Results 1 to 10 of 12

Hybrid View

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    10

    Default Getting My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    My question involves criminal law for the state of: Maryland

    My husband and I have been married for 10 years now and I have never been threatened by my husband. However, this week we got in a terrible argument, which led to me saying very ugly nasty things to my husband esp. about him being unemployed. That led to a very unexpected reaction. He slapped me on my face. He has never hit me before. I am 7 months pregnant and have a 2 yr old child. Being emotionally shaken and feeling very insulted by the slap, i made an extremely rash decision of calling 911 on him. Big mistake!
    We had a perfect marriage, have struggled to achieve an educated and stable family. That day that discussion was the worst we had.
    The police arrived so quickly that we didnt have a chance to think. They asked me so many questions. They saw the slap redness on my cheek to which my husband too agreed. Next thing they arrested my husband.
    We have never faced anything like this before. I cant believe my 911 call in that unstable emotional state changed everything for us. My husband had to be in the jail for 7 hrs. he was released on bail with second degree assault charge. He now cannot come back home but can contact me.
    I have many questions, fears......losing sleep over this. we want this case to be dismissed. We both have learnt a big lesson. we have a future ahead, our 2nd baby is coming soon, we want our life back. Please help with info that can help our case. Some questions -

    1. can my husband be put throught jail time for this?
    2. we have a lawyer but want to hear from people who had similar experience. what was the end result?
    3. me being pregnant, is that going to be more of a disadvantage for a decision in his favor.
    4. since both of us have honestly agreed to the argument and the slap, would that make it difficult for our case to be dismissed?

    please reply with suggestions, ideas, your story, anything that will help.
    We want our family back!!
    THANKS

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Posts
    1,877

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    Hello,

    I'm sorry you are going through this, and I don't have any legal advice except to question your lawyer extensively, and to try to be as open and honest to the judge as you can.

    My only real piece of advice is to remember in the future that one or two seconds can change and/or ruin lives. Be careful what you do or say when upset because the consequences may be irrevocable. (I'm not suggesting they are or are not in your particular situation, just that it's all too easy to lose too much in the heat of the moment.)

    Good luck,

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Posts
    29

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    Not legal advice but I would..

    -evoke spousal privilege to not testify against your husband; you can do this if it is a first offense in Maryland
    -prepare for CPS visit since you have children
    -Try to get the restraining order removed as soon as possible and stand together in court
    -You both admitted the incident to the police but if this is a one time occurence then hopefully that will also go in the police report. It won't help that you are pregnant.

    good luck

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    Fcel - thanks a lot for your suggestions

    - I have decided to evoke spousal privilege to not testify against your husband.
    - we will definitely look into a CPS visit
    - I have filed a motion, the very next day, to remove the restraining order and allow my husband to stay with us at home. waiting to hear the response from the DA's office
    - I am praying that they see this as a first occurence in a good marriage and actually make a decision to help our marriage and not ruin it.
    - I am afraid that me being pregnant would make them extra protective of me which might be unfavorable in our situation. Can I bring out the fact that I have been going through terrible anger episodes and emotional ups and downs which I dont remember experiencing before. My Ob-gyn is also aware of it.

    Thanks again for your replies. Few questions:
    1. would it help if we undergo anger management and marriage counceling since we can meet outside our home.
    2. would it help if my husband finds a job somehow or shows aggressive measures to find one, since the fight was mainly about him being unemployed
    3. My husband has to meet his case manager weekly for supervision till our court date which is in 5 weeks. can communicating abt what we are facing help our situation. does the case manager have any input towards the decision.

    thanks in advance for all your help.

    Thanks for the reply and thoughts.
    mmmagique - I agree with what you said. I failed to see everything I had up until that incident and totally misjudged my husband. I am very regretful of that and hope that myself or anyone else doesn't ever make such mistake. I pray all day and night for us to not undergo any further punishment for this one mistake!! we have suffered a lot already.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    You cannot evoke spousal priviledge when the SPOUSE was the one that called the police.

    That act already shattered it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Posts
    10

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    No, it was me who called the police (without much thinking).
    Spousal priviledge is the only hopeful way out of this situation. I have nightmares about my husband being jailed for this one-time incident. Does anyone know the statistics/other cases where the spousal priviledge helped or not helped a Domestic Violence - second degree assault charge to be dropped?
    thank you again for your responses and thoughts.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: Get My Husband Out of an Assault Charge

    Quote Quoting ndhelp
    View Post
    No, it was me who called the police (without much thinking).
    Spousal priviledge is the only hopeful way out of this situation. I have nightmares about my husband being jailed for this one-time incident. Does anyone know the statistics/other cases where the spousal priviledge helped or not helped a Domestic Violence - second degree assault charge to be dropped?
    thank you again for your responses and thoughts.
    Let me try this again.

    You, the spouse, cannot call the police on your husband and then say that you don't want to testify because of spousal privilege.

    You already have.

    Further, many jurisdictions do not recognize the tenet of spousal privilege in DV cases for just this reason.

    Last thing to remember... if the court thinks that you are comfortable with DV in your home, you may lose your children.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Assault & Battery: Assault Charge, and Possible Counter Charge
    By dementeddaze in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-22-2011, 07:33 AM
  2. Assault & Battery: Simple Assault Charge with Prior 3rd Degree Aggravated Assault Felony
    By Annie14 in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 04-06-2011, 06:46 PM
  3. Assault & Battery: Husband's Future Career with an Assault Charge
    By leanne3661 in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-16-2008, 04:51 AM
  4. Assault & Battery: My Husband Was Charged With Aggravated Assault And I Am The Victim
    By hjones in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-05-2007, 07:52 PM
  5. Assault & Battery: Husband Incarcerated For Aggravated Assault And Battery
    By Msookar in forum Criminal Charges
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-16-2007, 07:27 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources