Assault and battery is one of the most common violent criminal offenses across the Unites States. It involved threatening harm or actually causing harm to another individual. If you ever watch Law & Order or other police procedural dramas, assault and battery are often mentioned in conjunction with one another, however they are defined as two separate, distinct crimes. The fact is that not many people working outside of the law, or legal system, understand what exactly assault and battery truly entail and how they effect individuals in from a legal standpoint. As the best criminal defense lawyer NYC has to offer, Ms. Yanina Tabachnikova, Esq. To keep you in the best legal standing possible, it is important to understand these charges – the following information will help you to be more familiar with assault and battery charges in the state of New York.
Overview of New York Assault and Battery Laws
New York criminal law prohibits varying forms of assault. The basic requirement for any assault conviction is that the defendant cause physical injury. Factors such as the seriousness of the injury, the use of deadly weapons, and the mental culpability of the defendant determine the degree of his or her offense.
New York Assault Offenses
Intentional assault offenses require differing degrees of intent on the defendant’s part to cause physical injury. Where intent to cause serious physical injury is an element of the offense, the prosecution must prove that the defendant intended to cause serious physical injury beyond a reasonable doubt. This specific intent requirement applies to first-degree and certain second-degree assault offenses.
On the other hand, where the prosecution need only establish an intent to cause physical injury, no additional specific intent need be proved, and the defendant’s intent may be established by his or her acts or conduct, the surrounding circumstances, or inference. He fired a shot at Leonard at close range, striking him in the chest. The prosecutor may establish the requisite intent for first-degree assault through Frank’s use of a deadly weapon against Leonard at close range. Another individual fired a number of shots, one of which grazed Leonard’s arm and left a small mark. The prosecution would have insufficient evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Frank intended to cause serious physical injury to (or disfigure) Leonard. Certain forms of second- and third-degree assault (e.g., the reckless causation of serious physical injury to another by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument and, with criminal negligence, the causation of physical injury to another by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument) do not require an intentional state of mind.
Aggravated Assault
A person commits aggravated assault when, with intent to cause serious physical injury to a person whom he or she knows or reasonably should know is a police officer or peace officer performing his or her duties, the defendant causes such injury by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or a defendant 18 years old or more commits third-degree assault upon a person less than 11 years old and has been previously convicted of the same offense within the last 3 years.
The following table provides key information about New York assault and battery laws. Remember, each case is different and while a certain defense tactic may work in one case, it may not work in another.
Degrees of Assault
Defenses to Assault
As NYC’s best criminal defense lawyer, Ms. Tabachnikova has spent years defending New Yorkers against such charges. And with all that experience she has been able to help clients using method such as the following.
Of course, she and her legal team will them expound on these and assign many supporting details to sure up the case. Penalties for such issues also matter based on prior convictions and thngs like that. If in the preceding ten years may increase the prison sentence imposed for his or her new conviction, whether the felonies were violent or non-violent in nature. Those penalties include:
For more information on assault issues, and to schedule your very own consult, be sure to contact the Law Offices of Yanina Tabachnikova today.
