San Marcos Assault Attorney

TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ASSAULT CASES

  1. An Assault Conviction Can Have Serious Consequences. If you are convicted of Assault, you can receive a fine of up to $4,000.00, up to 1 year in county jail, or up to 2 years supervised probation.
  2. Assault and Aggravated Assault Are Different. Assault means that a person intentionally or knowingly causes a bodily injury to another. Aggravated Assault is an assault in which someone causes a serious bodily injury (an injury that is potentially life-threatening, disabling or disfiguring) or where someone uses a deadly weapon. Aggravated Assault is a second degree felony, with a fine of up to $10,000.00 and a prison sentence of up to 20 years, or up to 10 years of probation.
  3. There Can Be An Assault Even if There is No Visible Injury. A person can commit an Assault simply by intentionally or knowingly causing pain to another.
  4. Victims Don't Drop Assault Charges, the Government Does. Even if the victim of an Assault asks the government to drop charges, the government is not required to do so. The government often chooses to proceed with an Assault charge even if the victim asks them not to do so.
  5. You Are Permitted to Defend Yourself With Force, As Long As the Force is Reasonable. If you reasonably believe that someone is about to commit an assault against you, you are allowed to use force to defend yourself. However, you may only use as much force as is absolutely necessary to stop the attack.
  6. Your Spouse Can Be Forced to Testify Against You In An Assault Case. In an Assault case in which the victim is a member of your immediate family or household, your spouse cannot claim a privilege not to testify against you.
  7. No One Can Give Permission to Violate a Family Violence Protective Order. If a family violence protective order is granted against you, only the court that granted it can make it go away. Even if the person who is protected by the order gives you permission to ignore the order, law enforcement may still enforce the order if you are found to be in violation of it.
  8. If A Victim Lies In Non-Prosecution Affidavit, She Can Be Charged With a Crime. If a victim of an assault requests that a charge be dismissed, most prosecutors' office will require that the person fill out a written statement, sworn to under oath, called a non-prosecution affidavit. If statements in the non-prosecution affidavit conflict with what the person has already told law enforcement, then the victim runs the risk of being charged with either Perjury or False Report to a Peace Officer.
  9. Once You Are Charged With Assault, Trying to Convince the District Attorney's Office to File Charges Against the Other Person Is A Really Bad Idea. For better or worse, once a prosecutor has decided to file an Assault charge against you, it is highly unlike that you are going to convince him to file charges against someone else, instead. On the other hand, anything that you say to the District Attorney's Office can be used against you in court.
  10. Don't Hold Your Breath Expecting the Cops to Collect Evidence That is Favorable to You. If you received an injury or had your property damaged, keep records, take pictures, write down contact information from witnesses. Once law enforcement has decided that you are the guilty party, it is not likely to go out of its way trying to find evidence that is helpful to you.