Mar 21, 2024

Queens Assault Lawyer

Physical altercations can occur for a variety reasons. However, in specific instances such actions might lead to a person receiving assault charges.

Assault is a serious crime that can have major ramifications.

New York City residents confronting these legal allegations may benefit from the services of a Queens assault lawyer. This brief blog offers information about assault in New York State.

Assault Defined

Assault is characterized as the act of physically attacking another person through some form of contact.

However, the law also classifies the offense as acting threateningly or displaying the intent to cause harm or inflict violence on someone else.

The Different Categories Of Assault

The law classifies different degrees of assault. Some classifications are labeled misdemeanors.

Misdemeanors are less severe crimes that carry less stiffer penalties. Other classifications are deemed felonies, which have the potential to carry significant fines and lengthy prison sentences of incarceration.

In New York, there are three degrees of assault, termed assault in the third, second and first degree.

Third Degree Assault

This crime is a Class A misdemeanor.

Third degree assault charges are frequently levied against individuals who:

• Inflict minor injury
• Did not employ a weapon
• The alleged victim is not a member of particular protected category

Second Degree Assault

This categorization comes under the pretense of a Class D felony.

Prosecutors are more apt to levy this charge against an individual who inflicted significant injuries upon the alleged victim (such as serious bodily pain that resulted in illness, chronic pain, disfigurement or placed said individual’s life and well-being at risk).

Weapon Use and Protected Classes

Prosecutors might also levy second degree assault charges against individuals who used weapons in their alleged attack.

The weapon does not specifically have to be a knife or gun. Any object used that either inflicted bodily harm or possesses the potential to cause serious injury might result in second degree charges under New York State law.

Furthermore, should the alleged victim fall into a specific category, second degree assault charges could be brought forth.

Protected individuals encompass:

• State or public servants such as law enforcement officers
• Emergency services workers
• Youth aged 11 and younger
• Individuals 65 and older

First Degree Assault

First degree assault is the most severe assault offense and is labeled as Class B felony.

This offense happens when an individual inflicts serious bodily harm (permanent disability or disfigurement), commits such an act with no regard for the alleged victim’s health or safety, is proven to have engaged in the act with clear malicious, if not deadly intent, did so with a potentially deadly weapon or executed the act on someone representing a protected class.

Penalties For Assault

It is crucial to note that an adjudicating body (judge or jury) might consider specific factors before rendering a final punishment for someone convicted of an assault charge.

Such factors include:

*The individual in question’s prior criminal record *If the alleged perpetrator has any mental or emotional health problems *The circumstances regarding the offense *If the offense was considered a hate crime

Minimum Sentencing Guidelines

That stated, in New York State, there are minimum penalties for the varying degrees of assault charges.

Assault in the Third degree could carry up to a year in jail and a fine not exceeding $1,000.

Second degree assault could result in a prison sentence ranging anywhere from three to seven years and fines of up to $5,000.

First degree assault prison sentences span from three to 30 tears with fines not exceeding $5,000.

Benefit Of Retaining Counsel

Though assault charges are serious and may be challenging to defend, an experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to formulate an argument proving the incident in question was either not the accused’s fault or that the accused and alleged victim share responsibility for the debated events.

Arguably, the most frequent argument offered by defendants is that said individuals were protecting themselves, their property or the well-being of others.

A criminal defense lawyer will try to formulate this argument (or any other possible defense) by executing actions such as:

• Talking to witnesses
• Examining law enforcement reports
• Meeting with medical experts
• Examining the crime scene

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Understanding Your Constitutional Rights During Arrest

Innocent until proven guilty: that is the principle of law, and that is the standard your case should be held to if you find yourself thrown into the criminal justice system.

Assault is a grave charge, and if you have been arrested on it then you should retain counsel.

Before you even consider about making a statement or signing your name to anything you should speak with an attorney.

Your arrest and the claim of assault against you may have been the result of a very heated and emotional experience. Such situations likely to go much further than either party intends.

But that does not indicate you inflicted intention bodily harm against another person, which is the legal definition of assault.

The Burden of Proof

The person who has accused you has to demonstrate their claim; the authorities who have taken up the case have to prove that you did wrong, that you broke the law.

From the moment you are arrested, the police and prosecutorial system will start to process and pursue the matter in a spirit that is the reverse of the constitutional principle under which we all live: they will assume you are guilty until you have shown otherwise.

Immense pressure will be brought on you to admit to something you have not done.

Protecting Yourself from Coercive Interrogation Tactics

The people trying to get you convicted of assault will phrase their questions and suggestions in soft and beguiling language.

You will be requested to cooperate with the investigation, you will be told that it is preferable for you to confess your crime in exchange for a lighter sentence, you will be told that they have proof of what you did, making your continued defiance futile; indeed, you will be told all sorts of things.

But here is the point—the one key fact that they will not emphasize: you actually do have the right to remain silent.

Your Miranda Rights Are Real Protection

The officers who have arrested you made you conscious of your rights as a matter of routine.

However, the Miranda warnings are not just hollow words that offices must speak when arresting a suspect. They refer to rights that are intended to protect you from the very thing the prosecutors are trying to do.

You do not have to provide in evidence against yourself. You do not have to say anything that will involve you in the crime you have been accused of.

There is naught that the authorities can do about it.

Your best action is to remain silent until you can speak to an attorney.

Building Your Defense Strategy

Speaking to a criminal lawyer is the first move toward defending yourself against the charge.

You can tell the whole story to your attorney, which will give them a general picture of how the events that led to the arrest unfolded.

Your attorney will be able to examine at the same evidence that the prosecutors have, but will do so through your perspective and interpret what is found in a way that is likely to result in a favorable outcome for you.

Challenging the Prosecution’s Case

It is much tougher than you might think to prove an assault charge.

The police and prosecutors may sound as though their case is sealed and that your conviction is inevitable. But that is just not true.

Working with an attorney will enable you to:

• Contest evidence
• Offer other facts
• Make an argument that contradicts the one submitted by your accuser

Long-Term Consequences of Assault Convictions

An assault conviction can carry a severe sentence and fine.

There is also the reality that you will have it on your record once you have been released.

You must do your best to fight it. Working with an attorney can help you do so successfully.

Queens Assault Lawyer