Assault & Battery Attorneys
While assault and battery are often used together in conversation, they refer to different criminal offenses. If you have been arrested for assault or battery, you need a skilled criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville, FL on your side. Tassone, Dreicer & Hill provides a team of skilled and knowledgeable criminal attorneys, ready to help with your assault or battery case.
Assault
Assault is often mistaken as battery in Florida, but it is not the same. When the charge is assault, it means the “victim” of the crime was not touched physically. It is defined as an illegal and intentional threat or acts towards the victim with the intent of violence and the ability to carry out the violence that creates a well-founded fear n the victim that violence will happen.
The crime of assault is considered to be a second-degree misdemeanor. If you’ve been convicted of assault in the state of Florida, you will face up to 60 days in jail. First-time offenders often received probation, which may last up to six months. Probation may also include completing anger management classes and avoiding contact with the victim.
Often, charges of assault are considered a second-degree misdemeanor, it is possible for this criminal charge to be escalated to a felony charge in Jacksonville. If it becomes an aggravated assault, which means it’s an assault with a deadly weapon, the charges will fall under the category of a third-degree felony. This crime comes with up to five years in prison, with a three-year minimum mandatory sentence. Regardless of the degree of assault charges you face, it’s important to hire a skilled criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville, Florida.
Battery
When physical contact is made between the assailant and the victim, it becomes battery. Battery is defined as “intentional physical contact with someone against their will or with the intention to harm that person”. While simple battery and domestic battery are both classified as misdemeanors, there are several types of battery classified as a felony. Simple battery and domestic battery may be punishable with up to one year in jail.
Battery charges may be elevated to a felony in Florida if the defendant has committed simple battery, aggravated battery or felony battery in the past. Felony battery is classified as a third-degree felony and come with a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Aggravated battery is another form of felony battery, which requires an intentional cause of great bodily harm, permanent disfigurement, permanent disability or battery with a deadly weapon. Aggravated battery in Jacksonville, Florida comes with a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and the crime is considered a second-degree felony.
If you’ve been arrested on assault or battery charges, you need a skilled criminal defense lawyer in Jacksonville on your side.