Criminal Domestic Abuse Case Diverted From Criminal Court To Veteran’s Court Pursuant To The Valor Act

Police responded to a call for a domestic disturbance. Despite a report of a physical altercation, upon arriving at the scene the couple had seemingly calmed down. After the police left the husband went to the police station and reported that his wife had actually hit him. The police in turn, interviewed his wife, who reported that he hit her. This “he said, she said” resulted in the husband, the initial reporting party, to be arrested and charged with domestic assault and battery. See, Massachusetts General Law Chapter 265 Section 13M. Our office represented the defendant and realized that he had significant military service. For this reason, he was eligible to be interviewed to determine whether he was a good candidate for having the case diverted from the criminal system to Veteran’s Court. This process prevents a defendant from being arraigned and thus, the defendant will NOT have any criminal history in the event a CORI is conducted on him. The case was successfully diverted to the Veteran’s Court and will not have any impact on his criminal history. Thus, the client does NOT have to worry about this incident interfering with his present employment, future employment or any educational opportunities that may come his way.

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