What is the Definition of Assault and Battery?
A charge combining two crimes, threatening a person (assault) and making physical contact which results in injury (battery) to that person. Aggravated assault and battery occurs when injury is sustained through the use of a deadly weapon.
What is the Difference Between Assault and Battery?
When someone thinks of the word assault, they usually think of a violent act, however, assault generally does not require that physical contact occurred. Assault alone is defined as an intentional attempt or threat to inflict injury upon a person. In tort law, assault doesn’t necessarily require touching or physical violence to the victim, but is just the “attempts” or “threats”.
Battery is the term that is used for the actual touching or contact. This is why you hear the two terms together a lot; often occur one after another. Because of the nature of the crime, an individual is likely to be charged with both assault and batter rather than one over the other.
What Are The Penalties of Assault With A Deadly Weapon?
If you’ve been charged with assault in California, you can either be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. If a person is charged with a misdemeanor, then they will face probation, up to one year in county jail, a fine up to $1,000, restitution to the person harmed, their weapon taken away, and potential community service. If a person is charged with a felony then the penalties are 2-4 years in state prison, a fine up to $1,000, restitution to the person harmed, strike on their record, and the weapon is taken away.
Penalties for any assault and battery charge can be serious and can affect your life. With the help of San Diego criminal defense attorney, Bradley Corbett, you can feel safe knowing that he’ll do everything he can to eliminate or reduce the penalties you face.
What Defenses Can Be Used?
There are 3 common defenses used to defend someone who has been charged of either assault or battery. The first is self defense. If someone acted in self defense they cannot be convicted of assault or battery. The next common defense is consent/accident. This is one of the harder ways to prove innocent and can take an experienced attorney to explain the facts to the jury. If you can prove that the victim consented to the touching or that the touching was by accident, these are valid defenses to assault. The last defense is parental right to discipline a child. If someone is charged with assault after disciplining a child, you may be able to raise this defense.
In order to use these defenses correctly, you need a lawyer who has dealt with these cases before. It is preferable to have someone who has worked cases in the courtroom where your case is pending. If you are looking for a assault and battery lawyer in the San Diego area, call Bradley Corbett today for a free consultation.