When a person is charged with assault, it can be serious. Florida has substantial penalties for those convicted of assault, including fines and possible jail time. There are possible defenses for these charges, so it is important to speak to a West Palm Beach assault lawyer as soon as possible after charges have been made against you. A skilled defense attorney is essential in building your defense.
Assault and Battery Laws
In Florida, an assault is thought to have taken place when an individual purposely threatens another person with words, or an act that seems to try and physically hurt another individual and that threat to do harm is imminent to the person who has received it. An aggravated assault is when an assault occurs, and a weapon such as a knife or gun was used during the assault.
Battery charges are often brought in conjunction with assault charges. In Florida, battery is considered to have taken place when an individual purposely touches or strikes another individual, with the intent to do harm and without that individual’s consent.
Just as assault can be considered as “aggravated,” so too can battery. Aggravated battery is thought to have occurred when an individual causes substantial bodily injury, permanent disability, permanent disfigurement, or uses a weapon considered to be deadly.
Defining Aggravated Offenses
Florida considers aggravated battery a second-degree felony, which can result in up to 15 years in prison (with a mandatory sentence of 21 months in certain situations) and paying up to a $10,000 fine. Subsequent aggravated battery offenses can result in up to 25 years in prison and additional fines and penalties.
Someone can be found guilty of this type of assault when they:
- Intentionally or knowingly cause great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement
- Use a deadly weapon
- Knew, or should have known, that the victim of a simple battery was pregnant at the time
Since aggravated battery is considered a crime of violence, it can never be expunged from someone’s criminal record. That means having to report the offense on criminal background checks which are often required for employment, housing, educational loans, and more. A lawyer in West Palm Beach could explain to someone what they should expect if they are facing aggravated battery charges.
What is Elder Assault?
According to Florida Statute Sec. 784.08, someone can be found guilty of assault on an elder if they:
- Intentionally and unlawfully threatened, by word or act, to do violence to another person
- Had the apparent ability to carry out the threat of harm at the time the threat was made
- Used words or actions that created a well-founded fear in the other person of an imminent act of violence
- The person was over the age of 65
Elder assault is considered a first-degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in ail and paying a $1,000 fine. Those penalties substantially increase if the assault is considered to be aggravated, which generally means that the assault was more threatening or a weapon was used. Aggravated elder assault can result in spending a minimum three years in prison, paying a fine of up to $10,000, and being sentenced to up to 500 hours of community service. A West Palm Beach lawyer could help someone who has been accused of elder assault avoid or minimize the associated penalties.
Assault Arrest Process
By arresting an individual, law enforcement is enhancing the safety and well-being of the injured party once they leave the property. If no arrest is made, the fear/thought is that violence will or might escalate when the police officers leave. If the police are called and take no action and then someone gets hurt, then the public will look to them and ask why they did not do anything to prevent it from occurring when they had the chance.
If no assault has been committed, the police officers will try to calm the parties down and discuss who they will arrest if they are called back to that residence. In order to ensure one person’s safety over the other, the more aggressive person may get arrested.
In the event that law enforcement cannot determine who the initial aggressor is or was, then both parties can be arrested and charged. Due to the severity of a West Palm Beach assault charge, it is best not to call the police unless an individual is truly in fear of imminent harm and cannot remove themselves from the situation at hand.
Determining the Conditions of Arrest
Depending on the circumstances, law enforcement often makes an arrest on-scene to immediately de-escalate the situation, so they do not have to come back later that night to prevent further disruption or threat of harm to anyone.
If it is a delayed report regarding an incident that has already happened, the officers would take the time to investigate and talk to witnesses to determine whether it was a simple assault or a simple battery without great bodily harm. This would typically be reviewed by a prosecutor to determine if charges are provable and warranted. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
There are other or additional circumstances in which law enforcement would make an arrest. They will assess whether the situation has de-escalated, take statements from the parties and witnesses, and then submit their investigation to the prosecuting attorney’s office to decide whether or not they want to prosecute.
Conditions of Release
After ruling that there is probable cause, the next step of the case process is to determine whether the accused individual should be held in jail or be released. Factors used in this determination are whether or not the defendant is a danger to the community if they are released, and if they are to be released, if there should be conditions imposed to properly safeguard the community from the accused person.
A danger to the community could involve the facts of the case, prior history, and if the defendant is a convicted violent felon or has any significant criminal history. If the person was murderous, has been to jail or prison previously, or has other pending cases, it is likely that this person would be determined to be too dangerous if released back into the community at large.
