Akron Assault Defense Attorney

For you to incur criminal penalties on an assault charge, the state prosecutor handling your case will first need to satisfy every legal element of your case. In addition, they must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a very high legal standard to satisfy. If the state prosecutor can meet their burden, then a sentencing judge will have a duty to impose various penalties against you following statutory minimums and maximums.

The potential legal penalties that you may incur for an assault conviction will depend upon the assault charge you face.

• If you face a conviction for simple assault, you can receive 180 days of incarceration and a $1,000 monetary fine.
• A conviction for aggravated assault can lead to six years of incarceration and a monetary fine of $ 5,000.
• A conviction for negligent assault can result in 60 days of incarceration and a $500 fine.
• If you ultimately sustain a conviction for second-degree felonious assault, you can receive 12 years of incarceration and a $15,000 fine.
• Upon conviction for first-degree felonious assault, you can receive 16.5 years in jail and a monetary fine of $20,000.
• A conviction for menacing can result in 70 days of incarceration, along with a $250 monetary fine.
• If you sustain a conviction for vehicular assault, you can receive 18 months of jail time.
• A conviction for vehicular manslaughter can result in 90 days of jail time.
• A conviction for aggravated vehicular assault can lead to five years in jail.

In addition to these potential legal penalties upon conviction, you can face numerous collateral consequences. For example, if you have an assault conviction on your record, you might have difficulty finding a place to live in the area. Additionally, you may have trouble finding or keeping a job or gaining admission to an educational program, such as at a college or university.

These difficulties often arise when landlords, employers, and educational institutions perform criminal background checks on applicants. If they encounter an assault conviction on the applicant’s record, they may deny the application.

In addition to these potential collateral consequences, an individual with an assault conviction on their record can face significant harm to their personal and professional reputation in the community.

By avoiding an assault conviction in the first place, you will not have to worry about any potential penalties or collateral consequences. However, suppose you ultimately sustain a conviction on your criminal assault charge. In that case, our legal team can represent you at your sentencing hearing and argue for the most minor penalty. We can also work to lessen the collateral consequences you might face upon conviction.

Ohio recognizes several assault charges:

• The first type of assault is simple assault. This charge arises when an individual recklessly or knowingly brings about (or attempts to) some type of physical harm to another person or a fetus. When various aggravating factors do not exist, this is the default assault charge.
• Ohio recognizes the crime of aggravated assault. The definition of this offense is essentially the same as simple assault. However, the accused must have committed the offense using a dangerous ordnance or a deadly weapon.
• An individual can face criminal charges for negligent assault if they negligently use a dangerous ordinance or weapon and bring about some type of physical harm to another individual or fetus.
• Felonious assault charges result when an individual intentionally and knowingly uses dangerous ordnance, transmits AIDS, or brings about some type of severe physical harm to someone else.
• A criminal assault charge for menacing arises when an individual knowingly causes someone else to feel threatened that either themselves or a family member will suffer physical injuries at the hands of the accused.
• A vehicular assault charge may arise when an individual uses a vehicle as a weapon to harm someone else.
• Criminal charges for aggravated vehicular assault can happen when the alleged victim suffers one or more serious physical injuries.
• A vehicular manslaughter charge can arise when the accused individual commits some minor misdemeanor traffic offense but accidentally brings about another individual’s untimely death.

If you are currently pending one or more of these criminal assault charges in Akron, you need to reach out to a skilled and experienced Akron criminal defense attorney immediately.

At Patituce & Associates, LLC, our legal team can meet with you to discuss the circumstances surrounding your criminal charge and arrest and determine the best legal options for defending against your pending charge.

In response to a pending criminal assault charge, you can raise one or more legal defenses. If a defense is successful in court, it might work to negate one or more legal elements of the prosecution’s case, resulting in a complete dismissal of your charge.

You must also remember that in a criminal case involving assault, the accused individual does not need to satisfy any legal burden of proof. Rather, the entire legal burden rests with the state prosecutor handling the case.

Moreover, the accused does not need to take the witness stand or testify in their own defense. The accused individual’s Fifth Amendment constitutional right protects them against self-incrimination.

Some of the most common defenses that may prevent the prosecutor from establishing their legal burden of proof in an assault case include:

• Self-defense, where the accused individual was not the initial aggressor, and they used an amount of force that was proportionate to the force that the alleged victim used against them
• Defense of others, where an individual uses a proportionate amount of force to defend someone else
• Alibi, where the accused individual was not present on the date or at the time of the alleged assault incident
• Mistaken identity, where the accused individual can show that the alleged victim misidentified them as the assailant
• Constitutional violations, such as where an accused individual asserted their Fifth Amendment right to the presence of legal counsel during a custodial interrogation, yet the police officer continued to question them.

Our legal team can determine if you may be eligible to raise one or more of these legal defenses in response to your criminal charge. If you qualify, we can assert the proper legal defense on your behalf at trial and pursue a complete dismissal of your pending assault charge.

Instead of taking your assault case to a criminal court trial, we can negotiate a favorable plea deal with the state’s attorney handling your case. Some prosecutors are more willing to agree to a plea deal arrangement if they are not confident in securing a conviction against the accused at trial.

As part of a plea deal, the accused pleads guilty to some criminal offense in exchange for one or more concessions from the state prosecutor. For example, as a concession for a guilty plea, the prosecutor might reduce the pending assault charge from a felony down to a misdemeanor. Alternatively, they might agree to probation, allowing the accused individual to escape a conviction if they successfully complete all of their probationary terms.

Our legal team can advise you on the pros and cons of accepting a pending plea deal from the prosecutor, given the facts and circumstances of your charge. By agreeing to a plea deal, you give up certain legal and constitutional rights, including your right to a jury trial, under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and your right of appeal.

After the police arrest you, do not answer any questions until you consult your lawyer. If you invoke your right to the presence of legal counsel and the officer continues to question you, your lawyer can work to suppress any incriminating statement you make.

Additionally, after an arrest for criminal assault, do not contact the alleged victim – in person, electronically, or otherwise. This is especially true if the judge grants a protective order in favor of the alleged victim prohibiting this type of conduct. If you contact the alleged victim after a judge enters a protective order against you, police can re-arrest you for violating your protective order.

Finally, consult our Akron assault defense lawyers as quickly as possible after your arrest. Our legal team can enter an appearance in your case and begin safeguarding your legal rights immediately. We can also start exploring potential legal defenses in your case and represent you in all legal proceedings in court.