Facts:
My client is a young man and has been dating his girlfriend for a year and a half. One evening, he was drinking and they began to argue. He punched her in the face during the argument. She was not injured. He then called the police and reported himself. When St. Petersburg PD arrived at his apartment, he told them that he made a mistake and hit her.
He was arrested for misdemeanor domestic battery, taken to the Pinellas County jail and released on supervised ROR.
The Case:
It was the first time that he had been in trouble and he took it seriously. He felt really bad about what he had done and wanted to make it right. I had him start anger management classes. They were once a week.
I also spoke to his girlfriend who confirmed that she did not want to prosecute.
But, the fact that my client had called the police on himself and admitted to hitting her was a big problem. I knew that we were going to need to show that he had already been punished and that something like this was not going to happen again.
I submitted everything to the prosecutor and hoped it would work.
The Result:
Two months after the arrest, the domestic battery charge was dropped. My client is now eligible to get his record expunged. He was very happy and has learned a lot during this incident.