TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ASSAULT CASES
1. Range of Punishment for Assault. An Assault with Bodily Injury charge is
a Class A misdemeanor. It carries a fine of up to $4,000.00, up to 180 days
in county jail, or the possibility of up to 2 years of supervised probation.
2. Range of Punishment for Aggravated Assault. Aggravated Assault is an
assault in which a serious bodily injury is caused or a deadly weapon is
used. Aggravated Assault is a 2nd degree felony and carries a range of
punishment of a fine of up to $10.000.00, anywhere from 2 years up to 10
years prison, or from between 2 to 10 years supervised probation.
3. There Does Not Have to Be a Visible Bodily Injury for There to Be and
Assault. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing pain to another
person can constitute an assault in Texas.
4. Even If an Alleged Victim Asks the Government to Drop Charges, the
Government is Not Required to Do So. Only the government gets to decide if
it wants to prosecute a criminal charge. It's common for the government to
go forward with a criminal case even if an alleged victim asks that charges
be dropped.
5. You Are Allowed to Use Reasonable Force In Order to Defend Yourself. If
you believe that you are in imminent danger of receiving a bodily injury
from another, you may use a reasonable amount of force in order to prevent
the attack. However, you may only use as much force as is reasonable to
prevent the attack.
6. Your Spouse May Be Forced to Testify Against You. If you are accused of
assaulting your spouse, or any other family member, that person does not
have a privilege from testifying against you.
7. No One Can Give You Permission to Violate a Protective Order. If you have
a family violence protective order entered against you, the person who is
being protected by the order cannot give you permission to ignore the order.
Only a court can dissolve the order, and law enforcement may still enforce
the order, even if the person being "protected" does not want them to do so.
8. If An Alleged Victim Makes False Statements in a Non-Prosecution
Affidavit, That Person Could Be Charged With a Crime. Most prosecutors
offices require that, when alleged victims ask for charges to be dropped,
that this request be made in writing, and under oath. If there are
statements in the request that vary from what the alleged victim has already
told law enforcement, the alleged victim might be prosecuted for either
False Report to a Peace Officer or Perjury.
9. Once the Government Has Charged You With Assault, Do No Go to Law
Enforcement to Attempt to File Charges Against the Other Person. Once a
prosecutor has decided to file an assault charge against you, he is not
likely to accept an assault charge from you against the other person. And
anything that you say to the prosecutor may be used against you.
10. Do Not Count on Law Enforcement to Preserve Evidence That is Favorable
to You. If you were injured or your property was destroyed, take pictures.
If you had to get medical treatment, keep information about where to get
your patient records. If someone witnessed the incident, get contact
information. Once the government has decided that you are the person at
fault, it is not likely to bend over backwards looking for evidence that is
helpful to you. Help us help you.