Beverly Hills Assault Lawyer
A surprising number of celebrities in Beverly Hills find themselves facing assault charges, or assault and battery charges. And every day, plenty of not-so-famous Beverly Hills residents end up making violent missteps that get them caught up in the court system.
According to California law, an assault takes place any time one person with the ability to do so tries to inflict a violent injury on another person. This covers a broad range of incidents—including your average bar fight!
You don’t have to attempt a brutal beating to someone to be guilty of assault. Losing your temper and throwing a single punch can get you in trouble, too. If you’re arrested and charged, the penalties can be serious.
Assault is often paired with a “battery” charge, though they can be charged separately, and you can be sentenced for both crimes. Assault is the charge you get when you attempt violence. The battery is the charge you get when you actually succeed in causing harm. The penalties for the two crimes are similar, and prosecutors can lay both charges against you at the same time any time you caused real damage to another human being.
What are the penalties for assault or battery?
California has the option of classifying the assault or battery either as a misdemeanor or as a felony. There are several factors the state will look at before it decides.
The first factor is how much damage the assault did, and how much it intended to do. You’re probably not going to be charged with felony assault for trying to shove someone to the ground in the heat of anger. You could be charged with felony assault if you tried to slam a pool stick into that person’s head. And if you successfully hit your opponent with the pool stick multiple times, you would probably be charged with felony assault and battery.
The second factor is how the assault was committed. The use of bare hands or fists is far less serious than assault with a deadly weapon, a dangerous object, a dangerous substance, or a vehicle. Aiming a gun at someone is automatically a felony assault.
Finally, the identity of the person you assaulted matters, too. The law demands harsher penalties if you attack police officers, emergency personnel, or process servers.
If convicted of a misdemeanor you could face up to 6 months in jail. You may also be required to pay a fine of up to $1000. If convicted of felony assault, you could spend up to 4 years in jail, and you could be required to pay a fine of up to $10,000.
What’s the difference between assault and self-defense?
California law carefully outlines the criteria for the defense of self or others ruling. You would need to convince the court you believed you or another person was in immediate danger, and that force was the only way to stop the danger. While you have no duty to retreat under California law, a prosecutor may still be able to show you could have stopped the danger by choosing to leave the area. If the prosecutor is successful in making this claim you could still be convicted of an assault or battery crime.
Once you’ve established force was necessary, you must than prove you used the necessary amount of force. The law demands you use the least amount of force it takes to put an end to the incident.
Often, claims of self-defense can go either way. This is called an affirmative defense, and it’s not a slam dunk win. Using it means admitting to the use of force at all. Never try to tell police officers you acted in self-defense, as this can make it easier to prosecute you. Instead, discuss the matter with your attorney, who will look for witnesses and information which can prove you meet the criteria.
Remember, once the cops arrest you they aren’t letting you go, no matter how good your story is. Keep silent and ask for a lawyer, even if you know you’re in the right. Let us fight that battle for you.
Defending Assault Charges
We may defend an assault or battery charge in one of the following ways:
- By proving you weren’t involved in the incident at all.
- By proving you didn’t have the ability to commit the alleged assault.
- By proving you had no intent to commit assault.
- By demonstrating you were acting in defense of yourself or another and acted as any reasonable person would.
- By demonstrating the victim consented to the use of force, i.e., you both decided to step outside and have a fight.
- By demonstrating the prosecution has insufficient evidence to convict.
As you can imagine, these cases get complex quickly. But our goals remain simple.
If at all possible, we want to help you get these charges dropped or dismissed. If that’s not possible, we might need to look at negotiating a plea bargain, which would require you to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Often we can negotiate plea deals which don’t involve any jail time.
Sometimes, we want to take the matter to trial to pursue an acquittal. We will do this any time we know we have a strong case.
If you are found guilty we’ll switch gears by attempting the judge to use alternative sentencing rather than sending you off to prison. The judge may opt to assign you community service, voluntary house arrest, anger management classes or any combination of the above to resolve this matter.
Get Help Today
Take any assault or battery charge very seriously. This is a crime of violence and it will be difficult to move forward with such a crime on your record.
Don’t rely on a public defender. Get a private defense lawyer who can identify holes in the prosecutor’s case, or who can find mitigating factors that might reduce the severity of your charges.
Call (213) 984-2300 to schedule a free consultation. We’re ready to fight (figuratively) for you.
