Assault & Battery domestic violence

[densvsv]

My jurisdiction is: Jefferson county, Colorado

can my 7 year old son be questioned and give a statement with out my or his mothers permission or consent in a domestic violence case?

 

[CdwJava]

That depends. You are not required to make him available to the police, but if they manage to contact him they can talk to him.

So ... who is protecting who here? Dad beating up mom? Or the other way around?

Understand that trying to hide what happened is likely to get child services involved.

Your call.

- Carl

 

[raskalnikov]

Your son wasn't made to testify against himself. He was a witness, big difference.

I agree with what Carl says.

 

[densvsv]

No. its not the dad hitting the mom or vise versa. I am his dad and me my girl friend and he was in the car. I was the passenger she was driving and my son was in the back seat. She had not been taking her med for a psychological condition for about 4 to 5 days and I had been asking her to let me take her to the hospital. She had been refusing, and on the day of the incident, we were driving to our house (were me and her live my son lives with his mother.) and I told her if she wasn't going to go then I will leave. She then asked me for the money I had and I gave it to her, saying that thats not going to stop me from leaving. Ether you go to the hospital or I am gone. She then said no one is going to have me committed, and started to hit me several times in the face wile at the same time taking her hand off the steering wheel hitting a parked car. She started to jump out of the car and I tried to grab her but missed. She started to run up the block to the house. The person who owned the car that she hit came out side. And I told him what happened,and that we have insurance, and she is a licensed driver. So he agreed to exchange insurance information, wile we were doing that. I sent my son to go ask her to come back to the car. He came back and said she ran to the house. So I put my son in the car an drove to the house. Arvada PD was already there. I told my son to go inside the house,and he did. The officer asked me what happened. I told him that I am on federal probation, and about her not taking her meds, and about the accident. He asked if i hit her. I said no. I didn't tell him about her hitting me because i didn't want her to go to jail. he asked if i hit her again an then again I said no. He then went in side to talk with her and came out and placed me under arrest. she said that i had hit her, and her and my son both gave a statements each saying I hit her, and he asked if I had any thing to say and I said I have nothing and chose to remain silent. Later on that day her dads side of the family had her committed to a psychological hospital and she is now being held there for 90 days. Then she will be transfered to Pueblo state mental hospital. for a unknown amount of time. I bonded out and was charged with domestic violence. I told the DA that she wasn't in her right mind, and the DA said that doesn't matter they have my sons statement. This was said at my bond hearing before I bonded.

Now this might be hard for some people to understand because they my have not experienced the next part of what I'm about to say.

you see my son has been raised in the projects of west Denver all his life, and has seen allot of people go to jail including his family members, and knows what happens when all the adults go to jail.. That he has to go to the crises center until some one comes and picks him up. So he has learned self preservation at an early age, due to instances when his grand Father on his mother side got pulled over with out proper identification, and was taken in to be identified. My son had to go to the crises center until some one was notified to come and pick him up.

So when he was asked by his mother. Why did he said that I hit her? He replied I was scared of every one going to jail, and I didn't want to go to that place I had to go to when my grandpa went to jail. so i just said what she said.

So now I have fear if he changes his statement that the court could see that as me tampering with a witness and put me into further trouble.

So that is why my question was.. Can my son give a statement or be questioned without my permission or his mothers, who was not present when this happened?

Thank you for any help with this will be greatly appreciated.

 

[CdwJava]

And the answer remains the same, yes, he can be questioned. However, as I mentioned, the police cannot force you to make him available. The DA could, of course issue a subpoena and compel him to testify. What the DA WILL do may not include those things he CAN do.

If all is as you say, then the state's case is weak as even the victim is not too credible, and depending on your son's age, his statements might be non-credible as well.

- Carl

 

[densvsv]

thank you very much this helps alot