Defense attorneys’ clients typically provide one of six defenses in domestic violence cases, as discussed below. The defense attorney reviews the evidence, primarily by reading the police report, to assess whether or not the client has a strong, weak, or no case. The defense attorney evaluates the case by looking at the report for evidence that will support the particular defense or evidence that is inconsistent with the claim.

 

Here is a list of common defenses their clients offer and what defense attorneys are looking for when reading police reports. Regardless of the specific defense the client offers, the defense attorney will ask the following kinds of basic questions in reading the police report:

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• Did the 911 tape support or undermine my clients claim?

 

• Were there other witnesses at the scene? Were they interviewed and did the information they provided support my client’s claim?

 

• How fresh are the victim’s wounds?

 

• What was the victim’s apparent emotional state? What was the defendant’s apparent emotional state?

 

•Did the defendant have fresh injuries or did the defendant’s clothes show sign of struggle (rips, blood, etc.)?

 

• Does the defendant have a history of violence against this victim or others?

 

• Did the defendant make statements inconsistent with this defense?

 

• Is there physical evidence that undermines defendant’s claim, e.g., broken furniture, broken phones, house in disarray, and so forth?

 

• Are the officer’s observations at the scene inconsistent with the defendant’s version?

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• Are there any signs that either the victim or defendant was high or intoxicated?