simple assault charge in SD

[adviceplease]

What is the name of your state? South Dakota

I was involved in an incident at a bar in South Dakota a few months ago. I rarely drink, and for whatever reason that night I drank too much. The night is pretty much a blur, but I was involved in a shoving match and eventually the beer bottle I had in my hand hit a guy in the forehead. The guy claims that I purposely hit him in the head with it, and I don't remember what happened. Witnesses with me said we were talking loudly to eachother, thre was a shoving match, he pushed me in the face, and as I was going back my arm swung around and hit him in the head with the bottle.

According to my lawyer, the best plea offer was 30 days in jail, a fine, and restitution in exchange for a guilty plea which would expose me to liability if the guy sues. I am scheduled to go to trial in a few weeks and I am very nervous about the prospects of jail time, which would effectively kill my career. I have never been in trouble and am very scared by the whole scenario.

My problem is that I was so unaware of what was happening that i told the cops that I did not hit the guy immediately after. He is going to have a bunch of witnesses and the people i was with probably cannot attend the trial, so it's going to be their word against my lack of memory of the event. I feel like I am in a hole with no way out in terms of this trial. It's in a small town and i am from out of state and i don't know how hard my lawyer is working for me. Should i talk to another lawyer? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help in taking the time to read this.What is the name of your state?

 

[Happy Trails]

What is the name of your state? South Dakota

I was involved in an incident at a bar in South Dakota a few months ago. I rarely drink, and for whatever reason that night I drank too much. The night is pretty much a blur, but I was involved in a shoving match and eventually the beer bottle I had in my hand hit a guy in the forehead. The guy claims that I purposely hit him in the head with it, and I don't remember what happened. Witnesses with me said we were talking loudly to eachother, thre was a shoving match, he pushed me in the face, and as I was going back my arm swung around and hit him in the head with the bottle.

According to my lawyer, the best plea offer was 30 days in jail, a fine, and restitution in exchange for a guilty plea which would expose me to liability if the guy sues. I am scheduled to go to trial in a few weeks and I am very nervous about the prospects of jail time, which would effectively kill my career. I have never been in trouble and am very scared by the whole scenario.

My problem is that I was so unaware of what was happening that i told the cops that I did not hit the guy immediately after. He is going to have a bunch of witnesses and the people i was with probably cannot attend the trial, so it's going to be their word against my lack of memory of the event. I feel like I am in a hole with no way out in terms of this trial. It's in a small town and i am from out of state and i don't know how hard my lawyer is working for me. Should i talk to another lawyer? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help in taking the time to read this.What is the name of your state?

Well the maximum penalty for simple assault is a $1,000 fine and one year in the county jail. So what you are getting offered does not sound too bad.

Maybe you'll get as lucky as these people, most of them were sentenced to jail time, but their jail time was suspended.


http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/pressrelease/convictions1.htm

 

[Shay-Pari'e]

Sorry, but i HAD TO lmao WITH THIS.

(quote)eventually the beer bottle I had in my hand hit a guy in the forehead. (quote)

And poster, this is far from a SIMPLE assault.

 

[outonbail]

Depending on what damages the beer bottles ended up causing, I'm not so sure pleading guilty is the wisest thing to do. Because the civil damages can be astronomical if you sent this guy to the hospital with his brains hanging out of his head.

Can your lawyer get any information on this unlucky recipient who slammed his head into your beer? Or do you know anyone who lives in this small town and drinks at this establishment frequently, who can tell you if this guy has a history of taking bottles over his head?

If he's the town drunk then it may be possible to convince the Judge that he's as much at fault for being the aggressor and you were simply in fear for your life when he head butted your bottle.

Of course if you testify to the fact that the whole evening's a blur, or if you yourself have an extensive history of violence from any other times you were drunk and obnoxious, or can't remember, you may have already shot yourself in the foot.

What do you mean by you told the cops that you didn't hit the guy immediately after? When did you tell them you hit him? If it was anything other than it happened while you were covering to protect yourself, your hung. You didn't tell them you hit him ten minutes later did you?

Maybe you should read the police report and see if it doesn't bring back any memories and plan your strategy, or make your decision about pleading guilty from there,,,,

 

[adviceplease]

Thanks for your response.

The damage according to the report was a cut on his forehead that was 1/8" by 1/4". There was a lot of blood because of the location. The guy is an upstanding citizen as far as I know. I am sure that I created a lot of the problem initially because of my intoxication - not physically, but I'm sure I was bouncing around being annoying. Unfortunately I do not remember. I do not remember hitting him, but I know I did not intend to use the beer bottle as a weapon, as they are saying, and I did not intend to hit him, it was just in the heat of the moment in the altercation. If I didn't have the beer bottle in my hand I'm sure things would be much different.

I have no history of violence whatsoever. I rarely drink and have not since that night months ago, and I don't plan to in the future because of how badly this has scared me.

The cops have a video from the police car. I have not seen it, but supposedly I say over and over that I did not hit the guy, and that I would not hit anyone with a beer bottle. If I now say that I accidentally hit him, it would be conflicting stories. I never told anyone that I hit him to my knowledge.

I was planning to plea no contest, but I guess since it's going to trial that's not happening. I am hoping that by showing my face to the judge that he will see I am not a scumbag and have no history of this and made a mistake, and I will not go to jail.