There is a wide variety of evidence to be presented in a domestic violence case. The common types of evidence are statements of the accused offered to the officer, statements of the alleged victim offered by the victim through testimony, statements of any third-party witness, and statements of the law enforcement officers. Evidence that effectively shows there was an act of assault is most needed in domestic violence cases and is why an experienced Arlington domestic violence attorney is so important for anyone accused of this type of offense.
The nature of the evidence is important in domestic violence cases. Officer’s observations include injuries to either party including scratches, cuts, and bruises as well as the physical condition of the alleged. Officers will also want evidence as to whether one or both of the parties were intoxicated, or if one party was out of breath or sweating as if they were just panicking. They would want to know if the parties were fatigued, and they will want to uncover who they find more believable in the scenario. There are a lot of different ways the observation of the officer is important, and those are the three main pieces of evidence of this observation.
The fourth piece of evidence that may be available in some cases, that is not needed in all cases, is any third-party testimony or third-party evidence such as eyewitnesses, videos, cell phones, camera, voicemails. Law enforcement officers, as they typically were not there during the incident, make the testimony. Though they cannot typically testify as to what they have observed solely when they arrived at the scene, that is why it is important to present evidence complied with an attorney.
If evidence was obtained in violation of your rights, including your Fourth Amendment right to searches and seizures and your Sixth Amendment right to seek counsel, then the attorney will work hard to suppress evidence that should not be put into evidence. This includes evidentiary objections at trial, pre-trial motions, and other techniques that are commonly used to suppress or face lawful objection to certain evidentiary practices.
It is not always possible to get a witnesses’ testimony thrown out, but it may be possible to cross-examine a witness on the reliability of their testimony or their recollection. If a witnesses’ testimony was improperly obtained, then the attorney will figure out a way to try to prevent its inclusion in a trial. If, however, it is properly obtained but it is improperly biased or otherwise harmful to their client, the attorney will prepare to cross-examine that witness to try and diminish the value of their testimony.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
