Assault charges can be quite serious, with potential penalties like jail time always on the table. However, some states have other laws that make “mutual combat” less severe and alternative charges that might drop the penalties to no more than that of a traffic ticket.
In Utah, we have an assault statute that does not explicitly mention any reduction in penalties or defenses for mutual combat. Consent might be a defense to assault charges, but this does not always apply. We also have an explicit ban on “ultimate fighting,” but this charge might not apply to your situation either. In any case, there is the possibility of reducing charges to “disorderly conduct” for “fighting.”
For help with your potential charges, call our Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyers at Overson Law at (801) 758-2287 today.
What is a Mutual Combat Law?
Generally speaking, when people refer to a “mutual combat” law, they mean a law that either legalizes or reduces the penalties for fighting when both parties agree to enter into a fight. Obviously, many states give people the legal ability to enter a boxing match, MMA match, or sparring match in a martial arts/self-defense class. However, the question of two or more people “taking it outside” is often a different legal question.
In general, most states still criminalize a fight as assault, even when both parties are willing participants. However, if one party was the aggressor and the other was just defending themselves, it will usually be permitted as self-defense – but only for the initial victim. There are also other requirements to claim self-defense, such as proportionality.
There may also be a potential defense if both parties consented to the fight. Hitting someone when they ask you to is usually legal, though some states may have explicit “mutual combat” rules in their assault statutes that say that mutual combat is not a full defense. However, when they do this, they usually reduce the penalties for these kinds of fights, setting true assault at one level – often a high-level misdemeanor – but reducing the charges to a lower-level misdemeanor if the parties were engaged in mutual combat.
Utah Law on Assaults and Fights Deemed “Mutual Combat”
In Utah, assault is typically a class B misdemeanor under § 76-5-102. If there is “substantial bodily injury” or the victim is pregnant, it is upped to a class A misdemeanor instead. Because there is no explicit mention of mutual combat leading to a reduced penalty, fighting ends up in somewhat of a legal grey area with many potential defenses and issues:
Consent and Self-Defense
The first possible defense that our Clearfield, UT criminal defense lawyers might recommend in cases of mutual combat is the defense of consent. Consent is a traditional defense to assault, meaning that it is not illegal to hit someone if they give you permission to do so. This could conceivably allow legal fighting, but it might not apply to a fight that breaks out or escalates suddenly without prior consent. This would conceivably allow something like a sparring match in a karate class but not a bar fight.
However, if you were attacked first and did not initially consent to it, then you might be best claiming self-defense if you hit back.
“Consensual Altercation” Law
Second, we do have a law that explicitly deals with a “consensual altercation.” Under § 76-5-104, it is specifically not a defense to assault or murder that it was “mutual combat.” However, this only applies to block the defense when the fight involves a “dangerous weapon” or an “ultimate fighting match.” Without these issues, this law likely won’t stop you from claiming consent as a defense.
“Ultimate Fighting Match” Bans
Lastly, we have quite a strict law that bans any “ultimate fighting match,” along with the law above stating that you can’t use mutual combat as a defense to assault charges in an “ultimate fighting match.” The text of § 76-9-705 makes it illegal to have an MMA/ultimate fighting match, but only if that match involves paid admission, combinations of fighting styles, rounds, strikes with knees/elbows/feet, and strikes on defenseless/TKO opponents. Notably, this law says nothing about fights that have no paid admission.
This law therefore should not technically affect bar fights, free exhibition matches, or sparring at an MMA gym. This could even be read to permit something like a fight club or underground boxing match, as long as it does not violate these rules, though we cannot recommend testing the limits of these laws in this manner.
Overall Legality
All in all, unless you are using a weapon or charging admission, consent might be the best legal defense available to mutual combat. However, if the fight starts without consent, the fact that both parties were fighting will not, by itself, protect you from assault charges.
Charges for “Fighting” in Utah
As mentioned, assault might be the right charge in some cases. However, assault is only supposed to apply to cases where there was an actual injury or attempt to cause injury. If the parties were just hitting each other a bit and didn’t mean to hurt anyone, then that shouldn’t be considered assault.
Instead, Utah Code § 76-9-102 makes it illegal when someone “engages in fighting.” This comes under the broad umbrella of “disorderly conduct,” which can apply to many different situations and is charged as an “infraction” in most cases. An infraction is essentially like a traffic ticket for non-driving matters and typically results in a fine only. Under § 76-3-205, the fine may vary, but jail time is not allowed for an infraction.
In some cases, our lawyers might be able to ask the prosecution to allow you to plead guilty to disorderly conduct instead of assault, potentially getting your case “pled down” to much lower penalties. We may also be able to use the definitions of assault and disorderly conduct to get the judge to dismiss the assault charges, potentially leaving you with disorderly conduct charges alone or with no charges if the prosecution only charged you with assault.
Call Our Criminal Defense Lawyers in Utah Today
Call (801) 758-2287 for a free case evaluation with Overson Law’s South Jordan, UT criminal defense lawyers today.
