Wrentham Domestic Assault and Battery Lawyer

As a Wrentham Criminal Defense Lawyer, Attorney DelSignore has received and help countless individuals avoid a domestic assault and battery conviction and deal with the stress an anxiety of having this charge pending.

In this webpage, Attorney DelSignore is going to share his years of experience in Wrentham District Court and the path toward resolving your case without a conviction.

Like all criminal cases, a domestic assault and battery case starts with the arraignment date. Here is what happens at the arraignment on a domestic assault and battery.

1. You enter a not guilty to the charge;
2. The victim may request a 209A restraining order; in most cases with couples that are married, the victim will not request a 209A order but instead receive a no abuse order.
3. If you have no record, you will generally not have to post a cash bail.
4. If you are charged with Strangulation, there could be a request for a Dangerousness Hearing to hold you without bail.
5. You will set the case up for the next date will be at a pretrial hearing.

At the pretrial hearing, we will be able to set the case down for a bench trial to have the case dismissed. This will occur in the following circumstances:

1. If the victim is not on board or asserts the martial privilege and the Commonwealth cannot proceed with the case without the victim’s cooperation.
2. If the victim is not on board, the Commonwealth will need one of 3 things to be able to prove the case without the victim’s cooperation.

• 911 call
• Independent witness
• Confession by you to the crime

Let’s say that your wife or spouse does not want to prosecute the case, but she called 911. The District Attorney could attempt to prosecute the case based solely on the 911 call. This does not happen in every case.

If the District Attorney decided to prosecute the case based on a 911 call, there would be a hearing in front of the judge to determine if the call was admissible.

Under the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution, generally a witness must testify in court to have a charge proven against you. In other words, at trial, the Commonwealth cannot just present the police report to the judge. The police report is what is called Hearsay under the law.

To prove the charge, the Commonwealth will need to call a witness to say that you committed the crime of Domestic Assault and Battery. Normally that would be the alleged victim. If he or she does not wish to testify. The Commonwealth could decide to play the 911 call if the judge determines that it was an excited utterance and was made for the primary purpose of getting help.

A judge would have to agree that the 911 call was made for the primary purpose of getting help and not to report a crime. If the judge finds that call admissible, then the Commonwealth could prosecute the case without the cooperation of the alleged victim. If the court finds that the call was made to accuse you of a crime, it would be considered testimonial and excluded from evidence.

If there is no way to prove the case without the cooperation of the victim, the case would generally be put down for a bench trial so that the case can be resolved quickly. It typically take a longer time period to get a date for jury trial. In Wrentham District Court, the judges do not require you to waive your right to a jury trial on the bench trial date. Attorney DelSignore would generally pick a date where there are no jurors in the court so that if the victim unexpectedly decides to testify we can obtain a new date.

Wrentham District Court is a court that Attorney DelSignore has been appearing at for years. The Wrentham Court hears Domestic Assault and Battery and other criminal cases from:

• Foxboro
• Millis
• Walpole
• Franklin
• State police

The Court is located on 60 East Street, Wrentham, Massachusetts. The Court has parking; however it can file up quickly. There is on street parking as well as several places that severe breakfast if you are in court for a long time.

If you are charged with a domestic assault and battery, cal or text Attorney DelSignore anytime at 781-686-5924. It is never too early or late to call. At DelSignore Law, we are always here to help you.