Occasionally you can win just by going to trial and forcing the state to prove its case – no defense necessary. That’s what happened Wednesday to attorney Neil Anderson, who got his client’s misdemeanor domestic violence assault and harassment charges dismissed with prejudice (meaning charges can’t be refiled) because the prosecution was unable to get a witness to show up to testify. A Clark County District Court judge granted the dismissal after refusing an assistant city attorney’s request to extend the trial to a second day. The prosecutor needed a Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) employee to lay the proper foundation to introduce a 911 call into evidence, but nobody from the agency was available. Anderson had a strong defense. His client’s stepson called 911 and said his stepfather and threatened to kill him and his new puppy. The stepson also said he believes that his stepfather had hit his mother, but he couldn’t be sure because he was in his bedroom and his stepfather and mother were arguing in the kitchen. However, the stepson recanted during a pre-trial defense interview. He said he made up the allegations because he was tired of hearing his stepfather yell at his mother.
The wife, during her pre-trial interview, said her husband was drunk but she didn’t hear him make any threats and said she was not assaulted. She said her husband had expressed concerns that the puppy would damage their new wood floors but didn’t say he would kill it.
Despite the victim changing his story, the prosecutor decided to go forward with the case and planned to rely on the 911 call. The stepson didn’t even show up for trial on Wednesday, saying he couldn’t miss work. Anderson had planned on calling a defense investigator as a witness to tell jurors what the stepson said during the pre-trial interview.
But none of that was necessary since the charges were dismissed.
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