Domestic Violence & Civil Orders assault and family violence with strangulation

[jojo23]

My fiance told the officer we were having a verbal altercation, that it was not physical at all, and that she did not want to press charges. The officer then proceeded to ask her if i was "black or mixed"in regards to my race several times to which my spouse responded "Does it matter what race he is?" After she replied he walked over to me and began reading me my criminal rights and he (the officer)pressed felony family violence criminal charges against me. I want to know what i should do?

But there was no physical exchange at all whatsoever. My fiance's 21st birthday was five days prior to this, she got extremely inebriated and got into an altercation with another female at a party which caused bruising to her face and neck, we BOTH told the officer this, he took pictures of them and used this as grounds to arrest me. But you can clearly tell the difference between old bruises and new ones. So do i have a chance to beat the charges? Or should i accept a plea bargain when given? I have no prior violent charges and only one prior possession of marijuana charge. Does this matter?

 

[ElleMD]

Hire a lawyer. If the police believe an assault occurred, they do not have to ignore it if the injured party does not want to press civil charges. Criminal charges still can apply. When someone is arrested, race is usually entered into the arrest log so it is not an uncommon question to ask when it is not clear.

 

[txls]

Hire a lawyer or accept a public defender and let him/her advise you how to plead.

 

[ElleMD]

It is not the police officer's job to judge the age of the bruise. The police do not even know about normal disagreements between people. If the police were called, this was not a normal and reasonable disagreement.

You need to speak with your attorney about what possible defenses you might put forth and how your past might impact you.

 

[CdwJava]

But there was no physical exchange at all whatsoever. My fiance's 21st birthday was five days prior to this, she got extremely inebriated and got into an altercation with another female at a party which caused bruising to her face and neck, we BOTH told the officer this, he took pictures of them and used this as grounds to arrest me. But you can clearly tell the difference between old bruises and new ones. So do i have a chance to beat the charges? Or should i accept a plea bargain when given? I have no prior violent charges and only one prior possession of marijuana charge. Does this matter?

Can you identify this other female that caused the bruises? Were there any witnesses at that party that can testify to the other female being the cause of the injuries? I imagine that someone can testify that your fiance was thumped by this other woman and identify her, right?