Charges after a domestic disturbance

[noname12]

Hello, I recently used this forum with excelent help from everyone involved, and first off, just want to say thank you. Unfortunatly, a new legal end of the spectrum has occured for me recently. Once again, I know I morally didnt do a thing wrong, but I just want to see what legally happened/will happen.

So, to begin, I have been in a serious relationship with a woman now for about 2-3 years (I am 22 male), lets call her M. So, a little background on M is that she is, as I have come to find out, not exactly mentally balanced. She has been taking medication for depression and the such, and will consistintly enter hysterics, during which she will usually either try and physically harm me, or herself, or both. During these episodes she will almost appear to have a panic attack except she will usually strike out in anger. Also, I have several witnesses that have observed this in action.

So, recently we have been fighting (verbally) alot, and I decided that it was time to have a relaxed sit down to talk about where we were. I finally convinced her to agree to this, upon which I did most of the talking as she just sat there quite angry (I was exceptionally calm the entire time). This continued for awhile, until something set her off (I cannot remember exactly what I said, but she started going into a mode she goes into right before she gets hysterical). At this point I knew she was not safe on her own ESPECIALLY DRIVING, so when she said she was leaving, I took her keys and told her to calm down (as I said before, I took them because I didnt want her to drive in that state). This set her off and she began hitting me and pulling my hair, and slapping me in the face several times as well as a few punches to the face. All the while all I did was attempt to keep a firm grip on the keys until she settled down, and all I kept saying was "just calm down," as calmly as possible. This continued for several minutes until eventually she made her way to my living room, where I had a buck knife I use for fishing and random things around the apartment, and threatend me while she began to pick it up (I believe it was something like "Im going to ****ing stab you.." or along those lines of a true threat). At this point I hit the knife from her hands and pinned her down for my own saftey, waiting about a minute, still calm surprisingly, and trying to calm her down.

A few minutes later, she was still hysterical, but I figured, its either I let her leave and chance her harming herself or shes going to harm me. I gave her back her keys, and just told her to relax, etc... She left a minute or so later still in hysterics.

About one hour later, I get a knock on the door, and it was an officer. I told him everything that happend, although, I did cover for her a little bit, claiming that she didnt really hurt me at all, but I did mention the knife thing, which I regret, but I was still shaken up from the ordeal.

Now, the officer told me that pretty much everything that I had said concurred with her, with a few indiscrepencies... Upon later talking to her, she told him that I had pinned her down and was basically being rough. Regardless, when I talked to the officer, he understood where I was coming from, and realized that I was telling the truth (even though he didnt really say that). When I mentioned the knife, I breifly mentioned that she had tried to reach for it, nothing else about the threat or the fact that she actually picked it up. He also said that it is up to the state (Michigan) to decide whether or not to press charges on either of us. However, he told ME that since he wasnt cuffing me or arresting me, that thats usually a good sign that no charges will be pressed, BUT he specifically said that that doesnt mean that they will probably not be charged.

First off, I just want to point out that in NO WAY do I want to press charges on her, I just want to go on with my life, and let her go on with hers...

This brings about my questions.....

1. If, since I am the male and usually the male gets the shaft, I do get these bullcrap charges, what kind of charge could it be (misdemneaor/felony, etc..)

2. If I did get charged, I would want to press charges on her for the incident. (I know it is crappy to be vengeful, but I would think it would be complete crap if she got off the hook, and I got screwed). My question is, could I still press charges like months down the line about the knife incident and just the incident in general (The police never asked me if I wanted to press charges, but could I that far down the line)??? Also, as I mentioned, I have witnesses that I could bring that would back up my story on her hysterics in the past.. could this help


3. How long about does it take before you would normally know whether or not you are being charged??? And who would I call to find out the status on the case???

4. Any other advice???


A few notes:

I did call her several times before and after the police came to make sure she was alright. I live in Michigan, where this all occured. The officer told me: "If I were you, I would just stay away from her.." implying the fact that she has obvious problems. Even though he said that, and I completely agree, I called her just to check on her, I cannot let that ride on my concience if something was to happen to her. Theres more to this whole ordeal, so if this isnt enough information, just let me know.


Thanks,
and sorry about the length... again...

[cdwjava]

1. If, since I am the male and usually the male gets the shaft, I do get these bullcrap charges, what kind of charge could it be (misdemneaor/felony, etc..)

Probably misdemeanors ... unless she alleges some form of false imprisonment in which case you could face a felony.

