RELEASED: May 25, 2012
RALEIGH, NC — A Raleigh defense lawyer of Marcilliat & Mills PLLC, successfully directed the defense of a felony strangulation charge. Along with the criminal charge, a domestic violence protective order hearing was also litigated before the dismissal was entered.
Often when there are issues of domestic violence, the alleged victim will do two things:
- Institute criminal proceedings at the magistrates’ office, and
- Request an emergency ex-parte stay-away order at the domestic violence courtroom.
The judge will often grant a defendant’s request to postpone the domestic violence stay-away hearing until after the criminal prosecution, so there is no risk of the defendant incriminating himself. In this case however, there was a child involved, and the domestic violence judge insisted that we go forward despite the pending criminal proceedings,” explained our criminal defense lawyer.
Navigating a client through domestic violence proceedings is a challenging task. There are a lot of emotions, a lot of sadness, especially when children become witnesses to their parent’s inability to resolve conflict in a non-violent manner. Our goal is often to focus on how the client can address these issues on a personal level and improve in these areas of his or her life. An honest effort to better yourself can help influence the outcome of the criminal prosecution in a variety of ways.
In this situation, the client had been through a lot of counseling and had put his child’s interest first in every way he knew how. He had strong family support and over time the parties reconciled, deciding to give their relationship another chance. They wanted to do everything they could to keep their family together for their child. They knew they had a lot of work ahead of them but they didn’t want to give up on the chance to make things right.
When the time came for the client to accept a guilty plea to assault or to reject the offer and wait for the case to proceed to the grand jury, the client chose the latter. Part of our job as the attorney is to make sure my client understands the possible ramifications of every option. Just because there has been progress made on a personal level, and just because the family’s main goal is to reconcile and move on, does not mean there will be any lack of governmental effort to prosecute the case.
It turns out in the end the client made the right decision. The Assistant District Attorney spent time with the alleged victim and deemed that a voluntary dismissal would be appropriate before the client was indicted. The defense lawyer from Marcilliat & Mills PLLC wished them the best, and above all, hoped that their family unit stays together in a healthy way.
For more information about the Marcilliat & Mills PLLC, see his criminal defense website and criminal defense blog. Our skilled criminal attorneys who defend against sex crime charges, DWI charges, assault charges and others in Wake County. To contact our team of criminal lawyers, please contact the law firm or call 919-838-6643 for a free consultation. Marcilliat & Mills PLLC can also be followed on Facebook at facebook.com/nc.criminal.defense.
DISCLAIMER: The cases, facts and outcomes discussed in this press release are illustrative of the matters handled by the firm. Actual case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Not all of the firm’s case results are included on this site. The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or law firm’s past results because prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
North Carolina v. J.S.
Accusation: Indecent Exposure
Potentially Facing: 30 days in Jail
Result: Case Dismissed
Marcilliat & Mills PLLC acted quickly, meeting with the DA’s office to mitigate on behalf of their client, who had no prior criminal history. The Defendant had cooperated fully with the officer. At defense counsel’s prompting, the ADA spoke with his Law Enforcement Officers and determined that Defendant had been through enough already. Dismissed on the first court date.