Defensible Cases: Example of a Co-operative Sides

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: You said a lot of times the person that was designated the victim will call and ask for help on behalf of the person arrested. So if both sides are cooperative and they work with you, for instance, are these cases pretty defensible or are they still like a huge problem?

Acacia Law: Sure they are. Yeah. Absolutely they're defensible. A lot of times you got to understand that the people who were there know what happened, okay. Now there are situations I've had where say you have a husband and a wife, spouses, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever, roommates they know each other well enough that they're not afraid of each other. This could be an instance that is just, and oftentimes it is, just a once in a lifetime incident. They're not afraid of the person. They know the person would never harm their children, never harm them. It was just an argument where there was loud yelling. Maybe somebody threw a dish. Police come. The victim has no interest to have the person arrested, charged, or convicted. The police and the state don't know these people.

When the police come into a house, they think these people fight like this all the time. They don't know if they're dangerous. And so that is why these policies are put in place, for example, at least one of them will be going to jail for the night for things to cool off for the state to evaluate if there is any danger if the person goes back. I have represented in other cases, the defendant, say husband or wife, I've represented them both simultaneously after having them sign what's called, a waiver of conflict of interest because based on what they told me, neither one of then committed a crime and, therefore, neither of them committed the crime and neither of them can testify that the other person committed the crime, then you can represent both of them and I have in order to get them out from beneath these charges.