Manassas Assault & Battery Attorney
Assault and battery charges need to be handled with extreme care and seriousness, because the charges you are facing could mean that you are sentenced with a misdemeanor, a felony, or possibly nothing at all if we are able to have the charges dropped or win in court. The Simms Showers LLP criminal defense team, which includes Caleb Kershner, is equipped to handle all manners of assault and battery charges, and will never back down during plea bargaining or during trial. Public defenders are often overworked and underpaid, according to Mother Jones, and will often take a plea deal instead of fighting for your rights in court. Additionally, not all private attorneys are prepared to represent you in court, or to negotiate a fair deal, and because assault and battery charges hold considerable sway over judges and juries, the average attorney may not be able to provide you with the professional degree of defense that you require.
Beating Virginia Assault Charges
Assault, also called simple assault, as defined by Virginia § 18.2-57, is “to attempt or threat to inflict bodily injury upon another, accompanied by the apparent present ability to carry out the attempt or the threat if not prevented.” What this means is that assault does not require any physical harm, or even physical contact, by the defendant, to be inflicted upon the alleged victim. A few common examples of assault are as follows:
- You get into an argument with a co-worker and yell at him that you are going to beat him up if he does not do what you ask. You are “in his face” and he allegedly genuinely believes that you are going to inflict physical harm; or
- You take a swing with your fist and miss your target during a bar fight, and the fight abruptly stops without landing a blow.
While you did not actually hurt or even touch the coworker or person in the bar, you could be charged and sentenced with assault if the prosecution can prove one of the following:
- Your actions were intended to harm or cause offensive contact;
- You had the ability to cause said harm or offensive contact; or
- The victim believed that you had the ability to cause immediate injury.
Simple assault is a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia, and a mandatory minimum of six months confinement will be imposed if if it can be proven that your actions were based on the other person’s race, religious conviction, color, or national origin.
A Manassas Battery Offense is Felony Charge
Unlike simple assault, battery, also called assault and battery, does require physical contact or injuries inflicted upon the victim. Battery is the “unlawful application of force to the person of another,” and it “includes the assault and the actual use of force or violence in injuring another person.” However, it is not considered battery if the defendant caused accidental injury. Similarly, if you used self defense, you were completely within the bounds of the law to do so.
Call a Manassas Assault & Battery Attorney Today
If you have been charged with assault or assault and battery, you need to talk to a attorney today. Do not hesitate to call the Manassas assault attorneys of Simms Showers LLP at once to speak with one of our experienced assault and battery attorneys as soon as you can.
