ASSAULT CHARGES
Harris County Assault Defense Lawyer
An assault charge comes with the potential for fines and jail time. A conviction will tarnish someone’s record and have ripple effects on their future opportunities for housing, employment and even basic friendships. The accused person needs a lawyer who understands the legal nuances of assault law in Texas and who understands the importance of challenging the assumptions and evidence that law enforcement tries to present.
The Houston assault lawyers at Cory Roth Law Office are experienced, tough and savvy. They serve clients across all of Fort Bend County and Harris County. Call today at (832) 819-5290 or contact us online to set up a consultation.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ASSAULT CHARGES IN TEXAS
Assault charges can come in different forms. Sometimes they can be tied up with other charges pertaining to sex crimes, property crimes, domestic violence and others. It’s also important to understand that while the terms assault and battery are often used interchangeably, these are actually quite distinct criminal charges.
Battery refers to the physical act of harming someone else. Assault refers to the threat to do harm to someone else. And assault charges can be filed in two different ways–simple assault and aggravated assault.
SIMPLE ASSAULT
Simple assault can involve basic threats to someone else. The threat must be considered credible by a reasonable person. Not everyone who says “I’m going to kill you” to a friend in an argument is guilty of assault. But in the right context, those words can certainly be taken as a threat. Simple assault can also involve inappropriate touching of someone else and it can mean recklessly engaging in activity that a reasonable person would know might lead to violence.
In cases where battery is involved, simple assault applies when injuries are not considered to be severe. Even so, however, simple assault charges can potentially be a third-degree felony in the state of Texas. And a 3rd-degree felony can mean up to ten years in prison.
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT
In cases where battery is not involved, aggravated assault can still apply if the threat in question was done with a gun or another deadly weapon. Again, all that’s necessary to make an aggravated assault charge stick is establishing that the threat made was a credible one.
When battery is involved, aggravated assault will be the charge when the injuries are considered serious–broken bones or some sort of disfigurement are usually the criteria for deciding if an injury rises to this gravity.
An assault lawyer from our office will diligently pursue all appropriate angles of defense, insisting on fairness and the presumption of innocence all the way through. Call us at (832) 819-5290 or contact us online to set up a consultation.
DEFENSES AGAINST AN ASSAULT CHARGE
Every circumstance will be different and it’s up to the Houston assault attorney to do their due diligence in investigating the incident. Generally speaking though, defense strategies can include the following…
- Self-Defense: Texas law gives everyone the right of self-defense. The criteria is that the defendant must have been an imminent danger. The jury will decide if feeling danger was reasonable given the circumstances, and the assault an appropriate response. The right of self-defense extends to the right to defend one’s property.
- Mistaken Identity: This defense might apply in situations where crowds were involved, such as at a bar or major outdoor event. In our era of cellphone video, reliable DNA evidence and other means of identification, a diligent defense lawyer has ways of working with a client who is facing unjust accusations.
- Severity of the Injuries: In cases where the defendant is guilty of the assault, it’s still possible that injuries have been exaggerated, turning what should be simple assault into an aggravated assault charge. Getting charges reduced is first and foremost about the criminal penalties. But convictions on assault can be used as the basis for a civil lawsuit against the defendant.
Challenging the severity of injuries up front in the criminal justice process can make the difference in potential damage awards in civil court.
Cory Roth Law Office is there for defendants no matter what. The promise of the American justice system is that everyone deserves a fair trial and to us, fairness means a truly aggressive and vigorous defense on behalf of every client who comes through our door.
Call today at (832) 819-5290 or contact us online to set up a consultation.
MEET YOUR ADVOCATE
CORY ROTH
ATTORNEY & FOUNDER
My name is Cory Roth, and it would be my great honor, privilege, and responsibility to be your attorney. While the previous statement is true, it is cliché; it is something every lawyer will say. I know you have choices when it comes to picking a lawyer, so I want to tell you what sets me apart. First and foremost, I don’t trust the government and neither should you. I have learned in short time that prosecutors don’t like to work, and many of them don’t tell the truth. Therefore, it is my job to not accept anything that police, …
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