3 options for an assault and battery defense

People in Mineola often throw out the word “assault” to describe any manner of different offenses. Some may use it to describe a verbal tirade on directs at another, while some might cite in cases where an actual physical altercation occurred. However it is used, you likely care the most about its context when it is used against you. The circumstances of an alleged assault will often dictate the criminal charges that accompany it. The added description of “aggravated” used in the accusations against you should be cause for concern. Yet we here at The Law Firm of Michael R. Franzese can assure you this descriptor cannot simply be applied to a case randomly. Victims of supposed assaults may all believe that the actions against them were aggravated, yet such an assertion is typically based off emotion rather than actual fact. Having a firm definition of what qualifies as aggravated assault is important because the potential penalties that you may face from it are typically more severe than those seen in standard assault cases. Fortunately, the law does establish such a definition. Per the New York Penal Code, your alleged assault is only considered to be aggravated in two scenarios. The first is if you are accused of assaulting a police officer or peace officer (that you know or reasonably should have known to be such) with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument while he or she is in the course of performing his or her duties. The second is if you supposedly commit a third degree assault against one under the age of 11 after having been convicted of a similar offense in the last 10 years. Both offenses are classified as felonies (Class B and E, respectively). More information on defining assault charges can be found here on our site.

There is no pleasant way to put it: violence takes place on any street, at any school and within any walls. Because this harsh truth is so common, some New York residents face obstacles when attempting to prove that a crime never happened in the first place. An assault charge can muddy the waters even further, as it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. Whichever the case, those facing assault charges that have no factual grounding can find the process challenging to navigate. Many different opinions surround false allegations of violence, and an article in Quartz takes a look at what those viewpoints might say about the issue’s bigger picture. How does one differentiate between true and false assault accusations? Quartz unearths statistics from the National Registry of Exonerations to show that, since 1989, 52 cases in which men faced assault charges ended in exoneration after they were found innocent. During that time, 790 people received exonerations for murder charges. The Quartz article also points out that a large majority of those who are the subject of a false assault complaint (such as rape) never learn of the allegations to begin with, as many are dropped. With rape specifically, Quartz ruminates on the number of underage girls who go through an unwanted pregnancy or are out past curfew and lie to parents about an assault — many of these instances end in police reports at parents’ requests. Men Against Abuse Now, an all-male group against violence at Stanford University, provides numerous resources on the myths of false accusations. One resource states that roughly two percent of all rape and other sex charges are ultimately false; this percentage is the same as other felonies. However, MAAN also estimates that only 40 percent of all rape cases reach the police, as many go unreported. In addition, only one in two rape claims result in prosectuion. The tricky aspects of assault charges make it all the more important to deal with such situations promptly and appropriately.

You may think that so many people in Mineola cite self-defense in response to criminal accusations that such an assertion has lost all validity (and thus no one will believe you when you rightfully claim it). However, the law does indeed recognize that there are situations where conduct that would otherwise be deemed to be assault is justified. Section 35.05 of the New York Penal Code describes such situations as when you need to act to avoid an imminent injury that may come through no fault of your own that is serious enough that, “according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding such injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense in issue.” While that seems straightforward, you may wonder exactly what situations the law defines as warranting such action. These are stated to include: Defending yourself Defending a third person Defending your home Preventing the theft of your property Preventing criminal mischief to your property However, your ability to claim self-defense is not valid if you were the initial aggressor in a confrontation, or your conduct intentionally provoked your attacker into an altercation. The law also recognizes uses of justifiable force that do not necessarily involve self-defense. These include when you, as a parent, guardian or teacher, use it on one under the age of 21 in your care to promote said person’s welfare and maintain order. Order may also be obtained through force if you work transporting passengers and believe it to be necessary. If you are a doctor, you may use it when providing necessary treatments to patients or restraining patients under the age of 18 (with parental consent). You can also use it to prevent one from committing suicide.