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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Default Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Massachusetts

    My boyfriend and I got into an argument in July at night and it spilled over into the morning. We would alternate back and forth between him wanting to leave and me not letting him and me telling him to go and him not wanting to. He was also being obnoxious and throwing little things off my desk etc. At one point I gave him a push to stop it and he grabbed my wrist and twisted it. I was so frustrated and incensed by this, I called 911 and said my boyfriend refused to leave my apartment and when they asked if he had hurt me at all, I said, (the police have this recorded) yes, he grabbed my wrist. On the tape, you can also hear him saying "only because you pushed me." after the call, we pretty much made up and by the time the police got there I ended up giving them the wrong identifying information for him saying he had left the apt after the call when he was really upstairs. False name, false address, etc. I gave my real name and they knew my address. They left and then two more came back later saying they couldn't find my fake boyfriend, they asked if i was scared of him and whether i would let him back in and I said no, not scared, and yes because it was just a bad argument, he'd never hurt me, I don't think he would ever do anything intentionally.

    Eventually my lies about his fake name broke down under their questioning (though it really felt like I was the criminal being interrogated) and my boyfriend came out of my room, presented his real ID and etc. They threatened with both arresting him and me for filing false report. They left again and came back after reviewing 911 tape, and report from a responding officer that I had a red mark on my wrist (they termed in police report as an abrasion, which is medically speaking not true). My description of the mark would be more like...when you sit on something strange and get a red mark, like when legs are crossed and you get a red mark, etc, not an abrasion. It had faded by the time the officers came by for the 2nd time and asked to look at my wrists. 3rd time around they arrested him, not me, for domestic assault. He was processed, and i produced his bail a few hours later.

    There are two police reports, one with the false name and report by the responding officers, then another report by the officers who arrived the 2nd and 3rd times in which is documented that I admitted lying about his name to protect him after realizing I had made a mistake. I made a statement to Victim's Witness Advocate that I had lied about the event (yes i used the word lied), that he had never abused or hurt me, and that considering I had actually already filed a false report (with the wrong name) I was retaining an attorney (I haven't) and that I wished the case be dismissed and that I had no intention of testifying against him. I was hoping she would turn to DA and say all this, especially the part where I admit lying, but instead she only told DA that I had an attorney and was exerting my 5th Amendment rights. I said all this in hopes that the DA would agree to dismiss the case (We are trying to get out of all of this with our futures in tact (we're 23 and 24) as having any kind of criminal record would be difficult as he is looking into criminal justice as a career and I'm applying to medical school. No prior offenses for either of us and we're not willing to take a plea bargain because that still leaves a mark on his criminal record.

    What can we do? The case is now going to trial in December because the DA thinks they have a case, but if I did hire an attorney (my own), I wouldn't be forced to testify as I do have 5th amendment rights. If I decided to testify, my boyfriend's attorney would put me on stand and make me look like a lying b****, but that still doesn't guarantee he gets off. I feel stuck in this awful position. I made a mistake, and I wish the DA would realize that. I don't really know what the DA is going on here. The police report already states I admitted to lying about his name (so theoretically, there's more i could lie about), there's no injury, just one officer stating I had a red mark on my wrist, gone by the time the 2nd set of officers arrived, and the call to 911, of which my primary complaint was that he wouldn't leave, not that he was trying to hurt me. How can we both get out of this? Is there a way? Please help!!!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Washington comma the Great State of.
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    Default Re: Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    Your 5th amendment rights are just that: yours. So, that basically means they can't compel you to testify that you made a false police report (usually that's a crime.) Assuming they don't give you immunity, then you don't have a right to decline testifying because you can't be prosecuted so there's no jeopardy for you.

    But your 5th amendment right can't be exerted to refuse to answer questions which might incriminate him; e.g., that he grabbed your wrist.

    I'm curious why you aren't being charged with domestic violence since you did assault him. But consider yourself lucky.

    I don't suppose you took pictures of your non-marked wrists that night did you? Or in the corollary, you can have your boyfriend ask the police for pictures of this abrasion thing. I hope your man has a lawyer.

    There's a very real chance that he will be convicted for something because he did grab you without your consent and you are indeed dating.

    I would also suggest that both of you take some classes for several reasons; notably, among which is that this sounds to me like an unhealthy, passive-aggressive relationship.

    Also, these things tend to repeat themselves.

    Are you being prosecuted for anything?

    If he's convicted of domestic violence, he won't be working in the criminal justice system. Since he's accused of a crime, he at least has a PD I trust? You two should be sitting down with this lawyer and discussing this in depth.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    2

    Default Re: Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    No, I'm not being charged with anything. His lawyer suggested possibly filing a criminal complaint against me so that we could both claim the 5th, but would that lead to dismissal and would it give me a record too?

    What I want to know is how to get it across to the DA that I filed a false report without putting myself in jeopardy for being charged. is there a statute of limitations? I also read a law about how testimony to police could be thrown out. Could I get up there and say I consented to him grabbing? We have a lawyer for him, I'm just wondering if I need one of my own because his lawyer is his father's friend and I'm a little afraid of being screwed over to get him off.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    Quote Quoting shayspero
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    No, I'm not being charged with anything.
    Yet.

    His lawyer suggested possibly filing a criminal complaint against me so that we could both claim the 5th, but would that lead to dismissal and would it give me a record too?
    If they brought the same charge against you, yes, you too would have a criminal record.

    What I want to know is how to get it across to the DA that I filed a false report without putting myself in jeopardy for being charged.
    Kinda hard to admit to the crime, then expect it to disappear. There are legal consequences when you lie to police, particularly when that lie results in the state filing criminal charges against another person.

    Could I get up there and say I consented to him grabbing?
    You can't consent to someone else's criminal actions.

    We have a lawyer for him, I'm just wondering if I need one of my own
    If you plan to change your story, yep, because then you open yourself to criminal charges against YOU. Get your own attorney, and talk to that attorney and ONLY that attorney about aspects of your case and how to move forward with it. Other people - even family, friends, coworkers, etc. that you talk to can be subpoena'd to testify against you.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    Washington comma the Great State of.
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    Default Re: Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    Quote Quoting aardvarc
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    You can't consent to someone else's criminal actions.

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but since the charge he's facing involves the unlawful touching of another, if she consented to the touching, wouldn't that mean that he didn't unlawfully touch her. Thus, at least in theory, what he did would be lawful?

    Surely anyone has a right to be consent to being touched, even if it's rough?

  6. #6

    Default Re: Domestic Abuse vs False Police Report

    Not necessarily. First, her call to 911 indicated that she was experiencing fear due to the incident - something that isn't going to convince anyone that the touching was consentual (and pursuit of that line is only going to further errode her credibility).

    There are even attorneys who have found the need to specialize in criminal defense related to BDSM situations where one party is injured by another in the course of consentual, sometimes rough, sometimes VERY rough, encounters where one party sustains an injury that needs medical attention, goes to the hospital, and upon telling that the injury occurred due to being hit (insert the whole line of whips and chains here), the other party finds themselves being charged with a crime - even though the injured party swears on a stack of bibles that no crime occurred. Overall, and it's a bit varied from state to state, but in general, courts don't uphold the ability of another individual to injure them. Then...the whole discussion becomes one of what is the definition of "injury". Google "BDSM Attorney" for both sides of the arguement.

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