Weak case, quick acquittal

Filed Monday, March 04, 2024 by Barrar Law

Washington is among more than 20 states with a mandatory domestic violence arrest law, which takes the discretion away from police officers who respond to calls involving romantic partners, family members or roommates. If somebody claims to be a victim of an assault -- even a minor assault that left no scratches, red marks or bruising -- an arrest must be made. One consequence of mandatory arrest laws, though, are cases with little to no physical evidence. Sometimes these cases get dismissed before trial, but other times prosecutors want to let a jury decide whether a crime was committed. And that's what happened on Dec. 18, when attorney Zeed Meyer won a trial in Clark County District Court. How weak was the prosecutor's case? The six-member jury deliberated only 10 minutes before announcing it had reached a verdict: not guilty.

In this case, an adult son was accused of shoving his father during an argument. A Clark County deputy prosecutor had dropped the domestic violence tag, but with or without the DV label the crime of fourth-degree assault remains a gross misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and $5,000 in fines.

In Meyer's closing argument, he told jurors that getting in an argument wasn't a crime and the only two people who really knew what happened were the father and the son. The dad, who had made no mention to a 911 dispatcher of being assaulted, but told Clark County Sheriff's deputies he'd been pushed by his son, testified at trial that he hadn't been assaulted, he wasn't afraid of his son and he called 911 only because he wanted his son out of his house.

That's not proof beyond a reasonable doubt that an intentional assault occurred, Meyer told jurors, referencing the legal standard the prosecutor would have to meet to win a conviction.

And jurors -- quickly -- agreed.