Can Your Domestic Battery Case Go to Trial in Palm Beach, Florida Even if Your Spouse Refuses to Testify Against You?

          The crime of battery occurs when someone intentionally touches or strikes another person against that person's will.  But what if you've been charged with committing domestic battery and your spouse refuses to testify against you at your trial?  How can a prosecutor prove that you intentionally touched or struck your spouse against her will if she doesn't testify?

          Sometimes a prosecutor cannot prove it--particularly if the only eyewitnesses are you and your spouse.  But what if there are other eyewitnesses besides just you and your spouse? Perhaps a next-door neighbor who called the police?

          In one Florida case, the court ruled that a man charged with battery could be prosecuted for hitting a woman he was in a car with at a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through even though that woman refused to testify against him.  The court ruled that way because there were several other people at the KFC who said they saw the man hit her, and they were willing to testify in court.

          If you have been charged with domestic battery or are being investigated by the police for committing domestic battery in Palm Beach, Florida, call me at 561-832-4348 to discuss your case.