Eyewitness accounts and their role in a stalking case charged under California’s domestic violence laws
In California, an individual who commits a crime against his or her intimate partner will face the charge as a domestic violence crime. Intimate partners share an intimate relationship or were once involved in an intimate relationship and can be heterosexual or homosexual partners. Examples include persons who are married, divorced, dating, formerly dating, living together and persons who have children together. If an individual maliciously follows or harasses and threatens his or her intimate partner, placing that partner in fear, he or she will likely be charged with stalking as a domestic abuse crime.
Stalking is a crime that may frequently go unnoticed by anyone other than the victim. The “stalker” may keep a low profile, making it so that only his or her intimate partner even sees him or her. When this type of situation occurs, it may be difficult for an unbiased eyewitness to come forward, as he or she wouldn’t likely be aware that a crime was even taking place. If, however, either the suspect or the suspect’s intimate partner was with someone when an alleged incident occurred, that individual could be called as a witness if an intimate partner abuse stalking charge was actually filed. If the stalking occurred in a very blatant manner, there could possibly be unbiased witnesses who would voluntarily speak to the police about what they witnessed who would then likely be called by the prosecution in a stalking trial.
Eyewitnesses can sometimes help reveal the truth behind a charge. Domestic violence usually characterizes a highly emotional, volatile relationship where the partners will more than likely have two different versions of events when any type of incident occurs. Eyewitnesses to an incident can therefore be very helpful in sorting out the real story. It should be noted, however, that although an eyewitness is simply supposed to share what he or she witnessed in an unbiased manner, this isn’t always the case. Many witnesses will offer to testify in an effort to help a friend, in an effort to hurt someone they don’t like or out of a sheer willingness to feel like they’re doing something important, even if they really didn’t see much or any of an event take place. This is why it is so important for the accused to hire a criminal defense lawyer who is savvy enough to judge a witness’s credibility and who excels in examination and cross-examination so that he or she can elicit the story that best defends his or her client.
The experienced attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm know how to turn any eyewitness, even a witness who was presented by the prosecution, into a witness who will ultimately help the defense. They have successfully defended countless individuals charged with stalking as an intimate partner violence crime because of their excellent witness preparation and examination skills. The aggressive attorneys will vigorously cross-examine a prosecution’s eyewitness, pointing out all of the discrepancies in his or her testimony to the judge and jury and will reveal why that that particular witness can’t be trusted. The hard-working Kavinoky attorneys will also take the time to thoroughly prepare any defense witnesses so that they understand what to expect once they take the stand and are comfortable answering questions from the attorneys representing both sides.
Eyewitness accounts in a D.V. stalking trial can help or hurt either side, depending on the strength of each attorney’s examination skills. The consequences of a DV stalking conviction are too severe to trust to an inexperienced attorney. The unparalleled attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm receive ongoing training in witness examination and cross-examination which has lead to their outstanding reputation. Keeping the jury in mind, they understand that sometimes a witness will require kid gloves and that sometimes a witness should be aggressively attacked. They are in it to win! If charged with stalking as a domestic abuse crime, please click here for a free consultation.