2. If I did get charged, I would want to press charges on her for the incident. ... My question is, could I still press charges like months down the line about the knife incident and just the incident in general ...??

Since you told the officer she had never picked it up or threatened you with it, chances are that any late allegation will fall on deaf ears. The defense argument would be something along the lines of:

"Did you lie to the police that night? Or are you lying to the court right now?"

No matter how it were to pan out, you would be seen as a liar. Your original statement to the police would be used to impeach your later allegation which would be seen for what it is - retaliation.

3. How long about does it take before you would normally know whether or not you are being charged??? And who would I call to find out the status on the case???

That depends on the charges they are looking at the relevant statute of limitations. I am not familiar with what they are in MI, but I suspect that they have at least one year and as many as five years to pursue charges. However, if they don't file within two or three months, chances are they won't do it at all.

You can certainly call the investigating officer and ask what's happening, but the officer may not tell you what's up ... or, the officer may not know what has happened after he took the report and turned it in.

4. Any other advice???

If you are charged, consult an attorney. In fact, it might not hurt to retain one now. He could also find out if there is anything going on with the case. Laywers tend to know people and how to find out stuff like this.



- Carl

[noname12]

The thing with the knife is this: If I remember correctly I told him that at one point, she picked up my knife, and I knocked it out.... Now, I never mentioned that she threatend me, but I never said that she didnt. Also, he was only writting down like 5 words the whole time, so, as for exact quotations, I dont believe he would have that on record, but I really dotn know. As for the false imprisonment, I dont understand how this could be a crime in my situation, I was simply trying to prevent her from hurting herself by taking her keys... I forgot to mention that she also stabbed me with her keys a few times while the thing was heating up, I mean pretty hard too... Im kina mad now that I did not mention that to the officer, I was still more or less at aloss of words when he arrived. but back to the false imprisonment, I think in Michigan, there is a law where you cannot allow someone to drive drunk... I really think that in her state, driving at night, she would be as impaired, if not more impaired than if she was over the legal limit. Regardless, I never MADE her stay, I just took her keys, the only time I was immobilizing her was after she tried picking up my knife. Does this all constitute false imprisonment??? Also, she will most likely not be doing anything else, like pressing any more charges anyways, so would she have to file a second report of false imprisonment??? From the feeling I got from the police officer, who was very proffesional about everything, I dont believe that any charges will end up being pressed, but, there is still a chance.

A few questions I forgot to ask:

If I went to court, would I be the only one facing charges, or if she got charges pressed, would they be seperate??? I have an absolutly clean record, not even a moving violation to my name, or a parking violation that I can recall.

I know absolutly nothing about law, so sorry if this sounds dumb.... But, if I ended up going to court of this, and she didnt, and I couldnt take her to a criminal court, could I possibly sue in civil court for threatening me and punching/beating me? Or even sue her for falsely accusing me of certain aspects, if she did??? I am not entirely sure what she accused me of, I shouldve probably asked the officer, but knowing her, she embellished the hell out of whatever it was.


Again, thanks for the feedback (Carl), I really appreciate it a ton... And thanks for being patient with my lack of legal knowledge.

[cdwjava]

Now, I never mentioned that she threatend me, but I never said that she didnt.

I would think that this information coming AFTER you have been charged would be seen as highly suspect. You had best consult an attorney before trying that. I can imagine that the other side of the argument will be that she pulled the knife to protect herself from you.

If it was not important enough for you to emphasize it to the reporting officer, it won't stand much of a chance with regards to a revenge charge against her. It might help in your defense, but don't count on the DA charging it if they don't based upon the original report.

Keep in mind that YOU do not press charges, the DA does.

As for the false imprisonment, I dont understand how this could be a crime in my situation, I was simply trying to prevent her from hurting herself by taking her keys...

I just threw that out there as it is a common charge in similar situations. I have no idea if the conditions presented equate to the offense or a similar one in your state.

Also, she will most likely not be doing anything else, like pressing any more charges anyways, so would she have to file a second report of false imprisonment???

The state - through the DA - files charges, not her. The DA will read the report and file charges against whomever they feel committed a provable offense.

From the feeling I got from the police officer, who was very proffesional about everything, I dont believe that any charges will end up being pressed, but, there is still a chance.

Yep. The DA may have a different opinion of the whole thing.

If I went to court, would I be the only one facing charges, or if she got charges pressed, would they be seperate???

