Assault & Battery Defense Lawyer
Get the legal representation that you deserve from a multi-generational law firm with over 40 years of experience defending the rights of the accused.
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If you’ve been accused and assault or battery, navigating your case strategically is an essential step in receiving a fair outcome. Often, defendants in these cases make rash decisions that harm their defenses and lead to more severe penalties.
Before you take any actions in your assault and battery charges, you should hire a qualified criminal defense attorney to represent you. At the Law Offices of Tabone, we have over forty years of experience defending clients caught in the throes of assault and battery cases. We’re prepared to provide a strong defense to help you receive a favorable outcome from your case.
Contact our criminal defense legal team today to schedule your consultation.
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How Our Criminal Defense Team Can Help
Hiring a qualified legal team to defend you in an assault or battery case is essential in receiving a favorable outcome. When you hire the Law Offices of Tabone, you can feel confident in our years of criminal defense experience and our commitment to justice and diligence.
Our multi-generational law firm provides a wide range of services to assault and battery defendants like you. When you hire our defense attorneys, we will:
- Provide legal guidance, advice, and counsel throughout your legal process
- Help you gather evidence to support your defense
- Defend you in court
- Help protect your rights under California law
- Communicate with the prosecution and court on your behalf
At the Law Offices of Tabone, our team has the skills, experience, and resources necessary to provide a solid defense to support your case.
Our assault and battery defense services begin with a consultation. Contact our criminal defense legal team today at (818) 785-5000 to schedule your consultation.
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Frequently Asked Quesitons
Even though the terms “assault” and “battery” are often used in conjunction, these terms point to distinguishable scenarios.
An assault occurs when one person places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving physical harm. Meanwhile, battery occurs when a person wrongfully harms another individual.
At their core, assault and battery cases involve an individual touching another person without excuse or justification. These cases typically involve force or violence as well.
Assault and battery cases can get messy quickly. Anyone can claim that someone assaulted or battered them, even if the act was not willful. Additionally, assault and battery cases can be challenging to prove, as they often involve one person’s word against another.
As a result, California law provides a few basic elements of assault and battery cases that the prosecution must prove to show that these crimes occurred. In order to establish an assault, the prosecution must provide evidence of the following:
- The defendant did an act that would directly and probably result in battery.
- The act was willful.
- The defendant was aware that a reasonable person would assume the act would directly and probably result in battery.
- The defendant had the present ability to apply force within the act.
- The defendant did not act in self-defense or to defend another person.
Meanwhile, to prove battery, the prosecution must provide evidence of the following:
- The act was willful.
- The defendant used force or violence.
- The action was committed against another person.
Note: the plaintiff does not need to have suffered losses for a battery to have occurred.
In both cases, the prosecution must prove the above elements beyond a reasonable doubt.
Here are a few examples of assault that would meet the above qualifications:
- Threatening to shoot someone
- Trying to spit on someone
- Miming the act of hitting or kicking someone
- Brandishing a heavy object and threatening to hit someone
These examples involve an imminent threat of danger but do not actually include a violent act against another person.
Now, here are a few examples of battery:
- Touching someone when they explicitly say to stop
- Hitting someone after getting into an argument
- Pinching someone with the intent to hurt them
- Slapping someone forcefully
- Spitting on someone
All of these examples involve touching someone with the intent to harm or offend them.
If we are handling your criminal defense case, you do not have to go to court. In some cases, we may be able to have the case resolved without ever stepping foot in a courtroom. This is often done through a plea agreement with the prosecutor.
If you’ve been charged with assault or battery, you will need to present a defense that supports your innocence. Our law team can help you provide one of the following legal defenses for assault and battery cases:
- Falsely accused: In some assault and battery cases, the plaintiff falsely accuses the defendant.
- Insufficient evidence: Without witnesses or photo evidence, it can be challenging to prove that an assault or battery occurred. Insufficient evidence is one of the strongest defenses for these cases.
- Self-defense: One of the tenets of assault and battery cases is that the defendant did not act in self-defense. If you were trying to defend yourself or someone else when the assault or battery occurred, the plaintiff may not have grounds for a case against you.
- Unwillful actions: Another tenet of assault and battery cases is that the defendant willfully threatened or harmed the plaintiff. However, if the action was accidental — such as if you bumped into someone in passing — it does not qualify as assault or battery.
- Inability to inflict force: In an assault case, the defendant must have had a reasonable ability to inflict force. If you somehow did not have that ability, such as if you are disabled or were not in appropriate physical proximity to inflict harm, your case may not qualify as assault.
Simple assault and battery are both misdemeanors rather than felonies in California. As a result, they tend to have less severe penalties than felonies.
Simple assault can result in the following penalties:
- Up to six months of jail time
- Up to $1,000 in fines
Simple battery can lead to the following consequences:
- Up to six months of jail time
- Up to $2,000 in fines
- A ten-year restriction for owning firearms and ammunition
However, a prosecutor can charge specific assault and battery cases as felonies. The exact penalties you may receive from your assault or battery case depend on the circumstances surrounding the charge.
If you have any additional questions, please call us at (818) 785-5000.