Contact a defense lawyer If you’ve been charged or arrested for assault. No matter what the degree of the assault, you need a competent, experienced defense lawyer who can launch an aggressive defense on your behalf.
Defense Lawyer: Assault & Battery
We’ve all heard the term ‘assault & battery’ on television and movies. It may conjure up images of a couple of guys having a fistfight in a bar, or a domestic abuse incident. Both are examples of assault and battery; however, in some cases, assault charges can much more serious.
In both states, assault and battery charges are often used interchangeably. However, both types of charges and the subsequent penalties vary, according to the circumstances, and there are some technical differences.
Defense Lawyer: Assault
Assault charges may be classified as aggravated assault, vehicular assault, domestic assault or assault with a dangerous weapon. Additional types of assault charges include domestic assault, rape, sexual assault, assault of a law enforcement officer, and vehicular assault (which can carry a manslaughter conviction).
In Kansas, assault is deemed to be any act with the intent to cause harmful and/or offensive physical injury to another person. It is classified by severity, and the criminal statutes allow for simple assault and aggravated assault charges.
However, in Missouri criminal assault statutes are classified by degree – 1st degree assault, 2nd degree assault, 3rd degree assault, and 4th degree assault.
Defense Lawyer: Battery
Missouri and Kansas are similar regarding what constitutes battery, which is basically an intentional act that causes someone to be in fear of physical harm. Making verbal threats, hitting someone with an object or a weapon, or making threatening gestures toward a person, is assault. It becomes battery when physical contact occurs and results in actual harm. Touching another person in an aggressive or inappropriate way is considered to be battery.
Missouri Assault & Battery Statutes
Kansas Assault & Battery Statutes
Defense Lawyer: Aggravated Battery
In Missouri, an aggravated battery charge requires the use of a weapon. The degree of severity and penalties varies. You need an experienced defense lawyer when facing an aggravated battery charge. In Kansas, battery is the only offense where physical contact is almost always required; however, Kansas law does not distinguish between regular and aggravated battery.
Defense Lawyer: Domestic Assault
In a case of domestic assault & battery, where both parties reside in the same household, or if there is a familial relationship between the parties, a domestic battery charge is used, regardless of the relationship between parties.
Defense Lawyer: Assault With a Dangerous Weapon
When an action is carried out with the intent to injure against another person, and a weapon is used, it constitutes an assault with a dangerous weapon charge. The prosecution must prove not only that a defendant used a dangerous weapon, but must also prove that the defendant had the specific intent to inflict physical harm on the victim. If the harm was caused by accident, as long as the defendant was acting in a lawful manner, then there was no intent.
Objects classified as dangerous weapons include any sharp or dangerous object, such as a knife, sword, or machete, as well as firearms, air guns, flares, and tasers. In addition, any weapon that is likely to cause death or great bodily injury can be sufficiently dangerous to harm another person (e.g. a broken bottle, or a baseball bat).
Assault and battery laws are specific and complex. Your chances for a more favorable outcome of your case hinges on having a knowledgeable defense lawyer who is well-versed in your state’s assault and battery laws, as well as experienced at negotiating the court system.
Defense Lawyer: Works For You
Charges of assault and battery should never be taken lightly. That’s why it’s very important to contact the Divine Law Office as soon as possible to represent you. At Divine Law in Kansas City, defense lawyer Craig Divine has the level of skill and experience as a competent criminal defense lawyer in Kansas City that you need to protect yourself against assault and battery charges. His first priority is to get you out of jail as soon as possible.