Many criminal lawyers would say that among all the criminal defense cases that they deal with, domestic violence can be very difficult. Domestic violence can become very personal since it deals with families and intimate relationships. Many criminal defense cases that deal with domestic violence cannot proceed because of the victim’s denial, hesitancy, fear and other negative emotions. It takes a special kind of defense attorney to deal with these issues.
What do we mean by a special kind of attorney? Apart from being brilliant and experienced in domestic violence, the criminal attorney in domestic violence cases must know how to convince the victim to proceed with the criminal defense case.
Convincing Victims With Stories
When dealing with domestic violence victims, a defense attorney must not use legal terms and criminal defense language that criminal lawyers use in court. A defense attorney who is trying to convince a victim to file charges must reserve court language until after the victim has been convinced.
A defense attorney can use true stories from actual cases that focus on:
• Success Stories – These are stories of people who went to court to get justice about how they were physically, emotionally, verbally and sexually abused. These are stories that will share how, on top of the services of a defense attorney, these victims also got medical and social support to help them get back on their feet.
• Challenging Stories – These are stories that center on the many challenges that the victim and the criminal attorney will face once they go to court. This is not to scare the victim even more. Rather, this is to give the victim a sense of reality. Moreover, these stories will show the victim that it’s not going to be easy. However, the defense attorney can overcome these challenges.
• Horror Stories – These stories will help the victim understand how the domestic problems will escalate if legal action will not be taken. These stories will also make the victim realize that delaying the decision to go to court can bring about more serious consequences, some of them may even be irreparable.
Lawyers in Domestic Violence
One of the most convincing stories that a defense lawyer can use to convince victims to take legal action are stories about lawyers who were victims of domestic abuse themselves. These stories will touch the heart of the victims and give them the strength that they need because they will know that even lawyers had a hard time bringing their problems to court. But they did. And they won and survived the ordeal. A defense lawyer who cares about the welfare of the client will always have stories to tell.