Cognata wins DV trial

At trial, the woman got defensive when questioned how much alcohol she had consumed the evening of the argument. She said she’d had two shots, but Cognata pointed out that she told the 911 dispatcher she’d had five shots. She’d also admitted to smoking marijuana.

The client testified that he and the alleged victim had been arguing about finances when she started hitting him. He said he tried to go into a bedroom to diffuse the situation and she followed him, continuing to hit him. He said he may have unintentionally elbowed her in the face when he was trying to protect himself, causing the injury.

Cognata told jurors during closing argument that nobody said this was an ideal situation. But it was the alleged victim who turned the argument into a physical fight, she said, and her client was trying to defend himself. She said her client had scratches on his fingers, which supported his claim that he’d been holding up his hands to protect himself. The alleged victim got defensive when asked why she’d followed her partner into the bedroom when he was trying to diffuse the situation, she reminded the jury.

Her client had nothing to hide, she said. He testified even though he didn’t have to take the stand and explained that he had minimized the situation to police because he didn’t want the mother of his children to get into trouble with CPS. She asked them to review the instructions on self-defense and find her client not guilty.