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Meet our multilingual attorneys, fluent in Spanish and other languages. We’re committed to understanding your needs and providing expert legal advice.

Can an Alleged Victim Drop Domestic Violence Charges?

Considering Domestic Violence Charges

Why California Treats Domestic Violence Cases Differently

California laws concerning domestic violence cases and their alleged victims, which of course include the laws in Riverside County, are designed to favor and to protect the alleged victim. We refer to the person who a domestic violence crime may have been committed against as an “alleged victim” until it is established that an actual crime has been committed against someone. In many cases, the facts tend to show just a misunderstanding between two people which the police have subjectively and mistakenly decided was a crime committed by one person against another.

What Happens When Police Respond?

So, if the police make the decision that they believe a crime was committed and that you were the one that committed it, what can you do to show them that they have made a mistake and/or that you should not be arrested and taken to jail? At this early stage in the case, there is not a lot that you can do to get yourself out of the situation.

With domestic violence cases, like all other criminal cases in Riverside County and the State of California, once the police have become involved in a situation, they are the ones who will decide how far that they will proceed with a situation as far as determining whether a crime was committed and if so, whether they will arrest the person that they believe committed the crime.

What Police Look For at the Scene

If you can convince the cops at that point that there is no crime that has been committed and that you shouldn’t be arrested for any reason, that is great for you. If the police are dispatched to a domestic dispute, they will investigate it as such. That means they will assess if property has been damaged in a fight or struggle. They will observe if anyone shows any evidence of physical injury, and they will speak to the alleged victim and to you (if you allow them to) to determine in their minds if a crime has been committed.

Police talk to victim

Should You Speak to the Police?

We advise most people to not speak to the police at that point, or at any point, because in 99% of the cases we see, what is said will be used against you in court. Your 5th Amendment right to remain silent should be exercised at this point in a case. Cops rarely believe what a person suspected of a crime will offer as far as explanation. If the alleged victim wants to talk to the police and say that there was no crime, and that whatever happened was an accident or non-violent misunderstanding, then great, let she or he do that.

Police talk to victim

Why Police May Still Make an Arrest

Be aware that if the cops show up and there is bruising or blood on someone and broken dishes or vases or torn clothing in view, they will make the decision that a crime was committed no matter what anyone says otherwise. Why would cops do that? There are a couple of reasons. Remember how we said earlier that the laws are designed to favor and protect alleged victims…that is what the cops are trained to do…favor and protect. Is that biased behavior on their part? Yes, it is.

The Role of Domestic Violence Enforcement Programs

The other reason that we believe that the cops make biased decisions is because they are trained and told that the law enforcement agency that they work for needs the money from the state or federal government grants that most local police agencies receive to combat domestic violence. Once the federal and state governments started giving money out for such programs, it became big business for local county and city governments to go after that money by showing they needed it because of the large number of cases that they have in their jurisdiction. How do they show those large numbers?

Arrest Numbers Versus Convictions

By showing how many arrests they made for these alleged crimes during a certain period of time…not how many actual convictions there were after a case went to court and some decisions were made by a judge or jury as to the validity of the alleged crime…but how many arrest were made, whether they were righteous cases or not!

DA reviews case with victim

Can the Alleged Victim Stop the Case?

Be aware that an alleged victim does not have the final say, or sometimes any say, as to whether someone is arrested and prosecuted for a DV offense.

The entire criminal justice system is rigged to NOT believe anything that the alleged victim will say if it is in favor of the person accused. Again, once the police become involved in a situation, they are the ones who will decide if a crime was committed and who may be responsible for committing it. The criminal justice system believes that alleged victims, especially women, are not competent to make their own decisions because they may be afraid to go against the perpetrator of the DV or they are too emotional to make a good decision.

How the Defense Can Work With the Alleged Victim

We believe that it is our best practice to get involved in the case when we are retained to represent someone in their defense of the DV charges by speaking to the alleged victim ourselves in our office or wherever it can be done in a calm and comfortable environment. Some defense attorneys think that it is risky to talk to an alleged victim because they can be accused of trying to intimidate or scare them.

We believe that it is the best way to approach the defense of the case by talking to EVERYONE involved in the case who can add anything to our overall perspective on the case. We can include one of our investigators in the meeting and/or video-record the meeting so there is never any question as to our handling of the alleged victim. Our discussions with the alleged victim give us the basis to be able to go to a prosecutor and tell them that the alleged victim wants to drop the case and does not want our client punished for anything that may have happened.

Get Experienced Domestic Violence Defense

We have successfully handled hundreds of domestic clients in our more than 68 years of combined criminal defense practices and can assist you at the critical time in your life when you need experienced and persuasive counsel on your side.

Call or text us at any time, day or night, 7 days a week at 760-898-0205.

