One of the biggest problems in a domestic violence case is when the victim is unable to prove that the violence occurred. Therefore, it’s important to know that this can be an issue and how to prepare to face it, if you’re going to court in California. Below are a few reasons that proof can be difficult to provide.
1. Some people don’t want to testify against a person that they love. A spouse may also find it easy to manipulate this person so that he or she tries to drop the case or doesn’t do everything possible in court—as would be done if the abuser was a stranger.
2. There may not be any other witnesses. A lot of domestic violence cases just involve two people. No one else may have seen the event take place. Therefore, unless there is a video or some other bit of evidence, it can become one person’s word against the other’s.
3. Juries and judges have a history of not believing testimonies, according to some experts. If the court finds the account hard to believe, this can be a very large issue when there are not any other witness accounts to back it up.
4. Experts testimonies can be hard to use if they are not considered scientific. Therefore, it’s important to pick expert witnesses carefully so that it’s clear that what they are saying has a basis in fact and scientific study. For example, a doctor could testify about the injuries sustained and the way he or she believes they were caused.
Before a court date, get ready to confront these issues and make sure you know about all of the options you have.
Source: Georgetown University, “Evidence Issues in Domestic Violence Civil Cases,” Jane H. Aiken, Jane C. Murphy, accessed March 30, 2016