In most homicide cases you have the victim in the form of their body and the evidence that points to the perpetrator. It was years before trying a no body homicide was even accepted.
In attempted murders, rapes, and other serious assaults, your living witness is the best evidence you can have. Domestic assaults, especially, often occur in the privacy of the home. The case from last Spring was a domestic violence case as far as we know. We don’t have all the facts from that case. Evidence is usually derived from injuries photographed by LE and/or medical personnel and perhaps a damaged home. Unfortunately, these types of cases turn into a “he said, she said” argument in court especially when you have a good, experienced defense attorney. Lots of times, the victim in a domestic violence case doesn’t show up for court because, sadly, she still loves the person who does this to her. Other times it’s because she is afraid. You don’t know how many hours I have spent trying to support the victim, reassuring her, getting a victim advocate involved, trying to convince her to press charges, trying to convince her to show up in court. It makes you mad and it makes you sad that some sick, violent
can have such a hold over their victims
In a trial, when the LE officer/detective gets on the stand, all he or she can do is give testimony as to their observations and statements made at the scene. With luck they might have medical records or a nosey neighbor who overheard the argument. But, the fact is, the jury wants to hear from the victim. Why is she not in court if he did these horrible things to her? Is LE railroading this defendant?
So, it all comes down to the evidence. A DA will not pursue a trial unless and until they feel they have enough evidence to obtain a conviction. People often think DA’s drop cases because they want a perfect record of convictions. While that is sometimes true, it is also true that if you try a case that you don’t have enough evidence to prove that the defendant did it and you lose, you can never try them again because of double jeopardy. Sometimes you want to wait and see if you can tighten up the case.
As maddening as our justice system is at times, it’s still the best. It’s just not infallible.
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