By If you’re currently facing domestic violence, don’t worry we’re here for you. Remember you’re not alone.
However, sometimes does this thought cross your mind of recanting the statement you made about your significant other? Is it true that you don’t want to see your loved ones getting punished?
Well, don’t worry. This blog will help you out with a proper way to recant your domestic violence statement. However, this blog will also talk about the legal consequences you might be facing for doing so.
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is abuse taking place in a domestic setting. It generally happens either during marriage or cohabitation. It is synonymous with intimate partner violence where it is primarily committed by people with whom you’re engaged in an intimate relationship.
Domestic violence can be physical, verbal, emotional, and even religious. Sometimes domestic violence also takes place in the form of sexual abuse like subtle or coercive forms of marital rape.
Honor killing, dowry death, and stoning are also forms of domestic violence that women primarily face in the household.
However, domestic violence sometimes occurs as the abuser believes that they deserve it. It can either happen when there is even an intergenerational cycle of violence taking place as a child. In these cases, the victim does not condone this behavior but grows to normalize this instead.
What is Recanting?
The state generally uses victims’ statements about domestic violence to charge the abuser with the crime. These statements act as evidence for the prosecution.
However, sometimes the victim changes back the statement. This is recanting. This can, however, happen at any time during the case and also during the trial. It often occurs after the incident or before the trial takes place.
Why Does a Victim Recant Their Domestic Violence Statement?
There is no specific reason why a victim recant their domestic abuse statement.
One can be because of their close and intimate relationship with the abuser. When the victim thinks that abuse is natural and they deserve that treatment. Sometimes it can also recanted because of how the abuser would behave during the jail time.
Remember, at this stage, the victim is extremely emotionally vulnerable indicting hard to cope up with the situation.At a glance, they might seem pretty normal, but something is always bothering them one time or another.
Sometimes, the victim also might face an external pressure to recant their statement. The abuser might even blackmail the victim to not provide for child support if they do not recant their statement. So, the survivor often feels that they should recant their statement and endure the abuse.
Sometimes, the survivors even recant their statements out of guilt. This sometimes happens when the abuser gaslights the victim. The abuser often establishes them as the victim of the criminal justice system.
Sometimes, the recanting can even take place if the abuser wants to rekindle their relationship once again. They would often appeal for sympathy and get off the crimes they’ve committed.
In some cases, where the victim has a history of domestic violence, it sometimes suggests that they are probably experiencing Battered Woman Syndrome or Battered Person’sw Syndrome.
There are many reasons why somebody recants their abuse statement. You as a lawyer would investigate what to do in that situation.
Will The Prosecution Continue With The Charges Even After Recanting the Statement?
Yes, the prosecution would continue with their domestic violence charges even if the primary evidence, the statement is recanted.
On the other hand, the case will become much more challenging for the prosecution to win if the victim doesn’t cooperate.
However, here are the few things the prosecution can use to still get the verdict in their favor. They can use these as primary pieces of evidence since the victim has already recanted their statement. They are:
· The original police report.
· Photographs of the injury.
· Witnesses when the abuse occurred.
· Threats via the digital medium.
· Property damage due to the abuse during the incident.
· Medical records of the injuries of the victim.
· Any recorded phone calls of the abuse.
Needless to say, the authenticity of the case hangs to this string. The prosecution would have a tough time proving it because of loads of contradictory statements. Sometimes, the prosecutor even decides to drop the case altogether.
Effects of Recanting a Domestic Violence Statement
Needless to say, recanting a domestic violence statement poses a significant impact on the case’s credibility. When the victim refuses to testify in the trial, the prosecution faces a considerable amount of difficulty in going along with the case. The jury would hence look at the other evidence as a part of skeptics, with no verbal statement that would authenticate its credibility.
Even if the prosecution decides to keep the statement on record. The defense attorney would argue that its a recanted statement.
The prosecution can even use the original 911 phone call made by the victim during the trial. The call would determine that coercion of the victim which compelled them to recant their statement. It also means that the case would still be relevant.
Consequences of Recanting a Domestic Violence Statement
Legally, you’ll get penalized if you recant your domestic violence statement. You’ll be held under perjury and even get arrested for lying to the authorities. California comes up with misdemeanor charges where you either have to end up being six months in jail or pay a fine of $1,000. You will be severely charged under the VC 31 and PC 148.
Since you are recanting your statement, you will also be liable for perjury (PC 118). Since you gave a sworn testimony, this will hence prove your claim to be untrue. This can even lead you to be 4 years in jail.
However, if you’re subpoenaed for the trial and fail to appear then and there, the court will hold you in contempt under PC 166. This will convert into a misdemeanor and would carry up to 6 months in jail or a fine of $1,000.
The Risk of Perjury
Perjury is a serious crime. It means making a false statement while being under oath. The prosecution is on your side and might even make you understand that it would not be a feasible thing to do for lying under oath.
The consequences of perjury are severe and you might even face jail time for this.
Hence, to win the case in your favor, when you recant it becomes prudent for the victim to speak with the defense attorney beforehand to minimize the criminal charges they might face because of perjury.
Will the Charges of Domestic Violence Statement Get Dropped?
If you think that recanting your statement would drop the domestic violence charges against your abuser, then you’re wrong. The charges won’t be dropped, but on the other hand, you’re the one who’s gonna face severe consequences.
So assess the risks before you recant your statement to save your abuser.
Coercion of Abuser’s Confession
Sometimes, the defense attorney coerces the victim’s confesssion. Here, as an attorney, present the origianl 911 call to prove about the coercion for statement withdrawal. In that case, the court would take the necessary steps against the defendant and the attorney. Sometimes, the defense attorney coerces the victim’s confesssion. Here, as an attorney, present the origianl 911 call to prove about the coercion for statement withdrawal.
How Can You Successfully Recant Your Domestic Violence Statement?
To answer your initial question, the answer we would give is it depends. You can avoid the criminal charges against you if you can convince the court that you then believed in those allegations, but later you realize upon reflection that it was not true and you made a mistake.
You can even tell the court that it was a blameless accident and the defendant didn’t mean to harm you on purpose. Or you can say that you wrongly presumed that the defendant acted on purpose. You can claim that when the police filed the report, you misremembered the incident and said things that were untrue.
You can even say that the police misreported the incident in a way that you had to recant your statement. This way you can fairly shift the blame to the law enforcement and don’t misstate the facts that actually happened.
Final Thoughts…
So there you go, now you know if you can successfully recant your statement in court without any consequences or not. However, we would say that there are always gonna be consequences for every action. Even if you are hell-bent on recanting your statement and saving your significant other from the wrath of court and punishment, you still should take time and reconsider.
Abuse shouldn’t be concealed and you should speak out about it loud. We hope you found this article informative and helpful. Is there anything we missed out on? Let us know.
Read More…
Why Hiring A Domestic Assault Lawyer Is Essential
Supreme Court Poised to Uphold Law Banning Domestic Abusers from Owning Guns
Everything You Need To Know About Domestic Violence Lawyer
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