Domestic Assault Dismissed Before Trial

The Madison Police Department arrested our client after a disturbance with her estranged husband. Upon review of the case, the Dane County District Attorney's Office charged our client with domestic battery. The client hired our firm and met with Attorney Verhoff. She described her marital life to him. As a former prosecutor who supervised the domestic violence unit, Attorney Verhoff recognized the client was actually a long-time victim of abuse in the relationship. He contacted local law enforcement and learned the complaining witness had been a suspect in several prior domestic cases against our client. He obtained the reports regarding those cases, and he also obtained a copy of an injunction the client previously filed against her husband. Armed with this information, Attorney Verhoff approached the prosecutor assigned to the case. He informed the prosecutor that if the case went to trial, he planned to put the "victim husband" on trial. Attorney Verhoff suggested the appropriate course of action consistent with the interest of justice was to dismiss the case against our client. Several hours after presenting his argument to the prosecution, the assistant district attorney assigned to the case contacted Attorney Verhoff and informed him the case was being dismissed.