Have you recently been arrested for assault or battery? You need legal representation!

If you’ve been charged with assault and/or battery, please call 1-800-ATTORNEY (288-6763) for expert and timely legal help. The call is free, and we have attorneys on standby ready to give you expert legal advice on the next steps you should take.

Arrested for Assault / Battery?

Assault and battery are criminal charges that carry serious legal consequences which can affect you for the rest of your life. Because of this, you want to make sure you get the best legal representation there is in order to have these charges defended, pleaded down, or dropped altogether.

Assault and battery differ from each other in a number of ways. Assault is defined as issuing the threat of violence against an individual without taking physical action (e.g., pushing, punching, slapping, using a weapon). Battery, on the other hand, is an actual physical act that results in that harmful or offensive contact.

There are various levels of assault and battery that we’ll take a look at shortly. Before we do that, it is important to note that both of these crimes can result in felony charges, which can carry considerable jail time depending on the circumstances and severity, where you were charged, as well as how competent your attorney is when it comes to representing you.

Here are some of the different types of assault:

1. Simple Assault – This refers to a basic form of infringing upon the safety of an individual where no physical contact occurs. While simple assault is often a misdemeanor offense, verbal assaults which carry threats of violence can enhance your charge and carry a hefty prison sentence.
2. Aggravated Assault – This refers to the act of attempting to physically attack another person resulting in serious bodily harm, and/or is made with a deadly or dangerous weapon. In most cases, aggravated assault is considered a State Jail Felony.
3. Simple Battery – This is a broad term that is used to cover any type of unwanted physical contact which is usually conducted in a forceful manner. However, one doesn’t have to suffer injuries in order to be considered a victim of simple battery.
4. Aggravated Battery – This is a form of assault where a perpetrator uses a deadly weapon to inflict harm on another individual. The law also considered the infliction of bodily harm without a deadly weapon on a vulnerable member of society such as children, the mentally disabled or the sick as aggravated battery.

Assault & Battery and “Acting in Self-Defense”

Aggravated assault and battery are considered serious crimes of moral turpitude, whose charges and punishments hinge on several key factors. As someone facing this kind of criminal charge, you may have a valid reason regarding why you acted in the manner that you allegedly did. Perhaps, you did it because you were protecting yourself from a person who was a primary aggressor (self-defense), were protecting others, or were preventing a crime from taking place.

These types of charges often carry hefty sentences and consequences. If you are found guilty, you may be facing jail time, unemployment, the inability to rent or get a loan, and even travel across states and out of the country. Your sentencing will hinge on a number of factors, with some of these being your past criminal history, the expertise provided by your legal counsel, the severity of the event, and the laws of your town, county, city, or state.

Don’t run the risk of a permanent record and potential jail time. Call our attorneys today at 1-800-ATTORNEY, and learn how we can help!