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assault and battery misdemeanor penalties

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jason2015

Guest
What is the name of your state? California

I go to Pre-Trial on Friday regarding my case. I am being charged with 3 counts of Assualt and Battery (misdemeanor) . I think I might have a good case in my defense. It was my best friend I got in a fight with. He was drunk at the time and decided to call the police, and now he wants to drop the charges. I spent 4 days in jail before I could go to court and post bail. The judge lowered my bail from $50k to 5k.

I pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The fight lasted 20 seconds, and the other guy had no injuries.

I have a perfect record, what are the chances of me getting an offer from the DA for just a slap on the wrist charge, such as community service and a scratch on my record? Any ideas or advice?

Under no circumstances do I wish to do jail time again. To me, this should not even be in court, let alone all the b.s. of getting arrested.



I'm going with a public defender right now because I cannot afford an attorney. I just want this to be over with, I have already lost $800 as a result of this charge. Thanks!!!
 


S

sdstrooper

Guest
Gonna need more details, such as who started it, and who threw the first punch, were you intoxicated too? If he started the altercation and threw the first punch, have him testify on your behalf that it was his fault. If you did it, then you'll face the penalties. If you were intoxicated, you could try pleading to a lesser charge because you weren't thinking clearly due to alcohol. Getting probation or jail time depends on how much of a hardass your judge is and how good your lawyer is. Every judge seems to run their own agenda.
 
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pass23431

Guest
Most likely, and laws do vary from state to state, so I can usually only speak for Illinois, but generally, if the victim drops charges, or just dosen't even show up at all, the case will be SOL, or dismissed, my advice to you, is DO NOT enter into a plea bargain of any kind.
 
J

jason2015

Guest
The victim (his name is Steve) tried calling the DA's office and dropping the charges. The DA told him that the charges would not be dropped, that the case is now in their hands.

I went to pre trial yesterday (Friday) and my attorney who is a public defender told me that the DA's offer was 30 days in Jail. She said that she was surprised by this, and that the charges do not warrant the punishment of jail time. She also said that the DA was brand new, and thats why he was being so stiff.

I am being charged with:

Count 1: Assault with force likely to produce bodily injury
(Misdemeanor)

Count 2: Assault
(Misdemeanor)

Count 3: Battery
(Misdemeanor)

Brief Synopsis of Incident:
The police report says this:
"ME" and "Steve" were invovled in a physical fight, "Blank" kicked "Steve" in the head several times.

Now maybe I did try to kick him in the head, but the claims by the victim and one of the witneses, who happens to be the victim says I did. Which makes me look bad. However, I specificly remember that I did not kick him in the head, that the fight was broken up and that he was cowering so much so that it would be impossible for me to get any good kicks in the head.

The police made him look like such a victim. The Police report left out the fact that Steve was drunk, and that all claims by him were exaggerated because he wanted to get back at me for me punching him. However, he was not injured from the fight. The most damage or injury he received was a bruise on the side of the head. He was inspected by paramedics who quickly left the scene.

Steve partied the next day, and had two noise complaints (he is my neighbor) Obviously he is fine.

How can the DA think they have a case strong enough for a court with full jury when the victim was not injured badly, if at all, and also my roomate was a witness and did not see me kick the so called victim in the head.

My shoes are being held as evidence. They are just tennis shoes! I did not have time in the fight to kick him at all even if I wanted to.

My attorney told me that when we have the Pre-Trial the DA may be replaced or change its mind and give me penalties without jailtime.

What do you think? I mean, this was a fight between friends, who were friends up until this point for over 5 years, and alcohol did play a role because I had been drinking, and the victim was drinking. But I'm being accused of throwing the first blow. Maybe I did. But I did not start the fight necessarily. The fight just happened, and I told the police a very good story (which is truthfull) my attorney told me the strory was very good, but that the witness testimony made me look like I started the fight then kicked him in the head several times.


After speaking to my roomate who is a witness in this incident, he told me that I did not kick him in the head, and if I did , it would have hit his arm or hand. To me, the kicking part is the DA's bread and butter in this case because it makes me look very violent, which is not the case because I have a perfect record up untill this point, and also Steve was not injured. Like I said earlier, the most he has is a bruise or two.