Beverly Hills Assault Lawyer
A surprising number of celebrities in Beverly Hills find themselves facing assault charges, or assault and battery charges. And every day, plenty of not-so-famous Beverly Hills residents end up making violent missteps that get them caught up in the court system.
According to California law, an assault takes place any time one person with the ability to do so tries to inflict a violent injury on another person. This covers a broad range of incidents—including your average bar fight!
You don’t have to attempt a brutal beating to someone to be guilty of assault. Losing your temper and throwing a single punch can get you in trouble, too. If you’re arrested and charged, the penalties can be serious.
Assault is often paired with a “battery” charge, though they can be charged separately, and you can be sentenced for both crimes. Assault is the charge you get when you attempt violence. The battery is the charge you get when you actually succeed in causing harm. The penalties for the two crimes are similar, and prosecutors can lay both charges against you at the same time any time you caused real damage to another human being.
What are the penalties for assault or battery?
California has the option of classifying the assault or battery either as a misdemeanor or as a felony. There are several factors the state will look at before it decides.
The first factor is how much damage the assault did, and how much it intended to do. You’re probably not going to be charged with felony assault for trying to shove someone to the ground in the heat of anger. You could be charged with felony assault if you tried to slam a pool stick into that person’s head. And if you successfully hit your opponent with the pool stick multiple times, you would probably be charged with felony assault and battery.
The second factor is how the assault was committed. The use of bare hands or fists is far less serious than assault with a deadly weapon, a dangerous object, a dangerous substance, or a vehicle. Aiming a gun at someone is automatically a felony assault.
Finally, the identity of the person you assaulted matters, too. The law demands harsher penalties if you attack police officers, emergency personnel, or process servers.
If convicted of a misdemeanor you could face up to 6 months in jail. You may also be required to pay a fine of up to $1000. If convicted of felony assault, you could spend up to 4 years in jail, and you could be required to pay a fine of up to $10,000.
What’s the difference between assault and self-defense?
California law carefully outlines the criteria for the defense of self or others ruling. You would need to convince the court you believed you or another person was in immediate danger, and that force was the only way to stop the danger. While you have no duty to retreat under California law, a prosecutor may still be able to show you could have stopped the danger by choosing to leave the area. If the prosecutor is successful in making this claim you could still be convicted of an assault or battery crime.
Once you’ve established force was necessary, you must than prove you used the necessary amount of force. The law demands you use the least amount of force it takes to put an end to the incident.
Often, claims of self-defense can go either way. This is called an affirmative defense, and it’s not a slam dunk win. Using it means admitting to the use of force at all. Never try to tell police officers you acted in self-defense, as this can make it easier to prosecute you. Instead, discuss the matter with your attorney, who will look for witnesses and information which can prove you meet the criteria.
Remember, once the cops arrest you they aren’t letting you go, no matter how good your story is. Keep silent and ask for a lawyer, even if you know you’re in the right. Let us fight that battle for you.
Defending Assault Charges
We may defend an assault or battery charge in one of the following ways:
- By proving you weren’t involved in the incident at all.
- By proving you didn’t have the ability to commit the alleged assault.
- By proving you had no intent to commit assault.
- By demonstrating you were acting in defense of yourself or another and acted as any reasonable person would.
- By demonstrating the victim consented to the use of force, i.e., you both decided to step outside and have a fight.
- By demonstrating the prosecution has insufficient evidence to convict.
As you can imagine, these cases get complex quickly. But our goals remain simple.
If at all possible, we want to help you get these charges dropped or dismissed. If that’s not possible, we might need to look at negotiating a plea bargain, which would require you to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Often we can negotiate plea deals which don’t involve any jail time.
Sometimes, we want to take the matter to trial to pursue an acquittal. We will do this any time we know we have a strong case.
If you are found guilty we’ll switch gears by attempting the judge to use alternative sentencing rather than sending you off to prison. The judge may opt to assign you community service, voluntary house arrest, anger management classes or any combination of the above to resolve this matter.
Get Help Today
Take any assault or battery charge very seriously. This is a crime of violence and it will be difficult to move forward with such a crime on your record.
Don’t rely on a public defender. Get a private defense lawyer who can identify holes in the prosecutor’s case, or who can find mitigating factors that might reduce the severity of your charges.
Call (213) 984-2300 to schedule a free consultation. We’re ready to fight (figuratively) for you.