Victim Drops Charge in Georgia

What if the Victim Wants to Drop the Charges in Georgia?

In crimes that involve victims, such as assault and battery, many people want to know what would happen if the victim wants to drop the charges. For example, a husband and wife get into an argument that leads to him threatening to punch her. She calls the police and her husband is arrested for assault. After he is bonded out, the couple works things out and the wife decides that she does not want to press charges against her husband. What happens when she no longer wants to proceed?

Procedures in Georgia

In Georgia, once the police are involved, the case is given to the District Attorney’s Office to prosecute. It does not matter if the victim wants to press charges or not if the police are involved. If the victim does not want to cooperate, it may dissuade the prosecution from proceeding with the case. However, the State may still pursue the charges and they may even subpoena the victim and force them to cooperate, under penalty of contempt of court. It does not matter if the victim wants to pursue charges or not—they typically go forward anyway.

Attorneys and the Victim’s Wishes

A good criminal lawyer may be able to use the victim’s desire not to prosecute as leverage to get the prosecution to drop the case. If you are facing criminal charges, call us at The Turner Firm to discuss how we can help get your charges dropped.