Felony Domestic Violence

My question involves criminal law for the state of: california

ok i need help on this today because my friends court is tommorow, this is what happened my friends ex bf saw her somewhere and bashed her car and beat her, so i guess she started hitting him back and the cops came and for some reason they both got arrested and she got convicted of a felony...? what do i do? hellppp please can it be dropped? or lowered into a misdemenor so she doesnt' have to serve any time? its basically self defense but do they charge her first? and how is this gonna hold up in court thanks

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ok i need help on this today because my friends court is tommorow, this is what happened my friends ex bf saw her somewhere and bashed her car and beat her, so i guess she started hitting him back

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One of the BEST things you can do for your friend, in the interest of her personal safety, is to tell her that when someone is bashing her car, particularly an ex, the thing to do is ESCAPE first, and call police second. Otherwise this sort of situation ensues, as is WAY to common, and BOTH sides end up in the clink. Must have been a knock down drag out too, for it to have been charged as a felony. What was the exact charge? Aggrevated battery?

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and the cops came and for some reason they both got arrested

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The situation probably appeared to be "mutual combat". If his side of the story was that he was hitting her car, and then she started hitting him, that's grounds for arrest. The law doesn't recognize the use of force in defense of property. If her part in the physical fighting part was self defense against his violence against her directly, her attorney will bring this up in her case.

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and she got convicted of a felony...?

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If she hasn't been to court yet, then she cannot have been convicted. Do you mean she was CHARGED with a felony?

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what do i do?

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Help her to get an attorney. Encourage her to get some help from her local domestic violence program. Sit down with her to work on a personal safety plan if this guy is out to get her.

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hellppp please can it be dropped? or lowered into a misdemenor so she doesnt' have to serve any time? its basically self defense but do they charge her first? and how is this gonna hold up in court thanks

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There are way too many unknowns for anyone here to be able to predict any of that. "Basically self defense" is a long legal way from ACTUAL self defense. Those are things that will have to be presented in court. For example, if she was IN the car, he started hitting the car, and she got out to confront him - it isn't going to be looked at as self defense. If he was hitting the car, and she ran up and physically confronted him, same deal. These are questions for her attorney, who WILL have the pertinent details.

oh yeah i meant she was charged with a felony, im just trying to get all the help i can to keep her away from jail, and her court is tommorow, and i have no idea what to do. another thing whats the average cost of a lawyer and do they usually take payment plans?
also, since she is in a holding cell at the sheriff station, when i go visit her to ask her things, can they use what they recorded as evidence? or can she just speak freely and tell me everything exacly how it happens even though they are recording it .... i think
thanks

The best thing you can do to help her when if you visit is to NOT talk about it. You don't want her re-telling the story since it won't be the same exact words in her statement, and YOU don't want to be subpoena'd as a witness to testify about what she told you. She needs to be keeping her trap SHUT and discussing this with her attorney and ONLY her attorney. I can't emphasize the ONLY enough. Encouraging or even allowing her to discuss it with you or anyone else could result in even more serious problems for her. If your curiousity is SO great about the incident that you can't stand NOT to talk to her about it, then for her sake, stay home.

When she has first appearance, she can request a public defender and see if she qualifies. If that's granted, you won't need to worry about finding an attorney. If not, you can try your local legal aid society, or your state bar association website for possible referrals. You might even contact your local domestic violence program and see if they have legal services available (attorneys often volunteer their time for similar cases).

but during her first appearance, if she doesn't qualify, then what happens? she just gets sentenced? or she has to wait in jail till court again? and is the public defender good enough? i mean would he care to do his best? thanks for all your help aardvarc

Public defenders, despite the bad rap they get in television shows, are some of the best trial attorneys there are. They're in the courtroom almost all day, every day, and no one knows the judges and prosecutors better. If she qualifies for a public defender, I wouldn't have much concern about their abilities.

Arraignment is only the reading of the charges and a time for a defendant to make a plea. If she pleads not guilty (I'm just assuming she will from based on your posts), then bail is set and she'll be notified of the next steps in the process (which could be weeks or months from now).