Jimenez Law Offices

Call (760) 345-4777 or Text (760-898-0207) for a free consultation to discuss what your legal rights are and possible defenses in your case.

2026-08-26T11:54:21-07:00August 26th, 2026|Domestic Violence|
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Spanish Speaking Attorneys and Other Language Services

As one of the few multi cultural law firms in the Coachella Valley, we offer our legal services to our clients in most world languages. We have many Spanish speaking clients and we are able to offer direct communication with and for our clients throughout the pendency of their case.

We also serve many Chinese and Vietnamese clients in our Valley by providing services to them and most other Asian clients through our interpreter services from trained professionals who understand our needs and maintain strict confidentiality with their services.

And most importantly, when it comes to DUI, domestic violence, solicitation of prostitution and other types of arrests that law enforcement seem to target ethnic people with, we understand your concerns because we come from the same backgrounds as you and we know that our cultural differences sometimes lead the police to believe a crime may have been committed, when it in fact has not been. Call us to talk to us directly about how we might be able to help you in whatever your current circumstance may be.

Our attorneys speak Spanish and we have other translators as well! No matter what language you speak, we’ll get you the help you need to give you the best possible defense.

Abogados de Habla Español

Como una de las pocas firmas de abogados multiculturales en el Valle de Coachella, ofrecemos nuestros servicios legales a nuestros clientes en la mayoría de los idiomas del mundo. Tenemos muchos clientes de habla hispana y podemos ofrecer comunicación directa con y para nuestros clientes durante la tramitación de su caso.

También servimos a muchos clientes chinos y vietnamitas en nuestro Valle brindándoles servicios a ellos y a la mayoría de los demás clientes asiáticos a través de nuestros servicios de interpretación de profesionales capacitados que comprenden nuestras necesidades y mantienen una confidencialidad estricta con sus servicios.

Y lo más importante, cuando se trata de DUI, violencia doméstica, solicitud de prostitución y otros tipos de arrestos de los que la policía aparece apuntar a personas étnicas, entendemos sus preocupaciones porque venimos de los mismos antecedentes que usted y sabemos que las diferencias de nuestras culturas aveces llevan a la policía a creer que se pudo haber cometido un delito, cuando en realidad no se ha cometido. Llámenos para hablar con nosotros directamente sobre cómo podríamos ayudarlo en cualquiera que sea su circunstancia actual.

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2021-05-24T14:05:50-07:00April 24th, 2021|Criminal Defense, Domestic Violence, Drug Offense, DUI, News|
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Rising DUI and Domestic Violence Arrests

In our effort to be the best DUI and domestic violence attorneys in the Coachella Valley, we keep our eyes on the arrest trends of local law enforcement to be able to best determine how we can serve you. Because we monitor the daily arrest records of local law enforcement, we have seen a steady rise in the number of DUI and domestic violence arrests in our area since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though bars are closed, restaurants and liquor stores are still serving and selling as much alcohol as ever. And, since the pandemic hit us, more people have stayed home with their spouse, partner or kids. This has meant an increase in arrests when one party accuses another of violence because they are getting on each other’s nerves at home.

Arrested for a DUI?

If you are arrested for a DUI or domestic violence offense, you still need to defend yourself with DMV and/or with the courts. Both agencies are still open and working on modified schedules. We are making our usual excellent effort to keep up with what DMV hearing officers and local prosecutors want to see in a client to keep them from being slammed for their arrest.

Because you must defend yourself to keep your license and to avoid a court case or conviction, you want to look for the best DUI attorney near you to assist you with your case.

desert-defenders-arrestedWhen your drivers license is in jeopardy of being suspended or revoked at a DMV hearing, you want an attorney who knows what is happening at the DMV Drivers safety Office in San Bernardino where your case will be assigned for a telephone hearing. We know the hearing officers at that office because we do several hearings a month with those hearing officers. They know us and they recognize and respect us as being the best DMV attorneys in this area when it comes to fighting with them for our clients. So you want to call us as the best DMV hearing lawyers near you.

And if and when your DUI arrest case goes to court, we are the best DUI lawyers near you to take care of your case for you in court so that you yourself may not have to actually go to court to defend your case. We will be there for you!

Arrested for Domestic Violence?

The same is true for domestic violence arrests and cases as far as wanting to have the best domestic violence lawyer near you to try to persuade the district attorney’s office that they shouldn’t file the felony or misdemeanor charges against you in court. We know who the local prosecutors are in the Indio courthouse and we know what they are looking for when a domestic violence defense attorney approaches them with reasons why their client should not be actually charged with a case in court. When someone comes to us immediately after their arrest we have an opportunity to try to prevent charges from actually being filed against our client. If we can’t prevent the charges from being filed, we may still be able to make a difference as to whether the charge may be filed as a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

We are the best criminal defense attorneys near you if you live in the Coachella Valley. If you happen to be visiting our lovely area when you have the misfortune to be arrested for domestic violence or a DUI, then you should give us a call because we can make arrangements for your representation over the phone if you live too far away to meet with us in our office for a free consultation.

