At The Law Offices of Keith J. Bruno, Mr. Bruno has implemented a successful strategy and plan to get domestic violence cases dismissed before they are filed in court. Of course, no criminal defense attorney possesses a magic wand, able to reduce or dismiss charges with a single swing. A dismissal assumes that dismissal is legally and factually appropriate and that the attorney is able to persuade the DA of the same.

Proposition 9, also known as "Marsy's" law, provides victims of crimes with certain rights. While the proposition is mostly populous grandstanding, it can have some useful application for the accused and their defenders. In the case of domestic violence, those rights include the right to be heard and the right to have their opinion considered when determining whether and what charges are appropriate.

As Mr. Bruno has stated elsewhere, it is not simply a matter of the alleged victim deciding he or she does not want to "press charges." Charges are not "pressed" by individuals in the State of California; charges are brought by the District Attorney's office in its representative capacity for the people the State of California. Accordingly, a victim's desire to "drop the charges" does not end the matter and will typically be ignored. In fact, expressing that desire can offer law enforcement and the DA the opportunity they need to lock in certain statements of the victim (from the prosecution's vantage point) at a critical point in the investigation and use those statements against the accused in order to secure a conviction. Accordingly, it is at this point that a top flight criminal defense lawyer's intervention is most critical.

Where it is truly a victim's desire not to have charges brought against the accused, Mr. Bruno is at his best and will work diligently and immediately to attempt to prevent charges from being filed. Mr. Bruno has professional relationships with many district attorneys in the counties of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. Sometimes it is as simple as getting someone from the DA's office to listen to the concerns of the victim and take a different look at the facts of the case. Once this is done, in many cases, Mr. Bruno can prevent the filing of charges altogether. This of course saves the client an immeasurable amount of time, money, and the public embarrassment of having to answer for domestic violence charges in court.

The Law Office of Keith J. Bruno has handled scores of domestic violence cases prior to an initial court date. In many of those cases, Mr. Bruno was able to prevent the charges from being filed all together. You will find no happier client of Mr. Bruno's than these many individuals and families he has been able to help. Mr. Bruno is ready and well qualified to investigate and litigate your case. If you have been accused of spousal abuse, domestic violence, co-habitant battery or any assaultive crime, contact the Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego criminal defense firm of The Law Office of Keith J. Bruno. We offer a free face-to-face consultation and can work out a payment plan in most situations.