How to Beat a Battery Domestic Violence Case

By: John Guidry II

I hate to bring you a bit of bad news, but the fact that you are innocent does not mean your case will just go away. Just because you’re innocent, that does not mean the case will simply defend itself. So today, we’re going to focus on the most effective way to get your battery domestic violence charged dropped. The way to do this is through a witness’ statement.

With this witness statement, we’ll be showing the prosecutor that the police report isn’t the whole story. Instinctively, everybody knows this, police reports are biased and one-sided, so our job is as Paul Harvey said “And now for the rest of the story.”

Our approach here is going to be part facts, and part spin. Let me give you an example of how the same facts can give you two different outcomes.

Years ago, a now popular American shoe company decided to try to sell their shoes in Africa, so they sent two of their best salespersons to Africa to scout the new territory.

The first salesperson reported back to the CEO with terrible news, “Sorry boss, I’ve looked everywhere, and no one wears shoes on in this country, so we can’t sell shoes to people who don’t wear them.”

The second salesperson then met with the CEO and couldn’t have been more excited, “Boss, this is the best expansion idea ever, we can sell all kinds of shoes over there, corner the market, because no one is wearing shoes! We’ll own the market.”

This is what we have to do with our witness statement. Can we get our witness to put a totally different spin on virtually the same facts? Absolutely we can. We do this all the time.

Recently, a prosecutor thought he had an airtight conviction against my client, he violently pushed his wife down in their front yard, where a neighbor saw the whole thing.

By the way, prosecutors salivate, like Pavlov’s dog, when they have an independent witness. The problem is, this neighbor didn’t “hear” what was said between the couple, she only “saw” the violent push.

So, we got a sworn statement from the wife (alleged victim), in what we called her “declination of prosecution” or “drop charge affidavit,” and her statement said that the reason her husband pushed her was because she told him she was going inside to get her shotgun. This scared my client and he was just defending himself with the push, to buy some time to get away.

My client’s push was self defense, the prosecutor knew it and dropped the charge.

Because the police are so one-sided in their investigations, we have a real opportunity to explain the whole truth, not just the part that justified the police making an arrest and calling it a night.

These witness statements are tricky, don’t do this alone, and don’t waste this opportunity with some weak statement from the alleged victim that she doesn’t want to press charges, because the prosecutors don’t have to drop a charge just because their victim demands it.

But, and there’s always a but, prosecutors do have to drop a charge that they cannot prove, and when a witness statement makes the case unprovable, the state has no choice but to drop the charges and that’s a beautiful thing.

I’m John Guidry, if you’re facing a domestic violence charge in Orange, Seminole or Osceola County, give me a call, let’s see if we can help you out. Thanks for reading this article, and I wish you luck on your case, take care.

About John Guidry II

John Guidry II is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and founder of the Law Firm of John P. Guidry II, P.A., located in downtown Orlando next to the Orange County Courthouse, where he has practiced for over 30 years. With more than three decades of experience defending clients throughout Central Florida since 1993, Guidry has successfully defended thousands of cases in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia counties. He has built a reputation for his strategic approach to criminal defense, focusing on pretrial motions and case dismissals rather than jury trials.

Guidry earned both his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in 1993. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of Florida state criminal charges, with a particular emphasis on achieving favorable outcomes through thorough pretrial preparation and motion practice.

Beyond the courtroom, Guidry is a prolific legal educator who has authored over 400 articles on criminal defense topics. He shares his legal expertise through his popular YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, where he has built a substantial following of people eager to learn about the law. His educational content breaks down complex legal concepts into accessible information for the general public.

When not practicing law, Guidry enjoys tennis and pickleball, and loves to travel. Drawing from his background as a former recording studio owner and music video producer in the Orlando area, he brings a creative perspective to his legal practice and continues to apply his passion for video production to his educational content.