Contacting an Alberta defence lawyer is your best bet at a positive outcome if you are charged with assault. Brian McGlashan is a criminal defence lawyer with over 25 years of experience in navigating the Alberta criminal courts. Toggle navigation. About Latest Posts. Brian McGlashan. Brian has appeared in all levels of Alberta Courts. Latest posts by Brian McGlashan see all. Call Now. For the most part, neither the courts nor another prosecution office will second guess the prosecutor's decision to charge or not charge.
And victims cannot shop around for another prosecutor to take the case. In some cases, a victim might not immediately contact the police to report a crime, especially if the perpetrator is a family member. Cases involving domestic assault or theft by a family member often go unreported for many reasons.
But a victim's unwillingness to report the crime doesn't mean it will go unnoticed. A witness to the crime might report it or call Police called to the scene or notified of the incident will need to file a report.
Prosecutors often face uncooperative or reluctant victims when the crime involves domestic violence. While the case could be more difficult to prove, the prosecutor can move forward without the victim's testimony if enough evidence exists to support and prove the charges, such as recordings of calls, hospital reports, pictures of injuries, and witness testimony. The decision of whether to file a police report can also surface if the crime leads to a civil lawsuit or insurance claim.
For instance, if a theft or burglary victim files an insurance claim for stolen property or property damage, the insurance company will likely request and may even require a copy of the police report. In assault cases, a victim might want to file a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator for reimbursement of hospital bills. In both instances, filing a police report sooner rather than later can assist in the civil claim or case.
But a victim cannot file a police report for the sake of prevailing in a civil claim and then expect the prosecutor to refrain from pressing criminal charges based on the victim's request. Prosecutors stand in the position of seeking justice, not just convictions, and must weigh practical, legal, and ethical decisions when making charging decisions.
These responsibilities serve as checks to protect citizens from abuse of police powers and vengeful charges. Even once the prosecution makes a neutral decision to press charges, a judge or grand jury must also sign off for the criminal case to go forward. While a prosecutor's decision won't always align with a victim's wishes, the victim can respectfully request to confer with the prosecutor. Provide the police with the relevant information. When you visit your local police department, the police officer in charge of your case will file an assault report.
To file this report, the officer will require from you information about the assault and the assailant. Try to recall as much as possible about the assault. It may be the case that you do not recall all of the necessary information required by the police to identify your assailant. If this is the case, the police officer in charge of your case will likely ask you to describe your assailant in as much detail as possible. Part 2. Collect a copy of the assault report. Once the police officer in charge of your case obtains all of the information needed to file a report, you will be issued a copy of the assault report.
Keep this report in a safe place. Wait for further information about your case. The prosecutor will, at that point, look at the report and determine if there is sufficient evidence to prosecute the assailant.
If there is sufficient evidence to prosecute, a judge will issue an arrest warrant for the assailant. Provide additional evidence. It may be the case that after the assailant has been arrested, the police may wish to investigate the crime further to obtain additional evidence. You may be contacted by the police for further questioning. Cooperate with the police and try to provide as much further information to the police as possible.
Part 3. Seek an order of protection if necessary. If you are worried about filing assault charges for fear of retribution from your assailant, know that you can also request an order of protection from the court after filing an assault charge. An order of protection, commonly referred to as a restraining order, prevents your assailant from coming within a specified distance of you. If your assailant violates the restraining order, he can immediately be arrested. Apply for an order of protection.
The order must be filed in the county in which either you or your assailant lives. Call the police if the restraining order is violated. If you have successfully sought an order of protection and your assailant violates that order, immediately call the police.
Remember that a protective order is a piece of paper and cannot offer you complete protection. As soon as you find that your assailant has violated the order, immediately call law enforcement for help by dialing Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. You can pursue a civil complaint against the person that assaulted you because, in addition to being a crime, an assault is also a tort a civil wrong.
Proving a civil wrong requires less proof than pursuing a criminal assault. Filing a civil suit requires going to your local county court and submitting a complaint. If the person files an answer to the complaint, then you have to prove your case in civil court.
The individual may have to pay you monetary damages if you win. Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0. Pressing charges may provide you with the opportunity to put the incident behind you and achieve a sense of closure that might otherwise be missing if you chose to ignore the incident.
Know that pressing charges against your assailant may also serve as a public service because by bringing the assailant to justice, you may be preventing the assailant from doing the same to others in the future. Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0.
0コメント