Please give me any opinions, or advice. I could use it right now because I cannot afford an attorney.

THanks!
 
P

pass23431

Guest
irregardless of the details of the case, the state's attorney still needs a witness. If the victim does not show up in court, most likely, the case will be dropped. My advice will still stand DO NOT enter into a plea agreement of any kind.
 
J

jason2015

Guest
pass23431,

Just out of curiosity, are you an attorney or what is your profession. Your advice seems good. Could you tell me more?

Thanks,

Jason in California
 
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pass23431

Guest
I am not an attorney, I am better than an attorney, I am a retired criminal who now works on the right side of the law.
 
J

jason2015

Guest
pass23431,


The so called victim of the assault, called the DA's office and wanted to drop the charges.

The DA recorded his voice, and told him that they will take what he has to say into "consideration" and that "it is in their hands now".

What kind of bearing does this have on my case? My Public Defender says that this type of thing happens all the time, (people calling in wishing to drop charges) but she (Public Defender) did not say anything more than that.

What do you think? Do you feel that this may lessen my charges so I dont go back to Jail or do you think they may even drop the case?

Thanks!
 
P

pass23431

Guest
This is a misdemeanor charge. The DA will ALWAYS want to get their conviction, the DA will always bluff to do it. Call their bluff. You may have to appear more than once. They will make you an offer, and try to get you to plea bargain, because they want their conviction. However, without a witness, the Judge will almost always SOL the case. Let them know that you are not interested in pleading this case out, and you want to go to trial, even request a jury trial, trust me, it will never get that far.
 
J

jason2015

Guest
pass23431,


Thanks buddy. You've helped me sleep better.


The latest info I have in case you want to know,

is that I talked to my Public Defender yesterday, and she is going to try and arrange for an investigator to question my roomate Brian about the incident.

Brian is an official witness. I have talked to Brian about this, and he is going to give good statements about the fight, trying to get the truth out about the story. (Not Lie)

A lot of what the police said was exaggerated, and they claimed that I kicked him lots of times, but Brian says I didnt, which is what my story has been all along.

Thanks again, I'll keep you updated. My Pre-Trial #2 is on August 25. I dont know why they are having another Pre-Trial, I just had one on July 25.

Thanks a million,

Jason
 

calatty

Senior Member
Assault is defined as "an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another." (Penal Code section 240). That means you don't even have to touch the other person to be guilty of an assault, and you don't have to injure him. None of the factors you mention - being friends, being drunk, the fight just happening - affects whether an assault occurred. As long as you tried to kick the guy, and you had the capability to kick the guy, you are guilty. It sounds like they have at least one eyewitness too. The prosecution has a pretty strong case.

DA's can and often do proceed with cases in which the alleged victim recants, especially if there is another eyewitness. If the victim gets on the stand and denies everything, the prosecutor will just bring up the statements he made to the police and ask him if he is lying now or was lying then.


By the way, public defenders are attorneys, and often the best, most experienced criminal attorneys around, unless you happen to have a million dollars for the high profile guys. 30 days may seem long, but the maximum is one year. They are having another pretrial to give you another chance to take a deal. When you contemplate your decision, keep in mind that it is virtually guaranteed that if you "call their bluff" and go to trial, the judge is not going to give you just 30 days when the jury has convicted you of three assaults.
 
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jason2015

Guest
So your saying that the County im in wants to spend $30,000 to send me to a trial over assault and battery? If thats true its ridiculous.


I already spent four days in jail.


My public defender told me she just had a case where a girl hit another girl in the head with a beer bottle and got sentenced to four days in jail. Now I could be totally wrong about this but my individual case details DO matter even though the black and white says a crime was commited.

Where is the real justice anyways? They should be busting drug cartels and murderers. Not some drunken buddy fight.



I may be guilty of assault and battery but so is the so called victim. Driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious offense, he is guilty of that and provoking a fight with me.

A fight is still a fight, and just because he lost the fight does not warrant him calling the cops, and then the prosecution trying to rape me by giving me additional jail time. The second officer at the scene said nothing will happen to me, but then the victim decided to press charges cause the COP #1 pressured him to do so.

I'm such a criminal. LOL yeah right.
 

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