Assault can range in seriousness from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the circumstances of the assault. While it is rarely legal to hit someone outside of self-defense situations, there are many overlapping charges that could be issued, making defending these charges less straightforward than one might expect.
If you were charged with assault, you should get help from our attorneys right away. We can represent you in your case, put forth arguments about which charges you face, and attempt to negotiate down the charges in your case as part of a plea agreement. We can also fight the case in court if you would prefer.
For your free case assessment, call our assault defense lawyers at Overson Law today at (801) 758-2287.
Types of Assault Charges in Millcreek, UT
Seven statutes under Part 1 of the Utah Code Title 76, Chapter 5 include “assault” in their name. Four more include “abuse.” All in all, the conduct for these crimes is generally the same, the charges just come under different sections of the code for different types of victims and such. For example, assault against a school employee is a specific crime with the same general elements of the crime just called “assault,” but the penalties are upgraded because the victim was a teacher or other school employee. Often, attacking the case based on which specific statute the case is charged under is one way our assault defense lawyers can fight the charges you face.
There are also a few other crimes that are assault crimes, but they have different penalties because the outcomes are more severe. For example, the crime of mayhem occurs when the actor cuts off someone’s limb, puts out their eye, or otherwise maims them. This crime basically cannot happen without the same actions that constitute assault occurring, but the specific permanent damage gives this crime higher penalties.
All in all, the basic conduct that constitutes the crime of assault under Utah Code § 76-5-102 is unlawfully using force to injure someone else. An attempt to injure someone also counts as assault, even if it is not successful and you miss or stop short of hitting them.
The crime can also be upgraded to aggravated assault under § 76-5-103 if the actor used a weapon or vehicle, if they strangled the victim, or if their actions otherwise were likely to cause death. Penalties also go up if the victim suffered “serious bodily injury” rather than mere “bodily injury,” if they were knocked out or passed out from the attack, or if the actor targeted law enforcement to cause serious bodily injury.
Defenses to Assault Charges in Millcreek, UT
Some defenses can end the case against you altogether, while others can still reduce the seriousness of the case against you, even if they do not end the charges entirely:
Self-Defense
All of these assault offenses say that it is a crime to “unlawfully” hurt someone else. If you do it lawfully, it is not illegal, and the number one way that hurting someone else can be lawful is when you do it in self-defense or defense of another.
These claims usually require admitting that you did the conduct in question – that you hit the person or shot them or otherwise caused them injury – alongside the argument that what you did was justified because they were trying to hurt you or someone else first. Defense of the home is also legal in many cases.
Self-defense claims can be tricky, however, given that the force used needs to be proportional to the attack against you. This means that most people cannot pull out a gun and shoot an attacker who was only using their fists, but there are potential exceptions based on the specifics of the situation. For example, when the attacker is much larger than you or you are physically vulnerable or disabled, it is much more likely that you would be able to use a weapon in self-defense. Otherwise, deadly force can only be used to meet deadly force unless you are defending your home.
Imperfect Self-Defense
One other aspect of using a self-defense claim is that you need to have acted reasonably in defending yourself from a perceived threat. If there was no actual threat, but anyone would have reasonably thought there was a threat, then that is likely still self-defense. If, however, your perception was skewed and you made a mistake in deciding that self-defense was necessary, it might still reduce your culpability without actually beating the charges against you. This is known as an “imperfect self-defense” claim and might help in some instances.
Reducing Charges
As mentioned, many different assault and assault-adjacent crimes involve varying degrees of injury. If the prosecutors charge you with one level of crime but the injuries fit better under a lower level of crime, that might reduce your charges in the end. There may also be questions about how dangerous you thought you were being, potentially making aggravated assault charges inappropriate if the situation was not “likely to produce death” like the prosecution claims it was.
Additionally, sometimes assault is overcharged, and the conduct would be better charged under the “disorderly conduct” statute’s subsection (2)(b)(i) for “engag[ing] in fighting.” If both sides were fighting, it might not be appropriate to charge either one with assault, and you may be able to plead guilty to this infraction instead of facing misdemeanor or assault charges for the event.
Charges can often be reduced as part of a plea deal, where the prosecution allows you to plead guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for dropping the more serious offenses you were initially charged with. This allows them to close the case quickly and without a trial, and it allows you to stay out of jail and avoid a harsh criminal record in many cases. However, we can also use arguments about improper charging before a judge if you do not want to plead guilty.
Call Our Assault Defense Lawyers in Millcreek, UT Today
Contact Overson Law at (801) 758-2287 for a free case review with our assault defense lawyers today.
