Domestic Violence Case In Louisiana
In May, I gave a police report of an incident between myself and my boyfriend. The day after the incident, I did try to contact the police that took my statement but was told that he was unavailable and to call back. When I did call back and reach him, I was told that it was too late to do anything as he had already filed the report. My boyfriend now has a court date set for November. The DA's office has taken up this domestic violence case and is refusing to drop it, even though I (the girlfriend/aleged victim) do not want to prosecute. I understand that it is the DA's choice to prosecute and is out of my hands. In fact, I have been told by the DA that I must appear at court or he will issue a warrant for my arrest. If this were the end of the scenario, we would not be worried as Louisiana tends to require a 1st time offense to attend counseling and is usually given probation. The twist in this case is that an ex-girlfriend (not myself) pulled a gun on my boyfriend when he was moving out of her house to get back together with me (we are expecting our first child in April). He called the police on the ex-girlfriend and she was arrested for assault with a firearm. However, she claimed that he hit her and claimed that a bruise on her hand was caused by him (it wasn't). She did this because she knew about the case between he and I and told him that since I had "gotten away with it" she would too. While they were both in jail for this 2nd incident, the judge told both of them that they were to have no contact whatsoever. She has broken the judges order and has contacted him twice. In return, he has filed a restraining order against her and the hearing on the restraining order is set for the end of October. This 2nd case is completely bogus, but she is aware of the event that took place between myself and my boyfriend and is capitalizing on it. The police arrested him as well as her and so now he has a second court date with a different judge for this 2nd matter. Both cases are misdemeanors. Although the DA in my case has told me that if my boyfriend pleads guilty in my case that he will not have jail time but instead be put on probation, we are concerned about the second charge (which the DA mentioned). The public defender assigned to my boyfriend has said that he will most likely be charged for two consecutive charges.
Question 1: Is it possible that after being assigned probation for our case that he will be penalized on the second case and be given jail time?
Question 2: Is there any way to have both of these incidents combined so that the probation will apply to both cases and he won't be caught in a "double-jeapordy" type position. (It almost feels as if he is being set up to take a fall.)
Question 3: What options does he have considering that he is really a victim of circumstance in both cases? (He did not instigate either event.)
Question 4: If I am asked for my testimony, I will have to admit that there is false information on the police report I filed for the 1st charge. I was intoxicated at the time and was having a mental breakdown that I later sought help for in August. What are the possible consequences I may face for the incorrect police report?
Question 5: I have not been allowed to get a copy of my police statement. I was drunk when I gave my statement back in May. Although I did type out a "confession" letter (recantment)a few days after the incident and gave it to my boyfriend, will we be able to use it in court?
Question 6: Will my testimony (and documentation of treatment at a mental hospital) be allowed as a defense for him? I instigated the whole event (while having a nervous breakdown) between us but was the only one with any physical signs of a fight.
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