Criminal Charges / Crimes

Generally, when two parties have been violent with each other, police may decide to make an arrest based on reviewing the circumstances and evidence to determine whether a crime was committed by either or both parties. If one party commits a crime first, and then the other party commits a more dangerous, violent crime in response, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the less-violent crime would be ignored – however, it is often up to the discretion of the police and the prosecutor as to whether or not to charge one or both parties. If you want to get legal advice as to whether in your situation, you would likely be charged or not if you report the incident, you may want to talk to a criminal defense lawyer in STATE who may be able to give an opinion on how your local prosecutor may handle this situation.

Another issue that may come up when two parties are physically violent is whether the second party was acting in self-defense and therefore is not guilty of committing a crime. In many states, the actions taken in self-defense have to be in proportion to the proposed threat and often the situation is evaluated to see if the person could have walked away or done something else to get out of the situation instead of using violence in self-defense. So, for example, if Person A pushes Person B and Person B pulls out a gun and kills Person A, it does not seem likely that a judge would view Person B’s actions as “justified self-defense.”

In general, the laws of self-defense are complicated and as I mentioned and the burden is on the defendant to prove self-defense – it’s called an “affirmative defense.” So, unlike a normal criminal case where the burden of proof is on the solely on the state (the prosecutor), when a defendant alleges self-defense, the defendant now has the burden to prove that to the judge.

I also want to mention that when a police officer comes to a scene where there has been domestic violence, the state may have a law called the “primary aggressor law,” which means that the officer is supposed to evaluate the situation, see if there appear to be injuries on both parties, and decide who is the primary aggressor - and only arrest that person. However, I cannot speak to STATE’s policy on this and whether or not this is the regulation that is followed in STATE or whether or not it would matter who acted violently against whom first. In other situations, it may be possible that both parties are arrested. Again, talking to a lawyer for advice may be best. Here is a link to Finding a Lawyer, [HYPERLINK] with information on low-cost or free for those who qualify, and private lawyer referral services in STATE.

If you are looking for resources to try to help leave an abusive relationship, you may want to reach out to a local domestic violence organization, which you can find here: LINK These organizations provide safety from an abuser and emotional support and counseling for victims of abuse.

Also, often a person who is abused can get an order of protection which can remove an abuser from the home, order no contact, etc. - you can read more in our Restraining Orders section. [HYPERLINK] A lawyer can also provide advice on whether a victim can get an order of protection and can aid the victim in obtaining one.

Lastly, victims of domestic violence and abuse may want to have a safety plan in place in case of future episode of violence/abuse. Here is a link to our Safety Tips section that provides advice and tips on creating a safety plan, as well as general information on staying safe in an abusive relationship. A local domestic violence program may be able to help with safety planning, emergency shelter, support, counseling, etc. Here you can find Local Programs in your area. [HYPERLINK]