Actor Michael Nouri of Flashdance fame was arrested yesterday for domestic battery and other charges. Police in Beverly Hills, California were called to a residence on North Palm Drive after a 911 call was made. Police arrived and arrested Nouri for domestic battery, false imprisonment and obstructing the use of a wireless device.
Domestic battery is a battery or harmful touching of another with whom the suspect has a dating relationship. False imprisonment is the intentional confinement of another person. Finally, destruction of a wireless device is self explanatory and is often one of several other added charge in a domestic situation where either a communication device like a phone is broken or a phone line is cut or removed from the wall.
Nouri posted bail of $50,000 which is the standard bail amount in domestic violence arrests in California. He must now appear in court in Beverly Hills later this month. Between now and then Beverly Hills police will likely investigate the allegations and forward their police reports to the District Attorney’s Office in Beverly Hills for consideration what, if any, criminal charges to file.
The District Attorney can file felony charges, misdemeanor charges, or no charges at all. In domestic violence cases filing consideration often is effected by the extent of injuries to the “victim”, if any and the willingness of the victim to prosecute. As a general rule, injuries which require professional medical attention normally warrant felony charges and injuries that are less severe would often result in misdemeanor charges. In some cases the law allows for misdemeanor charges when there are no visible injuries at all, only an allegation by the victim that there was a harmful touching.
In some cases where the allegations of injury are questionable the District Attorney will elect to set the matter for an informal office hearing where an experienced hearing officer will review the police reports, talk to the parties involved and make a determination if criminal charges should be filed or if any follow up is necessary.
For questions about domestic battery or any other criminal law matter, please contact me directly:
Jeffrey Vallens (818) 783-5700 or (888) 764-4340 or email me at: jv@4criminaldefense.com or
visit my sites: www.4criminaldefense.com or www.westlakecriminaldefense.com