How to Cancel Assault Charges
Sometimes an individual makes a mistake and wrongly accuses another person of assault. Charges are filed against that person and then the charging individual wishes to drop the charges. How to cancel assault charges is fairly straightforward and can be done in a civil assault case. The plaintiff, the one who brought the charges may drop their charges against the other individual as they see fit.
Many times in assault cases, the individual who brings the assault charges against their assailant is merely trying to scare him or her away. The plaintiff, the one who files the charges, may also be scared and want protection, but the whole incident may be a misunderstanding. How to cancel assault charges is a fairly straightforward process and could be done at any time by the plaintiff.
- Talk with the prosecutor if you are the person who initiated the assault charges. Your testimony is an intricate part of the prosecutions case and without it; they may be forced to drop the charges.
- Fill out and file an affidavit of non-prosecution or (ANP) with the court that has the case for the assault charges. This is a document that states that the person signing it is under oath and that the undersigned no longer wishes to pursue charges against the person named. Think hard about this option because a prosecutor could turn around and bring charges against you for filing false charges against someone.
- Fill out and file a voluntary dismissal form with the court. This is a form for a plaintiff in a civil case could fill out if they wanted to withdraw their claim of assault. Civil cases are the cases that are seeking damages for injuries sustained during an assault. This is different than a plaintiff binging charges against someone for assault. Once the voluntary dismissal form is filed with the courts, assault charges are dropped and they will not be brought up again so it is important to be certain before filing them that this is what you want.