Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

Beyond Victims’ Testimony 217
Because of what we know about the dynamics of battering, the safety of the
victim must be paramount. Prosecutors must carefully weigh proceeding with a
prosecution against the often very real fear by the victim that such action will
endanger her or her children. Victims may be at their most vulnerable when they
leave an abusive situation or relationship and that must be taken into consideration
by law enforcement. The victim may want assistance in considering all of her
options including seeking help in Family Court rather than Criminal Court,
obtaining an order of protection without formal criminal charges, and getting the
offender help. Ultimately, a prosecutor must decide whether the State’s interest in
punishing domestic violence outweighs her reluctance.
She recovered from her devastating head injuries, but as time
passed, she became less cooperative with the prosecutor. By the
time of trial, she was becoming more hostile to the prosecutor.
When called to testify, she tried to protect him and claimed it was
self-defense. The prosecutor had to have her declared a hostile
witness and cross examine her with prior inconsistent statements.
The prosecutor was able to use the defendant’s statements to
police that she had attacked him, her excited utterance to police
when they found her near death, medical testimony and expert
testimony regarding battered woman syndrome. He was convicted
of attempted murder in the second degree and remains
incarcerated.