Will you go to jail if....?

Question

I was a someones house and we got into an argument because she was being manipulated. She raised her hand to hit me and I said "Don't you dare hit me. I will call the cops." She said that if I called the cops she would not be taking to jail because it is her house and I would be taking away. I doubt this is true. If she assulted me even if I was in her house (I was invited) she would go to Jail if I pressed charges. I want to know if She asulted me would she go to jail if I called the cops even though I was in her house or would I go to jail because we were arguing in her house and (she says) I proviked her to hit me?

Sorry, I spelled provoked wrong in my question.

Here is a little more background information because everyone says exclude the person from my life. The person is my mother. She is 55 years old and I am 30 years old and she brought me, my husband and children to her house because she offered to take my husband to get his last paycheck at work and take me to an interview the next day cause our car broke down. She manipulated my husband into buying groceries for her knowing the money he just got was our last bit of money untill we got a job and we had to pay the gas bill or no electricity at our house. I got upset and yelled at her for playing him against me and asked her to take responsibility for what she done. She raised her hand to hit me and the rest is told above. This is the whole situation. Plus I have a prior police report about when she hit me when I was 20 which I did not press charges so it is not the first time she would have hit me so there is proof.

Answer 1

You clearly have a problem. If you are assaulted, anywhere, you have the right to press charges and have that person arrested. However, they may or may not be taken into custody. They may be given a desk appearance ticket. The repsonding police officer (especially depending upon their views on domestic violence) may decide that the situation can be diffused by telling the guest (you) to leave the house! (This is sometimes done between husband and wife even if they own the house jointly.) There are also other probelms. Your mom can have you and your family kicked out of the house, regardless of whether she is arrested!

So, what is the answer? Since you are in a jam, you're not working; your husband is not working; you, your husband and your children need a place to stay; you elctric/gas and /or other utilities are in danger of being shut off for non-payment and your mom is taking advantage of your situation, you don't have a lot of options. Public assistance may not work for you and I am assuming that there isn't someone else you could have moved in with, so . . .

You have to try to discuss the situation, possibly with the help of a counelor or clergy, so that your mom realizes there are still certain boundaries that must be ibserved. Tell your husband that he needs to discuss things of this nature with you so that you don't getting into an ever escalating, and possibly violent, situation. Regardles of what your mom does, you cannot let her "push your buttons". You must remain calm at all times. If she hits you, call the police and make certain that you show them any red marks as that can be used as proof of an assault, Remember, though, once you make the complaint, you will be expected to find alternative housing for your family, as the police don't want to come back again and again. (The bottom line is that it's her house, not yours.)

Finally, remember that this is not domestic, but DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. And violence is always violence! (Domestic or otherwise.) Dealing with the issues by talking about them and not yelling, screaming, fighting and threatening is the only way to deal with them before they become violent. GET INTO COUNSELING NOW, with or without your mother (preferably with). Keeping this inside will cause your anger to grow, and even if you are justified, don't go that way, it will always end up worse for you.

Lastly, there are a couple of things you should remember,
1. Words, alone, are generally not sufficient provocation to justify an assault. To be a justified assault, the provocation must be a reasonable fear of an impending assault, or a threat of violence, or actual violence. (The justification is akin to self defense.)
2. You have options. Move out. If not right away, you might be able to soon and then you can control when and where she might see you or her grandchildren. While I usually don't recommend putting the children in the middle of a parental fight, it seems that she may have some anger management issues and in those cases there is always the potential for injury to a young child. (For example if she is angry enough at you, is it possible that she will take it out on the children?)
3. If you take action against your mother, you are for all purposes severing your relationship with her, unless both you you get into some good counseling. (I think you both need the counseling now.) The anger and resentment from both sides might be more than you are willing to face right now. (Of course the anger and resentment of her raising her hand to you may already be more than you are willing to accept.)
4. Don't expect a 10+ year old domestic violence report, that was not followed up with a prosecution, to have much effect in supporting your current complaint. The current situation will have to stand on its own feet. (Maybe there is a domestic abuse hotline or safe house in your area that can offer some more alternatives.)

Good luck.

Answer 2

being in her house makes no difference. you can press charges for battery - the hitting part and assault, if you saw the attack coming. If she klonked you from behind and you didn't see it, then there's no assault. The assault is for an imminent sense that something untoward is about to happen. For instance, if she made you believe she was going to hit you, by raising her hand in a threatening manner. Even though she didn't hit you, she would still be guilty of assault.

but i digress, Technically, this was a simple assault and battery, and a misdemeanor of some level (can't say which, it differs by state), but practically, it'll be hard to prove, unless she's stupid enough to say she did it to an officer or a judge.....if she thinks she was justified, this might not be an unlikely occurence. My professional advice, is to stay away from her and let the situation drop. If you can't stay away from her, at least don't be alone with her...that way if it happens again you'll have witnesses. The 2nd time it happens is when i would press charges.

