Commonwealth v. A. C. - Felony Strangulation and Assault - DISMISSED
March 2016
Client, a local business person, was accused in lurid detail by a new partner of domestic assault and battery. Later, this claim was embellished, and a new felony charge of strangulation was added. Suspicious of the claims, Harris & Carmichael lawyers investigated the background of the complaining witness and discovered she not only had motivation to fabricate her story, she had been untruthful with law enforcement about important details in her report. Motions succeeded in transferring the case from domestic relations court to general district court. After the first preliminary hearing date, counsel pushed for the disclosure of exculpatory evidence based upon clear deception by the complaining witness. Soon after, the Commonwealth (having little to no confidence in its evidence) voluntarily elected to dismiss the case, which allows client to focus on rebuilding his reputation and business in the community.