In the heat of the moment, especially when alcohol or drugs are involved and often even when they are not, a couple can say and do things that they really regret. Unfortunately this often leads to one of them hitting the other or both of them doing that. This can then lead to the cops being called either by you or someone that hears what’s going on. If that happens, you can bet that at least one of you is getting arrested.
When cooler heads prevail in a day or so, it’s common for us to get a phone call from someone who was involved in this and be told that it was a misunderstanding and that they don’t want their loved one to face charges. “How can I drop the charges?” is a common question that we get. The answer is that you can’t.
Once someone has been arrested, the case isn’t you versus them, it’s the State of Illinois versus them. So only the prosecutor can drop domestic battery charges in Illinois and only the Judge can dismiss a case.
While often they will take in to consideration what the victim wants, they don’t have to and won’t if the defendant has a bad history or appears to be intimidating you in to making this decision. Some prosecutors won’t drop these charges as a matter of general policy. Others will threaten you that if you don’t cooperate and testify against your loved one, they are going to charge you with filing a false police report.
I would never tell someone who is feeling physically threatened that they should not call the police. If you feel that way you need to get help and get safe. But to be clear, if you do call the cops, you need to live with the fact that your significant other will likely be arrested and that once that happens, the case is really out of your control.
Tags: Cook County domestic battery charges, Illinois domestic battery lawyer, Waukegan criminal attorney