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Defense Strategies for New York Assault Charges

On Behalf of | Feb 8, 2019 | Criminal Defense |

Brooklyn assault charge defense attorney

If you have been arrested on assault charges in New York City, you could be facing either a misdemeanor conviction for Third Degree Assault or a felony conviction for First or Second Degree Assault (NYPL 120.00 to 120.10). With the help of a good defense lawyer and some creative thinking, however, you may be able to beat these charges.

Here are five possible defense strategies to discuss with your criminal defense attorney:

  1. Lack of physical injury. If you can show that the victim exaggerated the effect of the assault and suffered no injury all, you may be able to have the charges dismissed.
  2. Lack of serious physical injury. If you can show that the victim suffered only the most minor of injuries, your attorney may be able to get a felony charge reduced to a misdemeanor. A felony charge requires serious physical injury or, in the alternative, some kind of special circumstance, such as the use of a dangerous weapon. “Serious physical injury” means protracted impairment of health or of any bodily organ, or serious protracted disfigurement, or an injury that creates a substantial risk of death (NY Penal Law 10.00).
  3. Lack of intent. For a felony assault charge to stick, you must have had intent to cause injury to the victim. If you can show that you did not have that intent, and this can be demonstrated through the corroboration of witnesses, you may be able to avoid a conviction. For misdemeanor assault, you must have caused injury by intent, recklessness, or criminal negligence. Again, if you can convincingly describe the encounter as accidental or unintentional, you may be able to avoid being convicted.
  4. Inaccurate identification. When a fight breaks out in a crowd, and multiple people are throwing punches, a victim may incorrectly identify the person who actually hit them. Your attorney may be able to find witnesses or video recordings that prove that someone else was the person who actually injured the victim.
  5. Lying victim. Completely false accusations are not unheard of. For example, one spouse might try to get the upper hand in a bitter divorce dispute by claiming that they or their children were assaulted by the other spouse. In one case which our attorneys successfully defended, the person making accusations of assault said he was attacked by the defendant, but the defendant claimed self-defense. Security video recordings proved that the man claiming to be the victim had actually been lying in wait to ambush the defendant.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to construct a defense when you have been charged with assault. A savvy criminal defense attorney will carefully examine the evidence in your case and recommend the best approach for your unique circumstances.

Contact a Manhattan Assault Defense Lawyer

If you are facing criminal charges as a result of an assault, you need an aggressive New York City criminal defense attorney. Call JOEY JACKSON LAW, PLLC at 833-JOEYJACKSON or 833-563-9522.

Sources:

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/120.00

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/120.05