2021-02-26T08:17:12-08:00February 25th, 2021|Criminal Defense, DMV, Domestic Violence, DUI, News|
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DUI and Domestic Violence in 2021

A New Year?? Really?? So what!

Does a new year really matter when you’ve been arrested for a DUI or Domestic Violence?

No.

What matters to you and to us is that you get the best criminal defense lawyer to represent you in court whenever that court date may be.

At the Jimenez Law offices we want you to know that whether you were arrested in 2020, anytime before that or in 2021, we can provide you with the best representation because we are the best DMV attorneys or domestic violence attorneys for your defense in the Coachella Valley.

You want the best because during these terrible Covid-19 times, you want to be protected from losing your license to DMV or to the court and you want the best possible chance of getting those DUI or domestic violence charges against you dismissed. You have too many other things to worry about. We are here to make things better for you and to provide you some piece of mind during an otherwise crazy time

Will 2021 be a better year than 2020 for DUI or Domestic Violence?

DUI Car Accident

If you have been arrested and charged with a misdemeanor or felony, the only thing that will make 2021 a better year for you is if you can get out of those criminal charges free of a conviction or free of jail. We can help make the possibility of a better year a reality.

Because of our experience in handling hundreds of DUI and domestic violence cases only in the Indio courthouse of Riverside County, we know who all the players in that courthouse are, and we know that they respect us and fear us.

That is an important part of your case and representation. You want the best DUI and domestic violence lawyer going into court for you to fight for you.

Do we have friends in the DA’s office? Are the judges our friends?

No, we don’t sleep with them in terms of being their BFF’s. They fear us and respect us as fierce defenders of our clients.

We do not start out our representation in your case by talking to you about what a great deal we can negotiate for you. We let you know from the start that our position is that we are going to do for you what you would do for yourself if you knew how to do what we do…and that’s to try to get your case to never get into court. And if it does, to get it dismissed if we can!

2023-06-05T14:27:47-07:00January 5th, 2021|Criminal Defense, DMV, Domestic Violence, DUI|
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Best Domestic Violence Lawyer

So you want to slap him or her around just once….

jimenez-law-fighting-coupleWell, if that is your current mood, then you better read this. If you in any way assault or batter your spouse, partner, significant other of any kind, or someone you share a child with, then you may get arrested. When you do, you will be looking for the best domestic violence lawyer to keep you out of jail and avoid other severe consequences that will occur.

Domestic violence (DV) arrests are on the rise. They are quickly taking over DUI’s as the most popular charge resulting in a court filing of formal charges by the district attorney’s office.

There are various reasons why this is true. The mood of the country and our society at large is to place the blame for whatever goes wrong on someone else…not on ourselves. When the police get called to a domestic dispute, they want to blame someone for the call so they are going to arrest one party or the other. Someone must be to blame for the ‘911′ call made about the dispute.

There is also a huge money incentive for the prosecution of domestic violence cases. The federal and state governments have millions of dollars to give to police departments and prosecutor offices to combat the so-called domestic violence surge of cases. So, the ‘surge’ is created by the police and prosecutors to increase revenue to their agencies and offices. It is a terrible cycle that has been created and is being perpetuated by these people for their own benefit.

Court fines and fees for domestic violence convictions can also be huge. The money factor again comes into play.

What can you do to protect yourself from becoming a victim of the money grabbing system?

At the first sign of a possible domestic violence case after arrest, find the best domestic violence lawyer that you can hire.

We have successfully handled hundreds of DV cases in our office over the past several years in the Coachella Valley. We won’t grab your money, we will earn it when you invest it in your future with us.

As the best domestic violence lawyers in the valley, we aggressively represent you from arrest to a favorable disposition of the case whether it is convincing the district attorney not to file any charges, to a dismissal of the charges if they are filed, to a no-jail time summary probation judgment in your case. Yes, we will keep you out of jail when no one can. And we will keep any conviction for a DV offense off of your record when no one can.

If you must slap him or her, see us first or see us after…but see us as the best domestic violence lawyers around!

So if you’re dealing with a domestic violence case, you should call us for a free consultation at 760-345-4777.  We will get you the help you need!

2020-10-01T10:38:05-07:00September 30th, 2020|Domestic Violence, News|
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Find the Best Lawyer for You

So You Want to Find a Criminal Defense Lawyer

You will see many blog articles telling you who the best criminal defense lawyer may be for you…without the writer of that blog article knowing anything about your particular case. How can they do that? Well, they can’t really tell you who the best attorney can be for you for any and all circumstances without knowing more about you and your case.

