Top 5 Defenses to Assault Charges

Assault charges cover a wide range of conduct, from using your hands, feet, and fists in a fight to using weapons like guns, knives, or blunt objects. Regardless of the circumstances of your situation, assault charges are serious, and a conviction can drastically change your life.

The consequences of an assault conviction can include:

• Prison
• Significant fines
• Probation or parole
• Mandatory enrollment in anger management classes
• Loss of the right to own a firearm

If you were charged with assault in Utah, you should contact a defense attorney as quickly as possible. Douglas D. Terry & Associates has more than 40 years of experience defending people accused of assault. We will carefully analyze your situation, explain your options, and fight to protect your rights.

Defenses to Assault Charges

Every case is different, and your assault charge defense will depend on the unique circumstances of your case. When you work with Douglas D. Terry & Associates, your attorney will evaluate the charges and offer advice about the best defense for an assault charge.

Self-Defense

Self-defense is the most common defense for an assault charge. When you claim self-defense, you are telling the court your use of force was justified to protect yourself from the threat or harm.

To successfully claim self-defense, you must show that:

• There was an imminent threat of harm
• Your fear of harm was reasonable
• You did not provoke the threat
• There was no easy way for you to escape or retreat from the confrontation

To successfully claim self-defense, your use of force must be proportional to the level of force you were threatened with. For example, if someone was threatening to hit you, it would be unreasonable to respond by shooting them with a gun. A more reasonable response would be to push the aggressor.

Defense of Others

Defense of others is similar to self-defense, but instead of acting to prevent harm to yourself, you acted to prevent harm to someone else. Like self-defense, your fear that someone else was going to be harmed must be reasonable, and your response must be proportionate to the threat of harm.

Defense of Property

When claiming defense of property, you are telling the court that you committed an assault but were justified because you were in fear that your property would be damaged or your home would be invaded. In most cases, you have the right to protect yourself if someone unlawfully enters your home.

Using force to protect personal property or retrieve stolen property is more nuanced and will depend on the specifics of your situation. Because of the complexities involved in claiming defense of property as a defense for an assault charge, you should speak with an assault charge defense attorney.

Consent

Amongst the common defenses to assault charges, consent is frequently used due to its validity in being a victim in a crime. Particularly in cases of alleged sexual assault, or in sports that involve physical contact. A physical encounter cannot be an assault if the victim consented to it.

However, courts carefully scrutinize the consent defense, and your physical acts cannot exceed the limits of what was initially agreed to. In addition, there are circumstances when the victim cannot legally provide consent due to their age, mental state, or other factors. An experienced defense attorney can evaluate your situation to determine whether consent is a viable defense.

Lack of Mental State

You may be able to avoid an assault conviction if you did not have the mental state required to commit the offense. Different assault crimes require different mental states, and the prosecutor may need to prove that you acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly in order to secure a conviction. Your defense attorney may be able to avoid a conviction by negating the mental state requirement of the crime.

Contact an Assault Charges Defense Attorney at Douglas D. Terry & Associates Today

If you were charged with assault, the experienced assault lawyers at Douglas D. Terry & Associates can evaluate your situation to identify the best defenses to assault charges.

Douglas D. Terry & Associates has been defending people accused of assault for more than 40 years. We have offices in St. George and Cedar City and proudly defend people accused of crimes throughout southern Utah. To learn more, contact us today by calling (435) 628-4411, emailing email@SouthernUtahDefense.com, or completing our online form.