This crime may be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor.
If you have been charged with a criminal offense, or a loved one has been charged with a crime, you may be feeling stressed and overwhelmed. It may be tempting in this scenario to reach out to a witness (or the victim) to try to talk them out of testifying. However, if you do so, you may be charged with dissuading a witness (also referred to as witness tampering).
Under California law, it is against the law to intimidate a witness to prevent them from testifying at or attending any trial, legal proceeding, or other inquiry authorized by law. According to a criminal defense lawyer in Santa Ana, CA, this crime contains three elements that must be proven in order for you to be convicted:
- You knowingly and maliciously
- Prevented or dissuaded, or attempted to prevent or dissuade
- A witness to a crime or a victim of a crime from attending or testifying at any judicial proceeding, reporting a crime, aiding in the prosecution process, or aiding in the arrest process.
Witness tampering is a wobbler offense, which means that it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony based on the facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history. It will always be charged as a felony if a person was hired by someone else to intimidate the witness, the defendant was previously convicted of intimidating a victim or witness, the intimidated used threats of violence, or the intimidation was part of a greater conspiracy.
If witness tampering is charged as a misdemeanor, it is punishable by a jail sentence of up to 1 year and/or a maximum fine of $1,000. As a felony, witness tampering is punishable by incarceration in California state prison for up to 4 years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
There are many possible defenses to a charge of witness intimidation or tampering. Your criminal defense lawyer in Santa Ana, CA may argue that you did not act with knowledge or malice when interacting with a witness or victim. For example, if you talked to a friend about a situation where a witness to a crime was murdered, not knowing that your friend was a witness to a crime, then you would not be charged with witness tampering. This is because (1) you did not act with knowledge; and (2) you did not have an intent to harm your friend or prevent them from testifying.
Alternatively, your lawyer may argue that you were falsely accused. For example, if you are involved in a domestic violence case, and your partner claims that you threatened that you would harm them if they reported the crime, it may be a false allegation designed to gain an advantage in related custody or divorce proceedings.
Finally, a criminal defense lawyer in Santa Ana, CA may be able to prove that the person who they spoke to was not a witness to or a victim of a crime. In other words, you cannot have engaged in witness tampering if a person that you may have threatened was not actually a witness or victim. However, you may still be charged with a crime for making threats in this situation.
If you have been charged with witness tampering or another crime, the Chambers Law Firm can help. We represent individuals throughout Southern California who have been charged with all types of criminal offenses. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation with a criminal defense lawyer in Santa Ana, CA.
