirl" all you want to, but I hope you won't stay stupid. Something happened, you're denying it now, but it will happen again, and you need to end this relationship before there is another crisis. You probably won't have anything in common with your boyfriend any more if you stop drinking anyhow.

 

[Ohiogal]

Yes but is there anything I can do like write a letter to the state attorney office pleading with them. I will not cooperate with them to press charges so would they just drop it?

If you don't cooperate with them, you can find yourself in jail or facing criminal charges yourself. If you ignore a subpoena, you can find yourself having a warrant for your arrest. There are consequences to acting like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Maybe you should have been smarter before filing false charges or become smarter now before wanting true charges dropped.

 

[Ohiogal]

No.

Something like 75% (Ohiogal or cdwjava might have more accurate figures but it's a really, really high percentage) of DV victims recant their story. Prosecutors EXPECT you to recant and will not just drop it because you protest. There is NOTHING you can do that will force them to drop the case. The minute you called 911 it was entirely out of your hands.

OG, what are the chances that she'd get charged with obstruction of justice?

Depends on the area. Around here, she could would be subpoenaed and if she didn't show up, a warrant would be ordered for her arrest. If she swore the charges were false (in hopes of getting boyfriend off), she could get charged with filing a false police report, perjury (a felony), or lying to a police officer. Other charges would be obstruction of justice, contempt of court, drunk and disorderly -- she admits she was drunk at the time, public intoxication, and various other minor things. They range from misdemeanors to felonies. Depends on how much Orlando wants to make an example out of her and others like her.

 

[CdwJava]

Laws may vary, but I can say from personal experience that I have been ordered by a judge on a number of occasions to go out and retrieve an errant victim who failed to comply with a subpoena. Nothing like ruining your day off (and the victim's) when you have to go hunt down a DV victim and bring them to the court in handcuffs.

 

[latigo]

Laws may vary, but I can say from personal experience that I have been ordered by a judge on a number of occasions to go out and retrieve an errant victim who failed to comply with a subpoena. Nothing like ruining your day off (and the victim's) when you have to go hunt down a DV victim and bring them to the court in handcuffs.

On the other hand you could have stuffed the bench warrant, made the fishing trip and salvaged yours and the witness' day.

 

[CdwJava]

On the other hand you could have stuffed the bench warrant, made the fishing trip and salvaged yours and the witness' day.

Yeah, uh ... I suppose I could be guilty of contempt and then compromise my integrity by claiming I acted with due diligence to find the victim. Sure, why not?

I think not.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

My bf and I got in an argument while on vacation in Orlando we were both very drunk and I called 911. They came and took him to jail. I went to the first appearance and asked for charges not to be filed that nothing happened and we were just drunk. Now what do I do to make sure charges are dropped.

Very good user name. You are a stupidgirl. Do not call 911 unless you are in danger and wish to follow through with the complaint. I'm guessing that, per your user name, that you are not only an idiot but not really a "girl". If I am right you are 34 or 35. So ...StupidWOMAN79...Grow up and realize the cost of your actions.

 

[aardvarc]

If he was arrested then either (a) police saw some physical evidence of violence against you, or (b) you TOLD them that some physical action was taken against you, or (c) both.

I'll tell you from personal experience that the Attorney General in Florida has excellent domestic violence training programs for their prosecutors. They are PURPOSEFULLY, CAREFULLY, and REPEATEDLY trained in the dynamics of domestic violence cases and seeking domestic violence CONVICTIONS in cases where the reporting party later wants to recant, change their story, or seeks to drop the charges. As others have noted, victims wanting to back out of a DV case isn't the exception, it's more akin to the RULE, as that's what a noticeable percentage of victims do, for many different reasons. However, the JOB of the prosecutor is NOT to give the victim what they want....their job is to protect not only the IMMEDIATE victim, but the public at large (including potential FUTURE victims of the perpetrator), and to ensure that persons willing to use violence, drunk or not, face consequences for those choices.

Yes, in Florida if you fail to show up as ordered by the court, you can expect to be facing criminal charges of your own.

Want to help him? Get yourself some help for your own drinking issue, get yourself educated about the legal system and understand that calling 911 and reporting that a person has committed a serious crime against you is NOT a joke and will not be treated as such, no matter how much you might regret it after the fact, and then refuse to be around him if he's drunking in the future. Otherwise, you may be playing this game again. You should also consider speaking to a trusted friend, pastor, counselor or advocate about why you feel it is okay for him to commit crimes against you (which is what you reported to police). It's not. I don't know you from Adam, but I know that you DO deserve better. If you don't agree that you do, please get yourself some professional help, as incidents of domestic violence tend to escalate over time, and with alcohol being an obvious factor in this dynamic, that's VERY dangerous for you.