Often in the heat of an argument, a husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend will call the police because they don’t know where else to go in order to calm a domestic situation. However, they usually don’t realize that the call will result in domestic abuse charges being filed by the State.

A Chain of Events

Calling the police, even if merely to calm the situation down, sets off a series of events that are no longer under the control of the two people in the relationship.

1. An arrest will be made
2. Someone – usually the male partner – will be held in custodyCustody is a general term used describe a condition where an individual does not feel free to leave, as the result of a show of police authority. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights before being questioned by police. Custody includes arrest, but may be broader than arrest. until he sees a District CourtDistrict Court is the lower of two levels of trial court in North Carolina. Misdemeanors begin (and can be resolved) in District Court. Most felonies also begin in District Court, but only Class H and Class I felonies may be resolved in District Court. judge, or up to 48 hours. If it’s a weekend, that means waiting in the Wake County Jail all weekend.
3. In most cases, a no contact order will be in place.
4. The accused person will probably not be able to return home
5. Family life and children will be affected

Dropping Charges is the State of North Carolina’s Decision—Not Your Spouse’s

Once the situation has calmed down, it’s common for the “victim” to want to drop the charges and try to get family life back to normal. But the decision is no longer in her (or his) hands. Assault on a female or Domestic Violence charges are filed by the State of North Carolina, and in nearly every case the District AttorneyA District Attorney is the represented of the State, usually elected by the people of a judicial district, to prosecute crimes on behalf of the State. The Wake County District Attorney is Colon Willoughby, Jr. A District Attorney usually has a staff, including assistant district attorneys who are the actual prosecutors who handle most of the day-to-day caseload. will refuse to drop the charges.

The reason domestic assault charges are brought by the State is to protect a battered spouse from being bullied into changing her or his story. The unfortunate result of this policy is that sometimes innocent people are arrested, jailed, and kept away from their families.