Assault charges are not to be taken lightly. One night-time brawl can land you in jail, and if someone is seriously hurt, you can face prison time. To make matters worse, assault isn’t a simple charge either. There are two types – simple and aggravated. If you have been charged with assault, you need to contact an attorney immediately. The Wilkes-Barre simple and aggravated assault attorneys at Lermitte & Lubin will fight for you to get you the best possible outcome. This isn’t just a fine, but your freedom that’s at risk.
Assault is to knowingly, intentionally, and/or recklessly cause bodily harm to another person. This vague definition means that you don’t have to be in a fight with someone for you to be charged with assault. You simply have to cause someone a bodily injury.
A bodily injury is also vague. Any physical impairment that includes physical pain from a bruise to a broken bone causes bodily injury. This vagueness is why it’s necessary to split assault charges into two categories – simple and assault – differentiated by intention.
Accidents aren’t assaults, but not all assaults are meant to inflict long-term harm. Someone who means to cause a bruise or swings a fist in anger is not the same as someone who tries to break another person’s bones. This is where the distinction between simple and aggravated assault comes in.
Simple and aggravated assault is not necessarily about intention. Someone may be in a fit of rage and hurt someone enough that they need to go to the hospital, but cause more damage than someone who yells, “I’ll kill you.” It’s a mixture of things, and intention is just one of them. Other factors that differentiate simple and aggravated assault charges include:
An assault charge typically starts as a simple assault charge, but once certain information is confirmed, it will become an aggravated assault charge. These things include:
The best indicator of this would be the victim needing to go to the hospital.
This includes but is not limited to police officers, federal agents, state officials, and more. If they were off duty, you would have to prove that you did not know they were police officers to have the assault charges lowered from aggravated to simple.
This includes but is not limited to firearms, knives, clubs, vehicles, baseball bats, brass knuckles, glass bottles, and other blunt objects. In some cases, one’s own hands and feet have been considered deadly weapons.
Assaulting any teacher, school board member, student employee, or school employee of any kind at elementary and secondary schools is aggravated assault
These may be legal to own, but that doesn’t make them legal to use in most instances.
This only applies to people who are 18 years of age or older. If a 10-year-old attacks a 6-year-old, it would not be considered aggravated assault unless it met a previously stated piece of criteria.
The penalties for assault charges vary greatly depending on whether it was a simple assault charge or an aggravated assault. Then, if it is an aggravated assault charge, what criteria did your assault supposedly meet? If you’re unsure or don’t understand what you’ve been told by the authorities, the simple and aggravated assault attorneys at Lermitte & Lubin can explain.
Simple assault charges are classified as misdemeanors, which denotes them as being less serious than aggravated assault charges. The penalties include:
Aggravated assaults are classified as felonies, which means they carry significant fines and hefty prison time for anyone found guilty. The penalties include:
Don’t try to face something as serious as assault charges alone. Whether it’s for simple or aggravated assault, you may face time in prison without the right legal counsel. Even one year in prison will follow you for the rest of your life as you try to find work, buy a house, or start a family. Then you and your family will also have to deal with the financial burden of your fine.
With the help of our experienced Wilkes-Barre criminal attorneys who have defended clients in simple and aggravated assault cases, you can defend yourself against these charges. Contact us for help today.
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