Assault Lawyers
Assault is an attempt to cause injury to another person. This can be in the form of intimidating them or making them fear an attack or it can be in the form of actually striking out at the person and injuring them. Keep in mind that you don’t have to seriously injure someone for an assault to have taken place. You can simply intimidate and threaten them to the point that they actually fear they are in physical danger, whether you actively injure them or not.
Many of our clients come to us with assault charges pending, and the first thing we do is reassure them. There are many defenses for assault charges, and during our many decades in legal practice, we’ve had success with all of them. A simple assault is usually a misdemeanor and will carry with it up to one year in county jail. More serious is the charge of aggravated assault, which results in serious injury to another person, and this can carry 10-20 years in prison, depending on your location. Neither charge is something you should handle on your own. Only a lawyer will know how to mount a successful defense or negotiate a good plea bargain for you.
Penalties For Assault
Assault penalties will depend on the degree of assault you are charged with having committed. The least severe degree, 4th degree, carries with it only up to 90 days in jail. But even with this degree of assault, who wants to do 90 days in jail if they can get probation or be acquitted thanks to good legal work?
Imprisonment is most common for things like 1st degree assault, and for this degree, you’re looking at a potential 10 years or more behind bars. You’ll also get a class A felony on your record, something that you never want to have. When you have a felony on your record, you’re going to have a difficult time finding a job in the future, and since assault can be a very violent act, you might find yourself having a difficult time finding a place to live as well. A full list of penalties for assault can show you what you’re up against.
Defenses For Assault
We’ve had a lot of success defending assault cases. There is a broad range of tactics that we can take on, from letting the prosecution fail to meet the burden of proof and showing that they can’t during a jury trial to showing that our clients were actually acting in self-defense instead of committing an assault. The defenses speak for themselves, and we are very good at presenting them in court. It shows in our track record.
You can also commit an “assault” that was actually an act of protecting another human being, not just yourself. We’ve had many clients explain their circumstances to us and then let us work out the details during a jury trial. Even when a defense doesn’t come across that well, there’s always the chance that the prosecution has failed to make their case. The burden of proof is always with the prosecution. They have to prove that you committed an assault beyond a reasonable doubt. Our skilled attorneys are experts at creating reasonable doubt for juries. It’s our job and we take a great deal of pride in it. We can’t help you unless you call, though.
How Our Lawyers Can Help
If you’re charged with assault, chances are that you’re scared. You should be. This is a very serious crime and it comes with a host of serious and sometimes longstanding consequences. Your life is important to you, as it should be. An assault conviction can mess up your life for a long period of time. There’s no time to waste.
The sooner that you contact our lawyers, the sooner they can investigate the circumstances of your charge and begin to work on a defense for you. If you want to forego a jury trial and want a plea bargain instead, we have decades of experience negotiating plea bargains that make a difference in the lives of our clients. It means no prison time and only probation for many. Call us today to get started on your journey to resolution and freedom.