California prosecutors are unlikely to drop domestic violence charges even if an alleged victim recants his or her testimony before trial.
Watch this video to understand how the system works.
Instead, the state is likely to persist in its prosecution, with the help of unique evidentiary rules that apply to domestic violence cases.

If you have been charged with a domestic violence offense in California like penal code 273.5 pc, it helps to understand the unique political history that influenced the development of this area of criminal law.
In the 1990s, the California legislature re-examined its domestic violence prosecutions following the highly publicized O.J. Simpson trial.
O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown-Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. After Simpson’s acquittal, legislators took a close look at the particular history of domestic violence involving the Simpsons.
Simpson had been arrested five years before the murder on spousal battery charges and Nicole had called police to report battery on eight previous occasions. The police took no action in these cases.
When Simpson was finally arrested, he was fined $500 and was required to receive counseling over the phone. Finding the system’s response inadequate in this case and others, legislators undertook broad reforms, which substantially changed the criminal justice system as it relates to the prosecution of domestic violence offenses.
Current Domestic Violence Prosecutions
Police officers in California now receive training on the state’s domestic violence laws. They are required to report all instances of domestic violence involving physical acts, and they are officially encouraged to make arrests in cases involving domestic violence allegations.

Once charged, domestic violence cases are often assigned to special units within the district attorney’s office with prosecutors who are specially trained to handle these cases.

Unlike many criminal cases, domestic violence charges are “vertically prosecuted” within these specialized units. This means that the same prosecutor tends to handle the case throughout the process, from intake to sentencing.
The purpose of vertical prosecution is to allow the prosecutor to develop a relationship of trust with the alleged victim.
However, despite these enhanced prosecutorial methods, domestic violence cases remain very difficult cases for prosecutors. Frequently, these charges arise from heated, emotional encounters involving mutually combative intimate partners, and it can be difficult to discern the truth from the he said/ she said accusations that result.
Prosecutor’s “No Drop” Policy
Often, as the case progresses and emotions settle down, victims become uncooperative with prosecutors and wish to “drop” the charges.
However, most prosecutors have a “no drop” policy for domestic violence cases. The prosecutors will use special provisions of California law, which enable them to go forward with their case, even with an uncooperative victim/witness.
For example, the California Evidence Code permits prosecutors to admit otherwise inadmissible evidence in domestic violence trials, such as prior statements made by the victim, if the statements meet certain standards and are approved by the judge.
In addition, the prosecutor may be able to introduce evidence of the defendant’s prior domestic violence convictions or even prior allegations of domestic violence, if the evidence of the prior offense was fairly recent and supported by sufficient evidence, and if the evidence is not unduly prejudicial.
The “Cycle Of Violence”
Domestic Violence prosecutors will often use the testimony of “experts” in the field of domestic battery situations.
These experts testify to the idea that in domestic violence cases, often times the violence reported in our case is escalated from previous acts of violence between the couple.
The notion of the “cycle of violence” is that these behaviors are repeated and escalate as the relationship progresses and even if not documented, often exist in toxic and abusive relationships.
Recanting victims are a large part of the “cycle of violence” in that they forgive their abuser as time goes on and learn to live in these violent relationships.
Prosecutors rely on this testimony to explain why a domestic violence victim would testify in favor of his or her alleged abuser and try to sabotage the prosecution’s case against the defendant.
Not every relationship scrutinized in a domestic violence case is in fact an abusive one. It is the job of the defense attorney to differentiate the relationship in the instant case to distinguish it from a textbook case.
Relationships are complicated and often times these complications may result in heated emotions and exaggerated recounts to the arresting officer of the events that transpired between the parties. Some alleged victims of domestic violence have other motives and may be using the system to gain advantage in the family or immigration courts by making untrue accusations of violence.
Bringing these facts to light is essential in combating the testimony of prosecution experts by demonstrating to the jury that the theory of the “cycle of violence” is inapplicable and irrelevant to the case they are tasked with deciding.
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In regards to a possession
misdmeanor charge. Then failure to appear, ending in a $2500 bench warrant, what should the next step taken by the person with a $2500 Bench Warrant?
Hi John: The next step would be to go to the courthouse from where the warrant was issued and ask the court to recall the warrant. I recommend being represented by counsel for that purpose.
Can a officer stop you traffic stop but he’s on foot investigating another crime and instead of him pulling u over behind the wheel of his car I had gotten out the car and walked towards him can he right a ticket for driving without license
I was pulled over for speeding in seattle on new years eve. Thankfully the officer pulled me over in front of my moms place. I let the 3 children go inside my mothers so i could have a cigarette and talk to the officer. I gave the officer my information and asked my girlfriend for a cigarette as she is packing the cigarette pack the officer tells me that i am not smoking during a traffic stop. I lightly chuckled and asked if that was a new law that i had yet to hear of and he says no I am telling you that you are not going to smoke a cigarette during a traffic stop. I said you dont understand officer i have been driving for hours with 3 young kids on new uears eve so i am smoking the cigarette the moment you walk away to check my information. We go back and forth saying no and yes. My girlfriend handed me a cigarette and started recording on her phone. The officer turns and takes a step towards his patrol car and i light the cigarette he immediately turns towards me and yells I SAID NO and uppercut/ choke hold type maneuver on my throat the lit cigarette lands on one of the kids blankets that they brought the officer reaches over me grabs the cigarette throws it then tells me get out of the car. Back up arrives and they give me all these test that i had never taken before or heard of. The officer giving me the test says i passed all the test i am fine and they had to test me because i seem on edge. I told him his partner hit me of course im on edge he then tells me that if i had kept my mouth shut in the first place that none of this would have happened. The officer that pulled me over said that everything was being recorded and my girlfriend sent me the video. I sent it to a couple attorneys and neither of them have any advise or recommendations for me. Can you recommend an attorney? My video only shows the assault and me taking a seat on the bumper of the police car. No charges or tickets resulted from this event. I did have dental problems afterwards and had to have an emergency surgery to remove a lower tooth during the stay at home order. I am sure everyone has heard of the seattle east precinct that now has a concrete barricade around it. Needless to say the pandemic and protests make it difficult to do much of anything here in Seattle and i would like something done about this because it should never have happened all he had to do was walk back to his car. I had cooperated and gave him the documents he asked for and he could see that it was a brand new pack of cigarettes oh thats right he claimed that there could have been contaminated with fentanyl!!! I am sure the cigarette manufacturers are contaminating their products with fentanyl. The pack still had the cellophane on it and then for his buddy blaming me for exercising my 1st amendment right and asking if it was a new law. I was serious it wouldnt surprise me if it were a law but its not and i did nothing wrong that evening all i was doing was chaperoning 3 kids to see the fireworks at the space needle because none of them had ever seen them before. You can hear my mom in the video freaking out because the police presence over this matter made her believe that they were there to execute me. I did not fight back or call the officer any names i was never placed in handcuffs. I tried my best to stay calm obviously i was agitated and wanted to kick the officers ass but he had a gun and back up oh i feel like no one is taking this case because i am white. My bestfriend is black and was tackled by seattle pd for jaywalking a couple years earlier and he believes that it is because i am white that no lawyer will take the case. I just want the officers held accountable and for tue police department to pay for my upcoming dental surgeries because i dont think my Obamacare is going to cover anything but the extraction of several teeth. I have had atleast 3 teeth crack and had an abscess tooth that during the pandemic no dentist could touch because it wasnt considered life threatening at the time. I had to go to the E.R. 3 days in a row for antibiotic saleen drips just to get the swelling to go down and relieve the pressure and the pain. I refused all narcotic medications because i dont want to be addicted to them