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A Ringgold assault and battery lawyer could help to provide essential information and vital support during the case. Assault lawyers work to evaluate the actions of all parties to the incident. They could then aim to evaluate the strength of the prosecutor’s case to develop an effective strategy. Working together, a Ringgold assault lawyer and defendants could fight for a better outcome.
Criminal assault is one of the more difficult concepts to understand in the State’s criminal code. According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated §16-5-20, a simple assault is any attempt to cause violent injury to another person. Alternatively, a person may commit a simple assault if they act in a way that causes another reasonable person to have a fear for their wellbeing. As an example, a person may commit an assault if they throw a punch at another party and miss. Similarly, it is also an assault to threaten harm through the use of words and body language. A prosecutor may pursue a case based on nothing more than a clenched fist and the words used at the time of the altercation. A simple assault is a misdemeanor where the maximum punishment is one year in jail or the payment of a fine.
Assaults become much more serious cases in the presence of an aggravating factor. O.C.G.A. §16-5-21 defined the offense called aggravated assault. Here, a court charges that a person threatened physical harm in conjunction with the intent to rob, rape, or murder. In addition, assault is a much more serious accusation when the threats are accompanied by a deadly weapon. Aggravated assault is a felony that carries a mandatory minimum prison term of one year. A Ringgold assault attorney could help to provide counsel for people facing any kind of assault charge.
People often hear of the offense “assault and battery”. While this term has entered people’s vocabularies as a single item, the State’s criminal code separates these into two separate offenses. In simple terms, under O.C.G.A. §16-5-23, a battery is any intentional physical contact with another person that results in an injury, or that is offensive.
Examples of a simple battery could include landing a punch that results in an injury. A Ringgold assault and battery lawyer could help to explain the differences between assault and battery.
Much like assault, aggravated forms of battery also exist in the criminal code. An aggravated battery, according to O.C.G.A. §16-5-24, is a violent touching that results in damage to a person’s body part that permanently affects the alleged victim’s use of that body part. Just like under the aggravated assault statues, a conviction for aggravated battery requires a jail sentence. A Ringgold assault and battery attorney could work to defend individuals facing any level of battery charge.
Charges involving assault and battery could take on many forms and levels of severity. Simple assaults and batteries are misdemeanors where a conviction is unlikely to result in a jail term. However, depending on the identity of the alleged victim and the use of a weapon, these charges become more serious. Any person facing these allegations needs to take aggressive steps to protect themselves.
Hiring a Ringgold assault law firm may be that step. Accused assault attorneys work to explain your legal rights, to parse out what the prosecution needs to prove, and to develop a strategy to create reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors. The stakes following an assault or battery accusation are high; contact a Ringgold assault attorney today to get started.