If both of you were charged, you would almost certainly be facing seperate trials.

But, if I ended up going to court of this, and she didnt, and I couldnt take her to a criminal court, could I possibly sue in civil court for threatening me and punching/beating me?

If you have enough money, you can sue anyone for anything. Without any injury caused by her actions, you'd have a hard time getting an award.

Or even sue her for falsely accusing me of certain aspects, if she did???

If you are found guilty, that would sort of throw any false accusation claim out the window. Even if you are found to be not guilty, you might still have an uphill battle to prove intentional and knowingly false allegations against you.

I am not entirely sure what she accused me of, I shouldve probably asked the officer, but knowing her, she embellished the hell out of whatever it was.

The embellishment is a matter of opinion ... your version and her version may not jive, but there is likely no way to prove either one.

Question: Are you still seeing this girl?

- Carl

[noname12]

No, I am no longer seeing her, but after the whole police incident, I have talked to her a few times, not once have I said anything mean or insulting about it, in fact, I have been overly nice to her, saying that I forgive her and stuff, but there is no way of me getting back with her... You just dont do that stuff, and if you did, you sure as hell dont call the cops on the person you just threatened with a knife. But regardless, we are on slightly better terms now, but the second, I mean the very second that I find out that I will not be going to court (if that happens), I will break all contacts with her.

Now, if I did go to court, she would have to testify via supena, correct?? Cause as I have said, she seems to not have any desire at the moment to further this issue, that I know of at least... The only thing I can guess is that she got so emotional, and so upset that she called the police... She has done similar things to her friends in the past instead of talking things out with them rationally.

Now, as for whoever has the worst case going through the DA.... Since the officer didnt ever ask if I harmed her at all, I assume that she had no marks (I know it would be impossible for me to leave marks, since I did not strike her, nor harm her in any way, but, she tends to hit herself quite hard when she gets frustrated... Like I said, she has mental issues,,, Ive seen her get so mad that she has hit her head against the wall as hard as she could until she nearly past out, and Ive witnessed her take a kitchen knife out and not exactly cut herself badly, but make herself bleed untill I took it away from her.). However, if she had somehow fabricated some marks by herself, what happens then??? I never showed the officer, nor did he ask that I remember, if I had any marks... All he asked is what happend.

I should reiterate the fact that I could bring in at least one witness, that would testify that she has flipped out on my before while I just try and get away.... In fact, had the person not been there to intervene, she couldve probably been charged with false imprisonment. He witnessed her chasing after me, and pulling me back in the apartment as hard as she could when I was trying to leave. He also witnessed her swing at my face and chase me outside for awhile.... Could this be brought to court as a defense, even though it was a seperate event???

Another thing, I know you said that false imprisonment is a felony, but is there a misdemeanor version in Michigan??


Again, sorry this keeps continuing, I just really want to have as much info as I can down pat so that I can know what to expect.... Thanks again Carl!

[cdwjava]

Now, if I did go to court, she would have to testify via supena, correct??

Presumably the DA would issue a subpoena for her. They would not HAVE to, but it would be difficult to make their case without her.

Now, as for whoever has the worst case going through the DA.... Since the officer didnt ever ask if I harmed her at all, I assume that she had no marks

There is no way to know the answer to that question. However, if she had a visible injury, and her story was reasonable, it is very likely that you would have gone to jail that night.

I should reiterate the fact that I could bring in at least one witness, that would testify that she has flipped out on my before while I just try and get away....

It is possible that this witness would never be allowed to testify. This past behavior may be ruled by the court to be unrelated to the current events. He might be allowed to testify, but it all depends on the arguments made by the attorneys.

Again, sorry this keeps continuing, I just really want to have as much info as I can down pat so that I can know what to expect.... Thanks again Carl!

No problem.

I suspect that in the morning, Aaron might be along to answer more specifically about the MI system in these cases. Each state treats these matters somewhat differently. The only thing they all have in common is that domestic violence remains a hot-button issue, and it is an oft-used (and sometimes abused) statute. It is effectively out of the hands of the involved parties once the police are involved ... so it can be frustrating.

- Carl

[noname12]

Thanks again Carl!!! And do you know where I would go to look at penalties and laws for my county/state??? I have tried www.legislature.mi.gov but cannot find much in regards to false imprisonment and any of the related charges.

I am not sleeping right now for a reason, I am obviously still very upset about the whole thing, and I just want the whole thing to be over.