The offenses of assault, battery and aggravated assault have intentional harm inflicted on one person by another as crucial. If a crime involves a physical attack or a threatened attack, it comes under assault, battery, or both.
These acts can rise to the extent of aggravated assault, but it depends on two things- how grave that act is and the dangerousness of the weapon used. A one-sided attack constitutes assault, and fighting leads you to be charged with an assault, even when two people have mutually decided to fight.
First time assault and battery charge is a severe criminal offense within the USA, and degrees of punishment vary from state to state depending on the nature of the assault and the background of the defendant.
The severity of a primary offense charge varies by the specifics of the offense, whether or not it is a simple or an aggravated assault.
What are assault and battery?
Typically, an assault includes threats of bodily harm, and it does not require physically harming a person, but the person threatened must believe it is a threat.
Unwanted and intentional physical contact is important in the case of the battery, whether or not the intent was to cause harm. Under this general definition, the essentials of the battery offense require all of the following-
- Intentional touching
- Touching must be harmful or offensive
- Without consent from the victim
If the charge of “assault and battery” is combined, it refers to threats of bodily harm and, therefore, the actual following through with physical contact. Most states treat battery and assault as two different crimes, but not all states do.
Different types of assault charges
In the USA, basic assault charges are either simple assault or aggravated assault. The severity of the first time assault and battery charge will have more impact than the number of offenses you have committed.
The two types of assault charges-
Simple assault charge
A simple assault charge occurs when someone threatens a person but without harming them. It means the attempt of unwanted physical contact (anything from harassment to minor physical harm) or the threat to undertake, including any situation wherein a person feels in immediate danger. In the USA, many assault cases do not need physical touch or violence to be considered assault.
Aggravated assault charge
Assault that results in substantial physical harm, attack with a weapon, or assault to commit a serious crime, like rape, all fall under the category of “aggravated assault.”
If an assault occurs within a relationship the legal system views as deserving of particular protection, it may also be aggravated.
Different types of battery charge
Each state’s law supports various kinds of batteries considering the matter. These different kinds of batteries are according to the class of the victim.
Some most commonly used examples of this concept include, but would not be limited to-
- Battery against law enforcement
- Battery against a child
- Battery against a spouse
- Battery against an elder
Based on the class of the victim, battery charges could even get aggravated.
Batteries are often further classified into different categories, which include-
Simple battery
Simple battery is any unconsented or objectionable contact or use of force against the victim, resulting in offensive touching, which may cause injury.
Aggravated battery
As said earlier, aggravated battery refers to battery against a victim who belongs to a specific class. An aggravated battery also refers to when a person is severely injured or if the defendant used a deadly weapon to commit the act of battery.
Most jurisdictions have defined that the accused must have an intention to cause injury or harm; only then can they be charged with aggravated battery.
Medical Battery
Nearly every state has laws that say doctors must consent from the patient before providing any non-emergency treatment. The doctor or other medical professional could also be charged with medical battery if there is unauthorized touching or handling of a patient’s body.
First time assault and battery charge are often severe
It is frightening when you are charged with assault and battery for the first time in your life. It refers to the severity of a violent crime and the injury caused by it.
If you face such charges, the thing to undertake is to consult a lawyer who knows such cases. It is essential because you would like to fight the charges in a court of law, and if you have proved guilty, it can harm your life forever.
Thus, you need to hire the best attorney and not take it casually.
What is the usual first-time assault and battery charge sentence?
The jail terms and fines may differ depending on whether assault and battery charges get filed as felonies or misdemeanors.
Simple battery and assault are minor offenses. A simple assault is punishable by up to 6 months in county jail or $1,000 unless it is against the government, medical authorities, etc. An easy misdemeanor battery might result in up to six months or $2,000 in county prison.
Things become problematic when determining a probable assault and battery penalty because a conviction for severe assault or aggravated violence frequently leads to several further penalties and may raise the infraction to a crime.
If you threaten someone with a dangerous weapon (such as a knife or gun), whether or not you use it, you are likely to be accused of assault with a dangerous weapon. The punishment increases to 364 days in jail for a misdemeanor, and the penalty could also be a crime jump to a four-year jail sentence.
Charges for aggravated charges are significantly more grave since they indicate that somebody has hurt and supported the seriousness of the harm; the charge may additionally be upgraded to a felony with up to four years in jail on its own. Still, it also can be added as an improvement to another offense, raising battery charge and raising the fine even further. In each case, the upper punishment is based on the victim’s injury.
Defense
Your defense must demonstrate that you were defending someone to establish your innocence. Defend yourself or another person from a threat of harm and use reasonable self-defense and force.
There are several reasons why getting an appropriate defense as soon as possible is necessary to establish your innocence.
Do not wait to require action since any comment you make without legal assistance could be used against you for more severe. Depending on the particulars of each case, many defenses are available.
The potential countermeasures include-
Self-defense
It is one of the most frequently employed defenses in cases involving assault and battery.
In self-defense, there was a reasonable concern that you were in danger because there was a threat of unlawful force or violence used against you.
Defense of property
You might be able to argue that you had to defend your property from being trespassed upon or damaged. The supply or scope of this defense may be subject to different legal restrictions depending on the country.
In most cases, using physical force to defend contested property is prohibited.
Consent may be a defense
A person’s voluntary assent to a specific act means it cannot serve as the foundation for battery and assault. However, if the action goes beyond the permitted scope, it will lead to violence and assault.
It is crucial to recollect that no one may authorize physical damage because it is against the law, and such detrimental conduct should be subject to legal sanctions.
Conclusion
When there is a first time assault and battery charge, it can ask for various offenses, and every one of them has grave legal repercussions. Nowadays, people are very apt to lose their cool.
They pick conflicts with their spouse on the whim of the instant and wind up experiencing their first time assault and battery charge. The results could be severe and permanently alter your life.
If it happens once, people might mock jail, but it does happen occasionally. Consequently, you need an experienced lawyer to defend your rights and protect you from incarceration.
Charges of violence and assault are severe, so you should not treat them lightly. You might spend several years in prison if you do not possess legal counsel.
FAQs
What is the penalty for assault?
What distinguishes “assault” from “battery”?
The inquiries in most cases include-
- Who was the aggressor (who initiated it)?
- Were the defendants reasonably believed that force was required to evade the threat?
- Was the defendant’s use of force reasonable if the assumption, too, was reasonable?
