Columbia Domestic Violence Investigations

In a domestic violence, the police may separate the accuser and the accused at the scene. They may try to gain statements from both people. They could then compare those statements, see if they match up, see if the statements support any of the other evidence, and decide to arrest the person who has been accused. Get in touch with a professional defense attorney if you have been charged with domestic violence or are the subject of Columbia domestic violence investigations.

Determining the Primary Aggressor in a Domestic Violence Case

When determining the primary aggressor in Columbia domestic violence investigations, law enforcement may look at the size of the person, the person’s prior criminal record, and surrounding evidence to see how this information matches with the allegations. Often, both sides make an allegation that the other person started the altercation, and the officer has to make the determination regarding who is the primary aggressor. They may also assess any injuries at the scene to determine who struck first.

Difference from Other Criminal Investigations

Columbia domestic violence investigations are different from other criminal investigations because often they deal with husbands and wives and people who live together with strong personal relationships. The evidence is different because the people live together; they have intimate lives together and, in many cases, the alleged victim does not want to prosecute the person. This is different from other forms of assault and battery.

Rights an Accused Person has During an Investigation

A person accused of domestic violence still retains their constitutional rights during an investigation. This includes the Fourth Amendment, their right against illegal searches and seizures. In South Carolina, under Article I, Section 10 of the South Carolina Constitution, there is an added protection that is even greater than the federal constitution regarding unreasonable invasions of privacy.

Under the Fifth Amendment, they have the absolute right not to provide a statement to police, not to provide any incriminating evidence against themselves, etc. Under the Sixth Amendment, they have an absolute right to a fair and impartial jury trial as well as their right to counsel and the confrontational right to confront their accuser. This means they have a right to have their lawyer cross-examine these witnesses to expose their biases and to expose the weaknesses of the testimony presented by each witness.

Harsh Treatment Towards the Person Charged

The very nature of the judicial system is set up to make a defendant feel as if they are guilty. It is important to hire a lawyer to try to calm those fears and try to build the best defense possible. The case is not over until it is over.

An attorney cannot make any guarantees on the outcome, but they could assure the defendant that they will conduct their own independent investigation, track down available leads, and are prepared to argue the law in the person’s case passionately and persuasively.

Importance of Hiring a Columbia Domestic Violence Attorney

It is important to have an attorney on a person’s side during every step of Columbia domestic violence investigations because an attorney may have the training and experience to defend and protect the constitutional rights of the individual. These are serious charges because the person is facing jail time. Depending on the very nature of the charge, they could be facing many years in prison and the long-term collateral consequences involved could prevent someone from having gainful employment.

People who are not lawyers may not know how or what legal issues to spot when reviewing evidence. They also may not know how to make constitutional arguments or arguments against whether an investigation was constitutional. A knowledgeable domestic violence lawyer could work diligently to ensure that a person’s rights are protected, and could fight for them.