Can charges be dropped against someone charged with harrassment and criminal damage?
a friend of mine is having a dilemma as she has had trouble with an ex but has now filed for an injunction and has had damages to her vehicle paid for by the ex. and wants the whole thing dropped as she doesnt want to go to court.
Answers:
if you are in the UK it can only be done by CPS you personally cannot drop the charges if the prosecution think they have sufficent evidence they will proceed with it.
If your evidence is vital to the prosecution case and you dont turn up at court on the day, the prosecution may offer no evidence and invite the court to dismiss the charges.
DO NOT TELL THE CPS YOU WILL NOT BE TURNING UP AT COURT OR THEY MAY SUPENOENA YOU TO ATTEND
ON THE DAY.
But if the case is serious enough the CPS my ask for a adjournment to a later date to force the complainant to attend.
Your friend cannot drop the charges just remember that if the police have charged someone with a crime it is out of your hands completly
She needs to talk to the District Attorney. He/she is the one to determine if the extent of the charges.
unless it has been picked up by a DA all shes gotta do is not show up at court and they will drop all charges.
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Depends on the evidence the Police have, they tend to prosecuted now if the case is strong enough.
you can ask for them to be dropped .it depends how far case is in legal system,also be aware you could be charged yourself for wasting police time.
if you have a court date the police want to proceed,
with this case,
i would contact them and speak with them,
i dont think they will be happy with your friend,
as there waisting all this time and resources!
no lawyer but criminal law is against the laws of society?How to drop?Only way lack of witnesses or evidence I think.
This so frequently happens with couples, especially women. She must have thought it serious enough at the time to have the person charged and to begin proceedings. The police don't take lightly to having theirs and the court's time wasted. She can't very well turn up in court and give no evidence, or keep her mouth shut as she would be found in contempt of court. I am not saying the best thing to do is not to show up in court, but without the main witness there would not be much of a case and it is more than likely it would be dropped, unless the police have other reliable witnesses who they may present. She really needs to approach both the police and the court, long before the court date and explain the situation to them before all the official court business takes place. Honesty is the best policy, and this won't be the first time a partner has dropped a legal case.
Criminal proceedings are taken by the state (as in the crown) at the end of the day dont matter who started the ball rolling it will be up to the CPS/ police to prosecute...unlikely they will stop now
Your friend can do a CDtoP (complainant declines to prosecute) statement with the police. But ultimately the Prosecution have the final decision as to whether they will drop the charges.
If your friends ex has previous for this sort of behaviour then they may continue to prosecute even though he has recompensed her.
As for your friend, if the prosecution goes ahead I advise her to go to court. No one can make her talk in court, but they can make you go, and if she insists she doesn't want to attend she could be summonsed and ultimately arrested for contempt.
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