California Domestic Violence Attorney San Francisco Domestic Violence

Investigation in Domestic Violence Cases

The day after a domestic violence arrest an investigator from a special unit of the San Francisco Police Department, the Domestic Violence Response Unit, calls the complaining witness and sometimes other key witnesses for a taped telephone interview and asks them to come to the police department to be interviewed and have any injuries photographed. The DVRU also attempts to interview the person who was arrested. No matter what the complaining witness tells the DVRU, or what the arrested person tells them, the case is not going to be dismissed. The district attorney will file the case and seek a domestic violence conviction.

Both cooperative victims and those who do not want to testify against a defendant are referred to counseling at a special victim’s assistance program that is operated by the district attorney’s office. The social workers that work for the D.A. have a strong pro-prosecution bias. The court can order a complaining witness to go to domestic violence counseling if she or he does not wish to cooperate with the prosecution. If the complaining witness still refuses to testify against the defendant he or she might be jailed for contempt, although this is unheard of. See Are Courts Biased? If the police are unable to contact a victim after the case is filed it makes it much harder for the D.A. to obtain a conviction. The prosecution will fly victims back from out of state to testify at the trial. It is an additional crime for a defendant to discourage a victim from testifying and would be in violation of the court restraining orders.

Hiring your own private investigator is important. A domestic violence investigation should be started at least as soon as the interview tapes are obtained. The S.F.P.D. dispatch tape containing the victim’s initial report of an incident should be obtained before it is destroyed. The goal is to preserve statements and physical evidence that can help your case. The police frequently don’t preserve evidence in cases, especially where it might help your defense. If you are injured during the incident promptly document your injuries with photographs and see a doctor. The closer to trial your case gets, the more drastic the prosecution’s facts will become. It is important to take witness statements early before the D.A. conducts follow-up interviews to build a stronger case against you.

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