Mr. Beach’s client has spent around half her life in the United State and all of her immediate family also live here. However, she was born in the UK and never obtained US citizenship. Her boyfriend claimed to the police that she hit him on the side of the face causing him pain. The prosecution filed a charge of ‘Harassment’ against her. This caries up to six months of jail. They classified the case as ‘domestic’ due to the relationship of boyfriend-girlfriend. We obtained an immigration evaluation which concluded that the only resolution of the case that would ensure her ability to stay with her family here in the US was to be found not guilty (no plea bargains would protect her). So, Mr. Beach never considered anything other than trial.

At trial, Mr. Beach argued that when his client was grabbing at her boyfriend, her intention was to keep him from leaving and that the boyfriend didn’t actually know if or how she had hit him in the face. The case was won during Mr. Beach’s cross examination of the boyfriend. Twenty-six minutes later, the jury announced a ‘Not Guilty’ finding.