Quick Fix For Domestic Abuse with No Injuries

Often, a person will call the police because they are angry with a family member. They never intended to have the call turn into a criminal matter. However, District Attorneys in California have a policy of NEVER dismissing a domestic abuse crime. This means that the person accused goes to trial or accepts a plea bargain, which will include attending an anger management class. The guilty plea can often cause a person to lose a state license.

Some innocent people plead guilty to spousal abuse, because they cannot afford an attorney to go to trial and they make too much money to get a public defender.

Sometimes, an old significant other threatens to call the police if the former lover does not give them money.

It would be quick, easy and inexpensive to divert domestic abuse cases where there is no injury that requires a doctor’s care. These cases could be sent to the mediation system that is already set up in many counties. Santa Clara County has an excellent mediation system, which I have used. I am told the system is under utilized. In cases where there is mediation, the DA offers to drop the charges if an agreement can be reached between the parties.

I have had clients involved in domestic disputes. Often, I have felt that what they actually needed was to talk to each other without yelling at each other.

When I did mediation regarding a dispute with a neighbor who kicked down a door, it worked very well. I have been a negotiator for over 30 years, but I could not solve the problem with the neighbor.

The mediators took about four hours to get both of us to reach an agreement. We have both abided by the agreement. One of the most important things the mediator did was to attempt to get us to see the problem from the other person’s point of view.

I believe that often the wrong person is convicted in domestic abuse cases. If the cases go to mediation, both parties will get a chance to talk to each other in a controlled environment. This has the possibility of preventing further abuse by lower the anger felt by the parties involved.