Now that's the text book answer. practically, things may be a bit different. Its likely a he said she said situation, with no witnesses. Also, was there any mark from the blow? if so, take pictures, go to the doctor, etc. in other words have it documented. Also, if this is at all a family matter, then cops HATE to get involved and thus try to avoid it. This tendency of the cops is quite likely the reason the person felt they were safe to do what they wanted to do in their home. However, just cause you kill someone in your home, doesn't mean it wasn't murder.

Lastly, she thinks she's safe because she was provoked? There are very very very few cases where words are enough to justify a physical attack. I'd have to pull my books out for the exact wording, but those situations are when the words are specifically designed to irritate a known hypersensitivity in a reasonable person......that's not quite right, but close enough, because as i said, these situations are extremely rare. Normally, the only time one may react physically is to defend themselves physically...and then only in proportion to the attack. so she slaps you, you can grab her arm to keep her from doing it again...you may not slap back, and you may not pull out a knife and stab her. If its punching, you can do what it takes to keep that person from punching you again....this sometimes involves punching back....but again, no deadly force to keep from getting a black eye.

Answer 3

It doesn't matter which house it is. If someone threatens your life, in any way, you can call the cops. If you decide to press charges, they will arrest the person.

Some people were honking at my dad as he pulled into a parking spot he had been waiting for. As he was walking by he calmly asked why they were honking at him. They spouted all sorts of obscenities, and threatened him saying "I'm gonna shank you" and all sorts of crap. He called the cops, they came and if my dad wasn't a kind person they would have been thrown in jail. Of course this only applies if you were to get in a verbal argument and/or someone shouts threats at you.

So If you feel you're being intimidated, calling the cops would still be a good idea.

P.S. It also depends on the laws of which you live in, as the laws are different from place to place.

Answer 4

In most jurisdictions any claim of domestic violence must end in someone being removed from the house. In some jurisdictions the police must remove the assailant. However, in some jurisdictions the police can use their discretion to just separate everyone and let them all go their separate ways. I don't know what the police would have done in your situation because I don't know where you were or which officers would have been called.

Most likely, if your mother had actually struck you, she would have been taken to jail. If she had thrown things at you or threatened you, you would have been asked to leave the house.

Answer 5

First of all, nobody will be arrested if you are under 18, unless something truly horrible goes on.

Second of all, the police will not always arrest someone just because you ask them to. If you can't prove that someone attacked you, or if it is clear that there is no danger to anyone, they will not always take you seriously.

However, to get to the real point of the question: when you are on someone's property, they are responsible for anything that happens to you, particularly if you were invited onto the premises. (If you are trespassing that is a different situation.) That is why if you slip and fall in a grocery store, you can sue the store. If you were assaulted by her on her property, she would be 100% responsible.

Answer 6

Just because you were in her house means little here. If she struck you, you could in fact call the police. However; in the case of a simple assault, it is likely that your friend would not go to jail. In some states, if the incident was not witnessed by the police they could not arrest the person. They would advise you to make a citizens arrest and then issue a citation.

Suggestion: Time for a new friend!

Answer 7

If she hits you it's assault, full stop. People argue but that doesn't give them the right to use violence because they don't like what you say. She may have been pushed beyond reasonable thought and could use that in defence but she could have asked you to leave the house if you refused then she may have grounds for losing her temper. Either way I would walk away from the situation.

Answer 8

if somebody hits another person, they are the one to go to jail no matter where it happens. why not just completely exclude yourself from that person's life instead of getting the police involved. you do that you'll just have to go to court and deal with a bunch of drug out mess and more drama with that person

Answer 9

Look, in Florida, if an officer of the law did not witness the assault its a misdemeanor; in Colorado she could shoot you and get away with it.
My question would be, "Why stick around for the drama?"

Answer 10

i think of gaol use to be an English spelling. I undergo in innovations interpreting historic past seeing an English poem asserting they might somewhat be in gaol than the the unfavorable domicile. i think of penal complex spelling has usurped gaol spelling i think of the ao being that why around would not help it in simple terms sounds like a misspelling of objective. i'm sticking with the yank spelling penal complex I in simple terms sense greater comfortable with it.