It is the prosecutor’s job to present evidence if they believe that the accused individual is too dangerous to be released, while it is the criminal defense attorney’s job to argue otherwise.
Initial Assault Hearings
The second threshold that an attorney would present at the initial assault hearing is whether or not this defendant has sufficient ties to the community. If this defendant is released, are they likely to return to court when so ordered or run away? If this defendant does not live in the community or have any family or business ties in the community, they could be considered a flight risk and therefore not a good candidate for release
It is the lawyer’s job during the case process for a West Palm Beach assault charge to argue that the client is not a danger to the community, will come back for court, and should be released with the least restrictions possible.
How Charges are Made
When charges are pressed, it is an indication that the victim would like to see the accused punished. When they are dropped, however, the victim does not want to see the accused punished, or there is not enough evidence for the Government to prove the case. However, this is not an actual representation of how the law works.
Unlike in civil cases, when criminal charges are being brought against someone, the prosecuting attorney will be the Assistant State Attorney. This is an attorney who works for the state and prosecutes (presents evidence of guilt) against the accused. Like in most other states, in Florida the Assistant State Attorney has the power to still file charges, even when the victim chooses not to. This is most common in domestic violence cases.
Whenever an assault charge has been filed against an individual, it is important that they speak to a lawyer in West Palm Beach.
Assault and Battery Penalties
An assault and/or battery charge can carry serious consequences. These charges have sentence requirements that have been set out by state law.
- Assault is considered to be a second-degree misdemeanor. The penalty is no more than 60 days in jail and a fine less than or equal to $500.
- Battery is still considered a misdemeanor, although these charges do carry more severe penalties. A simple battery charge carries jail time of up to one year, and a maximum fine of $1,000.
- Aggravated assault is a much more serious crime, with convicted individuals facing up to five years in prison and fines up to $5,000. Aggravated assault is considered a third-degree felony.
- Aggravated battery, the most serious of all assault and battery charges can be up to a second-degree felony in the state of Florida, with sentences being as much as 15 years in jail, and maximum fines of $15,000. Aggravated Battery with a Firearm comes with a three-year minimum mandatory prison sentence if convicted
Being charged with an act of violence could forfeit an individual’s opportunity to do volunteer work in many institutions. If the person charged is a professional, i.e., a doctor, physical therapist, nurse, or someone in the medical field, they will not be allowed around patients as they are considered to be vulnerable, and the professional is deemed to be in a position of trust.
No employer is going to let a person accused with a violent crime touch or be close to any client, customer, or patient, at least pending the outcome of the case. Once the outcome of the case has been reached, they will want to review the facts of the case and make their own decision from a licensing and liability point of view.
Social Repercussions of Severe Charges
In certain situations, persons charged with acts of violence have been banned from country clubs, golf clubs, restaurants, and other community groups and common community areas in order to protect other members of the association.
Their final decision may not be based on the final outcome of the court case but based on their own rules and any other facts or circumstances that apply to the unique situation at hand.
Defending an Assault Charge
Assault charges, regardless of whether they carry an additional battery charge, can be very serious crimes and can haunt people for the rest of their lives. These are considered acts of violence and can be considered as part of a person’s “moral” character.
There are several different defenses available to those facing assault charges. In some instances, the accused may have been defending themselves, or they had no intention of threatening another individual. These are just two of many defenses that can be used in assault cases.
While the penalties for aggravated battery are severe, it is important to keep in mind that there are many defenses to the charge, including self-defense, non-weapons used as weapons, lack of bodily harm. Self-defense is a very common argument, as Florida allows someone to defend themselves, stand their ground – and defend their own life and the lives of others against someone else’s unlawful attack. Mutual combat can be seen as another version of self-defense and is most commonly used when the victim is proven to be the aggressor in the confrontation.
Evidence Likely to Be Used by the Prosecution
It is important to note that the Prosecution does not need much to prove an assault charge. In comparison to other criminal offenses, the Prosecution can rely heavily on the testimony of the parties involved to prove their case. As a result, they would only need to prove that the defendant intentionally threatened someone, had the ability to carry out the threat, and created the fear that they could follow through with their threat. Therefore, individuals charged with this offense should hire a professional assault defense attorney in West Palm Beach as soon as they are charged.
Contact an Assault Attorney Today
An experienced West Palm Beach assault lawyer can bring these circumstances to light in court, but it is imperative that accused individuals speak to an West Palm Beach assault lawyer as soon as charges are being made against them. Contact an experienced West Palm Beach assault lawyer as soon as possible.
