This domestic violence legal video covers a commonly asked question regarding “How Can I Get Domestic Violence Charges Dropped?” and how Combs Waterkotte can help you with your domestic violence charge in the state of Missouri.
You can read a transcript of the interview below.
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Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: What are my rights if I’m accused of domestic violence?
Steve Waterkotte: Your Fifth Amendment Right. Your right not to talk or answer questions.
Then of course you have a right to an attorney. You have the presumption of innocence. We all have that right in this country. A right to a trial. You have all your constitutional rights come along with it.
The one in this area that’s critical to follow and it’s almost always applicable in these cases is your right against self-incrimination. Your Fifth Amendment Right not to answer questions.
A jury down the road cannot make any inferences based on your decision at the time of the investigation. [If you] say, “Hey, listen, I’m not speaking with you without an attorney. I’m not waving my Miranda rights. I’m not answering your questions,” a jury at a trial cannot hear about that. Therefore, they cannot make any inferences against you for that.
Chris Combs: I think another important thing to note that I see a lot is someone gets arrested for domestic assault, they’re in jail. Who’s the first person they’re going to call? Typically, if they think there’s any way of trying to make things better, they’re calling their accuser, correct?
Well, what they don’t realize is the second they’ve been arrested, there’s a court order of no contact with the alleged victim.
So domestic violence prosecutors love going to the jail calls to see if they’ve tried to persuade this person to drop charges. Here comes another felony, tampering with the witness in a felony prosecution.
And then sometimes I have clients say, “I didn’t know I couldn’t talk to her.” So that’s something I think it’s important to get out there information wise.
Steve Waterkotte: I ditto that. That’s critical.
In St. Louis County they will routinely, on felony domestic assault charges, use their resources, their investigators, and prosecutors themselves will listen to those jail calls, like Chris said.
Because one of the first calls somebody locked up will try—in many cases—is to call their accuser, the alleged victim, to try to get them to dismiss the charges.
And so, it’s critical that folks know that every call in that jail is recorded and listened to—except for calls with your lawyer.
Even I don’t even feel completely comfortable – and I don’t think most lawyers would agree with me here. We don’t ever go into the facts of the case over the phone. I just don’t have that much trust in the government, frankly.
I’ve had a prosecutor say, “I just listened to these calls,” which they’re allowed to do by law. We always tell our clients, “Listen, every call is recorded. Use caution.”
If you want to talk about hiring a lawyer, when your court date is, how’s my baby doing? How’s grandma doing? That’s all fine, but do not get in the facts in the substance of this case over the phone.
I’ve had a prosecutor say “I was listening to calls and I heard them call you. I immediately hung up.” And I trust the prosecutors, the ones in St. Louis County. But I still never get into the facts. We’re never gonna be on a phone call saying, “Let’s walk through what happened.” We’ll do that in person, at the jail if they’re locked up, at the appropriate time.
That is a critical one. As Chris said, know that all those phone calls are recorded and they are listened to. And even in a big county with tons of and tons cases like St. Louis County, they still will use resources, investigators, and prosecutors themselves that will listen to those calls.
Scott Michael Dunn: Wow.
Steve Waterkotte: And you would be surprised by how many times a defendant incriminates themself.
“I didn’t mean to do it. I’ve just got – things got crazy.” That’s incriminating, right? You’re essentially kind of acknowledging your participation, at least to some extent, into this.
Chris Combs: The second you get charged with domestic violence, your accuser, the alleged victim, is going to get a call from the prosecutor. They want them to hang on and to prosecute.
They’re also going to get a call from a victim advocate. They’re gonna be encouraged to file an order of protection, also known as a restraining order in Missouri.
Again, right away there’s gonna be a lot of hands on the alleged victim. This is what you ought to do, this is what you ought to do.
Scott Michael Dunn: Wow.
If you need Missouri’s leading domestic violence defense lawyers to defend your rights and freedom, speak to a criminal defense attorney today at (314) 900-HELP or contact us online for a free case review.
