Domestic violence in Broward County has long been considered to be an offense that is fueled by private industry and the emotions of South Florida residents. Our Criminal Lawyers know this and factor that in outlining an appropriate defense strategy.
In the past 17 years as a Domestic Violence Attorney in Broward County Florida, I have been actively involved in the defense of hundreds of these cases and witness to thousands. One issue that comes up time and time again is that of the prosecutions moving forward despite the fact that they lack of cooperation from the alleged victim. I think that most local criminal defense attorneys understand that the elected state attorney and staff at the prosecutor’s office would rather not be credited with dropping a domestic violence charge in Broward County as this by nature goes against what they are geared to do. That is to seek convictions.
Criminal defense attorneys that represent clients charged with the mystic violence in Broward County agree that the entirety of the litigation is riddled with uncertainty.
All too familiar is the situation whereby it is anyone’s guess as to whether or not the alleged victim is cooperating with the state attorney’s office. Where it is known that the alleged domestic violence victim does not wish to cooperate, Broward County domestic violence attorneys anticipate the prosecutors threats to proceed by forcing said victim to come in to criminal court and testify
A prosecuting attorneys desire to go forward on a domestic violence case where no victim is available in stills little fear among local Fort Lauderdale domestic violence attorneys. While it is true that a prosecutor under loose reading of the law may feel that they are entitled to move forward with prosecution, the fact is that the United States Constitution will stop them from doing so every time. Criminal defense attorneys like me know that where the state can not produce a victim or witness and subject them to my cross examination, any evidence that may have otherwise been used to convict is useless as under these circumstances doing so would violate the confrontation clause of the United States Constitution.
Long before I became a Fort Lauderdale domestic violence attorney, I learned in law school that an accused has an absolute right to confront and question those making the allegations for the intention of convicting them. A majority of domestic violence cases in Fort Lauderdale result in the victim’s refusal to cooperate with police officers or prosecuting attorneys. The most common explanation given is that a drastic discrepancy in each sides perception of the facts exist. Alternatively on many occasions following a domestic violence arrest, the parties come to grips with the fact that police intervention was entirely unnecessary and only resulted from a desire to gain control of a heated argument.
What Do We Mean When We State That Domestic Violence in Broward County Is a Political Crime?Fort Lauderdale domestic violence attorneys endured a drastic change in the manner that these battery cases are investigated and handled procedurally following the O.J. Simpson trial. A zero tolerance among the public in conjunction with private industry’s shaping this offense into a political crime has led to one of our more awkwardly prosecuted criminal offenses in Broward County. Unfortunately, this is not going to change anytime soon.