What if Your Spouse Lies About Domestic Battery?

Unfortunately, it’s fairly common for one spouse to accuse the other of domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery. Sometimes this happens in the course of a divorce or custody battle, or it can happen when one spouse wants to retaliate against the other for something (like cheating).

So what happens if your spouse lies and says you committed domestic battery against him or her?

First things first: Don’t say anything to police, even if you’re completely innocent and there’s no way any judge in his or her right mind would convict you. You’ve been accused of an extremely serious crime – one that could even result in jail time – so it’s best if you get legal representation as quickly as possible.

Police will try very hard to get you to talk to them. It’s their job to get you to tell them what happened, and in many cases, they want to or have to make an arrest. If they believe you committed a crime, you’re going to jail.

Pro tip: Don’t answer any questions. Simply say that you want to talk to an attorney. You should do this even if the police haven’t arrested you. Anything you say to police before you’re arrested can be used against you in court (even though that’s not what you see on TV).

You can ask the police if you’re being detained or if you’re free to go. You can tell them your name and where you live.

But do not answer their questions about what happened if they’re accusing you of domestic battery (or any other crime, for that matter).

A lot of people think that this makes them look guilty, but there are two things wrong with that:

You don’t need to worry about what the police think about your guilt or innocence. They have a job to do, and that’s to enforce the law – they’ll arrest you if they think you’re guilty, and they’ll take you to jail. If you say you’re innocent and they don’t believe you, they’ll take you to jail. The police aren’t the ones who can convict you of a crime, though – that can only happen in court. Even if you are innocent, the things you say when you’re arrested can make or break your case later.
Telling police that you want an attorney doesn’t really make you look guilty. It makes you look smart. It’s your constitutional right to talk to a lawyer and get legal advice, so use it – you have that right for a reason.

If your spouse is lying about what happened, the person to tell is your lawyer – not the police.

What Your Domestic Battery Lawyer Can Do

Your attorney will be there to protect your rights. He’ll go to bat for you in court and make sure the judge hears your side of the story.

Your lawyer can also get police reports, look at evidence and talk to the prosecutor to learn more about your case.

Do You Need to Talk to a Lawyer About False Domestic Battery Charges?

If your spouse lied and said you committed the crime of domestic battery, we may be able to help you.

Call us right now at 847-920-4540 for a free case review. We’ll answer all your questions and start building a defense strategy that gets you the best possible outcome.

What if Your Spouse Lies About Domestic Battery?