Attorney: Preston Edwards
Type of Case: Misdemeanor Assault on a Female, Misdemeanor Child Abuse, and Misdemeanor Destruction of Property
Case Result: Dismissed, Not Guilty
County: Guilford County
Many times, criminal cases can cross over and affect other areas of law such as immigration or family law. When this happens, it is beneficial to choose a law firm with varied experience to advise you while considering all these moving parts. Recently, Dummit Fradin used this cross-disciplinary approach to help a client with multiple misdemeanor charges maintain his path to citizenship.
Previous Family Law Issues at Hand
Initially, the client approached our Family Law division due to an impending 50-B domestic violence action taken out by his ex-wife. The 50-B would have prohibited our client from seeing his young son, and that was unacceptable to him. With the aid of our family law team, the 50-B was dismissed after fierce cross-examination of his ex-wife. Then, by negotiating with the ex-wife’s attorney, we were able to get him custody of his child in one fell swoop. The combination of trial expertise and knowledge of personal dynamics allowed us to achieve an excellent outcome for our client.
Fighting the Misdemeanor Criminal Charges
Unfortunately, our client’s legal troubles did not stop there. In addition to the 50-B, his ex-wife had a warrant served on him for criminal charges including Misdemeanor Assault on a Female, Misdemeanor Child Abuse, and Misdemeanor Destruction of Property. These were serious charges and allegations concerning a young step-son diagnosed with autism. Thus, these criminal charges called for cross-discipline representation by our criminal team.
Criminal defense attorney Preston Edwards devised a strategy to convey our client’s story in the best and most accurate light possible. He worked tirelessly with our criminal defense team to conduct evidentiary discovery work. And, in court, he was able to cross-examine the ex-wife in open court and expose her testimony as candidly false.
As a result, Preston got the Destruction of Property charge dismissed at the close of the state’s evidence (before the trial was concluded). He also achieved two Not-Guilty verdicts entered for the Assault on a Female and Child Abuse charges.
Maintaining Path to Citizenship
Afterward, with insight from our immigration team, we carefully advised the client to not expunge his Not Guilty verdicts. In any other situation, you would want to file for an expungement immediately. But, in this instance, it would have hurt our client in his pursuit of citizenship and naturalization. Immigration officers need to see all records of prior legal cases before issuing citizenship. If the client expunged the charges, the paper trail would be destroyed, thus creating a massive headache in his ongoing immigration case.
With these charges behind him, our client officially has two courtroom wins with Dummit Fradin by his side. It was a joyous moment in the courtroom that day, to say the least.
Facing a complex criminal matter?
If you incur a criminal charge, it will likely impact your life in more ways than one. Dummit Fradin can provide cohesive representation across multiple types of litigation. Our experienced attorneys in each practice area communicate and work as a team to help you achieve the best possible outcome for your unique case. Contact us today to get started on your criminal defense!