This is not actually the Anonymous Prosecutor.
As an Assistant District Attorney, Anonymous Prosecutor has specialized in prosecuting crimes against women, including sex crimes, domestic violence and child abuse, as well as homicide, in New York City and its suburbs.
Now that Rihanna and Chris Brown have reconciled, it begs the question: will the assault case against Chris Brown go forward? His court date is scheduled for March 5, and the District Attorney’s office in L.A. has gone on record saying that they will do “further investigation” in an attempt to get all the evidence in order.
Domestic violence cases are notoriously hard to prosecute because the victims are often unwilling to cooperate. It’s unclear whether Rihanna will testify against Brown. Their reconciliation would indicate that–for better or for worse–she’s forgiven him for the assault (I should probably throw in a few “allegedlys” there, but it seems indisputable at this point that the assault took place and that Chris Brown was the perpetrator).
I asked our resident expert on domestic violence, Anonymous Prosecutor, to answer a few basic questions about what might happen to this case:
Q: Can the D.A. prosecute Chris Brown if Rihanna refuses to testify?
A: The D.A. can absolutely prosecute Chris Brown without Rihanna’s testimony. A good D.A.’s office will prosecute domestic violence offenders even if the victim does not cooperate. The defendant must still be held accountable for what he did, and he poses a threat to women that he may abuse in the future.
Q: If she doesn’t take the stand, do they still have a case?
A: The prosecutor can proceed as it does with a murder case, in which the victim is not present (for obvious reasons). Convictions are obtained through other evidence – 911 calls, medical records, physcial evidence from the crime scene, other witnesses, etc.
Q: Can Rihanna be compelled to testify? Or prosecuted if she doesn’t co-operate with the D.A.?
A: The victim can be compelled to testify, but this is hardly ever done for victims of domestic violence, especially where there is other evidence that can be used against the defendant. The punishment for refusing to testify is jail time, which is not sought for victims of domestic violence except in rare cases.
I have a question – Could she drop charges altogether? Would that discontinue the case? Or was she not the one who filed the charges to begin with?
Just out of curiosity would anon prosecutor prosecute in this case (pretend they are not famous)? Meaning, reconciliation and no prior convictions for abuse?
Penny the state brings the charges not the victim.
Penny, the idea of “filing charges” is kind of misleading. Once the police are made aware of an alleged crime, the government decides whether or not to go through with the case depending on whether they think they have enough evidence to prove the elements of the crime in court. The victim doesn’t really have too much agency in the case — she’s really just a witness, the complaining witness. It’s not up to her.
I would think the DA’s office is going to be under a lot of pressure to go through with the case because of all the publicity. Maybe Anonymous Prosecutor can correct me on that.
Some jurisdictions have intervention programs for first time offenders, right?
JD, I feel like it’s the opposite, they’re just gonna want to throw up their hands and help someone else where it won’t cause such a fucking circus, which is of course what will happen, with Kanye marching outside the courthouse or some such shit.
Gotcha. Thanks. I know nothing about law and I no longer have cable so, no more L&O education.
Say what you will, PS, but I’m scouting for a Team Kanye shirt. He and Kerry Washington are the only celebrities that I can think of that said something intelligent about DV during this shit show, instead of “aw, quit pickin’ on Chris!”
Pilgrim, I’m really not sure about what kinds of pressures motivate prosecutors in these situations (maybe if I did I would be a way better lawyer!) I imagine it might depend on the politics of that particular office. But they are gonna catch a lot of flak for treating celebrities differently if the case gets dropped. Esp. because this is LA right? Remember when Paris got 44 days for a technical probation violation so the judge could prove he was doling out equal justice? I could see it going a lot of different ways. It sounds like they have a 911 tape and photographs, which should be enough to go forward.
This is true, yvanehtnioj. It’s just, as we know, Kanye is not exactly famous for his nuanced and careful positions on issues.
@bluebears: I put your question to Anonymous Prosecutor and the answer is: “is it unprofessional for me to say ‘absofuckinglutely’?”
Also does Chris have a prior record of violence? He is only 19 so if he does it’s probably not that long, but that would definitely play a role.
JD, I wasn’t really familiar with either of them before this but from what I hear he has been squeaky clean in the past.
I really, really, really hope that man is in therapy.
thanks becky. although I do wonder if some sort of plea deal wouldn’t be ultimately entered into. which wouldn’t be a bad thing, it would be a way of mandating some sort of counseling.
@JDR, P.Soul: Yeah, I think this is his first encounter with the law as an adult. He’s only 19, though, so if he’d been in trouble as a juvenile, we wouldn’t know, since those records are sealed.
This is really good info to have. I admit I thought that a complaining witness was a necessity for prosecution, although it sounds like it can be very difficult in the absence of one.
[...] time sounds like a slap on the wrist to me, so I asked our resident domestic violence expert, Anonymous Prosecutor, whether this seemed like a reasonable sentence and got this [...]