Intimidating an intimate partner is a crime of domestic abuse in California, which means that the defendant is subjected to specific penalties as a result. This crime is committed when a person either intimidates or tries to intimidate his or her intimate partner into not participating in a criminal investigation or proceeding. One’s LGBT intimate partner may be one’s partner in a civil union, the person with whom one lives, the person whom one is dating, the person with whom one has children or the person with whom one was formerly involved. If charged with this offense, the defendant faces a misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail or a felony, which carries up to four years in prison. Just like the various penalties that are specific to crimes of domestic violence, there are evidentiary issues that are specific and oftentimes, unique to these types of offenses as well. Hearsay is one of those issues.

Hearsay is a fairly common legal term. It refers to out-of-court statements that are later offered in court as evidence of their truthfulness. While generally regarded as unreliable and speculative, hearsay statements are usually excluded from evidence in criminal trials. However, intimate partner abuse cases, such as an intimate partner intimidation case, are an exception to this rule and these types of cases permit evidence of hearsay statements. This is one of the most important reasons why it is so important for the defendant to have professional legal representation who specializes in California DV crimes who will be familiar with the different ways that hearsay may be admitted into and excluded from evidence in an intimidation case.

Hearsay statements, in an intimate partner intimidation case, are admissible because it is believed that the statements that were made at the time when the alleged victim was being intimidated or otherwise abused would be so spontaneous that there wouldn’t have been time for that individual to reflect on or fabricate his or her accusations. Since that rationale is clearly flawed, as many alleged “victims” have placed 911 calls and have filed false police reports simply to get their intimate partners in trouble, it is up to a skilled California domestic violence attorney to recognize when this type of situation exists and to know how to appropriately respond so that this hearsay evidence is excluded from a trial.

Hearsay evidence has the potential to destroy a defense case, depending on its use and its apparent reliability. When offered as a statement made by a sympathetic witness, it may evoke an emotional response from the jury who is likely already eager to convict an individual who has been charged with intimidating his or her intimate partner. The GLBT supportive, criminal defense lawyers at the Kavinoky Law Firm specialize in intimate partner abuse crimes and know what it takes to make their client the one who the jury relates to. Even with respect to a same sex domestic violence trial, they have the skills and experience necessary to overcome any biases that the judge or jury might have against a non-heterosexual defendant and will help them see that the accused has been unjustly accused of this terrible crime. Because of the technical and complex rules (and exceptions to those rules) that apply to a D.V. trial, having a qualified defense attorney who knows how to exclude or downplay hearsay evidence is critical. With several law offices in Los Angeles and throughout California, the attorneys at the Kavinoky Firm are only a phone call or click away. One’s freedom is too important to trust to an inexperienced attorney. For legal advice about an intimate partner intimidation charge, contact them today for a free consultation and for unparalleled representation.