Normally responding officers conduct a Fredericksburg assault investigation, and typically investigations take three to four hours maximum. What happens is that an assault takes place, the responding officers come into the scene, they interview the individuals who are on the scene, and then they instruct the parties on how to either take out a warrant or if they believe they should take out a warrant themselves, then they go to the magistrate and swear a warrant based on some of the information they gathered from when they were called out to the scene. But that is going to be the majority of a person’s assault investigations, it is a three to four period where witnesses are interviewed, every now and again fingerprints are taken, and summonses or warrant are taken out.
If you are being charged with assault then you should consider contacting a skilled Fredericksburg assault lawyer to help you through the process. The Fredericksburg assault lawyer can talk you through the investigation and how the process will proceed once in full effect.
In an assault, the prosecution literally looks at the case the day before they have to take it to court. One is going to have the testimonial evidence of the participants who are involved in the assault and then if there are any pictures of any injuries or bruises, nowadays cellphone video of the actual incident itself will be presented, and then lastly every now and again there might be phone records of people sending text messages and referencing the assault that occurred.
During a Fredericksburg assault investigation, camera phones are very effective because they are just like body cameras. They provide a more objective view of what happened and a lot of times what will happen is that the accuser will come into the courtroom and fill out their criminal complaint. They have been coerced to fill it out in a way that makes them look totally innocent and so when they get in the court, they will testify in a way that makes them look fully innocent. The camera footage might reveal something that contradicts the accuser’s testimony, like the accuser aggressively baiting the defendant, or physically intimidating them. The camera phone footage will call into question the accuser’s testimony and cause the judge to question the trustworthiness of the accuser.
Criminal complaints are taken out, as well as video evidence that exists, audio evidence, statements taken by the alleged victim to the assault, any pictures of the actual injuries if there are any injuries or any videos of the actual incident itself.
Domestic assaults are also Class 1 misdemeanors so the length of a Fredericksburg assault investigation may be two to three hours of just going out there and talking to people then letting them know, that they can take a warrant out which can be lengthy. Even assaults on law enforcement officers do not involve much investigating because if it is an assault on a law enforcement officer, the officer knows what happened to them because they were involved in it. If a person spits on someone, the investigation is all of five minutes. Investigations do not last long, they are quick, the arrests are normally made relatively quickly and then the trial happens within 30 to 45 days.
Assault charges are normally taken to trial and are going to be based on an emotional situation where both parties feel that they are in right. An experienced Fredericksburg assault lawyer is going to know how to take that emotional testimony that is going to come in court and shape it in a way that the judge understands the defendant’s side of the story. A skilled attorney will understand the process of a Fredericksburg assault investigation and know how to guide the defendant through that process. A person is going to want an attorney who is experienced in this, knows how to get their point across, knows how to break down the facts under the guidance of the law, and can do what is necessary to get their case dismissed.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