Who will be best for you will depend on the type of case that you have and where you will be going to court.

If you have a driving under the influence case (alcohol, drugs or both), then you want to find the best DUI defense lawyer that may fit your needs. Of course, the same applies for drug cases, domestic violence cases and theft cases.

Avvo 10.0 Rating

Attorneys that have Your Back

You want an experienced, aggressive lawyer who handles a lot of cases like yours and who will treat you as if you are the only client that he or she has.

Some people make the mistake of searching the internet for the best criminal defense attorney near me. That may be a mistake if their case is in a court that is not near them.

We limit ourselves to cases in the one courthouse near our office because we know we are the best criminal defense lawyers in our area. We know who the players (judges, prosecutors and other defense attorneys) are in this courthouse, these players know that they have to deal with us everyday on various different cases and we know how to best defend your case on our home court.

When people call us to ask if we will represent them in any court outside of Riverside County, we say we cannot and we refer them to a local attorney near the court their case is in. We do this because we know the lawyer that we refer them to is the most qualified. By that we mean we refer them to the best DUI lawyer, the best DV lawyer or the best defense lawyer in general for that area. With our over 56 years of criminal defense experience in all of Southern California and most of Northern California, we know someone in every area of the state that we can call upon when needed.

Best Criminal Defense Attorney for You

You should be very careful to choose a lawyer who best suits your particular personality and needs. If you need a lot of hand-holding and a lot of reassurance, then interview the potential lawyer to be sure that in your face-to-face meeting you can feel the positive energy and good communication vibes between you and that attorney. Otherwise, you may be unhappy with that person on an emotional level that could affect the entire working relationship and the result of your case. If you’re unsure about your case or just have any questions in the legal field, do not hesitate to call the Jimenez Law Offices here at Palm Desert. We can help you immediately or point you in the right direction, whatever the case may be. We’ll get you started.

2020-08-28T19:01:03-07:00August 28th, 2020|Criminal Defense, Domestic Violence, DUI, News|
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Domestic Violence, Guns and You

It is becoming more and more evident to me that that there a lot more people who are getting caught up now in the criminal justice system, who shouldn’t be here. When I say more people now, I mean people who have never been arrested before in their lives, and who 10 or 20 years ago would not have even been arrested for what they are being arrested for now. Why is that?

Are people becoming more careless with their behavior?

No, that’s not it.

I believe that the police, prosecution and judges are becoming more willing to subject someone to the pain, agony and economic suffering that goes along with an arrest, without regard to what the actual consequences may be to that individual. Our society as a whole is generally moving to a let’s-blame-the-other-guy attitude to make these finger-pointers feel better about their own problems and frustrations.

For example, domestic violence laws that are meant to protect actual victims, have gone way over the top to now punish someone who may not have actually committed a crime, but who is believed to have the potential to commit a crime. Every year we see more and more laws enacted to restrict one’s constitutional 2nd Amendment right to possess a firearm, as one of many knee-jerk reactions to a shooting somewhere far away that is committed by a mentally unstable person, usually. So, rather than look for the real cause of the mental instability or the socio-economic factors that may have led to the instability, and then deal with those causes, the government rather decides that guns kill people, not that people kill people. This has resulted in laws in California that say you cannot own or possess a firearm if a domestic violence temporary restraining order has been issued against you. Note that I said “temporary”. This means that if you raise your voice against your spouse, the neighbor calls 911 to report a domestic disturbance, the police come to investigate and you are arrested because the police want to separate you and your spouse until things cool down, then a temporary restraining order may be issued against you if the police believe that it is the thing that they recommend be done. BOOM! You now have 24 hours from being served with that temporary restraining order to sell or store your guns with a gun dealer and show the court proof of the sale or storing of the guns within 48 hours, or you may be charged with a new offense of violating the court’s order.

Even if your spouse says nothing happened and she doesn’t want you arrested, once the police are called, it is out of his or her hands.

So, why have things changed so much?

Why are good people who would not have been subjected to such consequences just a few years ago, now being put in these terrible situations?

I believe that it is all about money. Another knee-jerk government reaction to some tragedy in some other part of the country is to disperse more money for punishment….not education, punishment! Police departments and prosecutor offices are offered grant money for domestic violence and gun control programs. How do they get that money? By showing statistically, there is a local problem that requires money to fix. How do they get those statistics? By arresting as many people for those offenses as they can…whether that arrest will actually result in a criminal prosecution in court or not. Then, if they get that money, they must justify receiving it by showing that they are making even more arrests…again, whether those arrests result in a case going to court or not.

We can help you avoid such a case going to court, and if it does, we can help you beat that bogus case and get your constitutional rights restored to you!

Call us any time of day or night 760-345-4777.

2020-10-01T10:39:25-07:00May 18th, 2016|Domestic Violence|
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