When it comes to assault cases, assault lawyers are often asked the question: what if I swing and miss? Is it still an assault?
This is a great question as this area of law is always one that focuses on the facts of each case, as do most criminal charges. For an assault, the language is that it’s an overt act that puts a reasonable person in fear of immediate physical injury.
Swinging at someone and missing them would most definitely put a reasonable person in fear of immediate physical injury. And remember, let’s just say a person swung at another person. The person who was swung at said, “I wasn’t in fear of them injuring me.” Could they still be convicted of assault with these facts?
The answer here is, yes. Because the standard is not about putting the person who was swung at in fear of immediate injury, but rather whether a reasonable person is in fear of immediate physical injury.
Many assault attorneys often run into these issues when dealing with shooting cases. Often, lawyers have clients charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill. These cases often erupt from a shooting between two people or a drive-by. But the question lawyers often deal with is, no one was hit, why am I being charged with assault? The answer is that assault is not about making contact, it’s an overt act that puts a reasonable person in fear of immediate physical injury.
Assault cases happen all of the time where no one is injured. Law enforcement is typically hesitant to charge an assault without injury unless they witnessed the assault or have a credible eyewitness to back up what happened. Criminal defense lawyers often are dealing with he-said, she-said situations whereby one person says the other started it and the other person points the finger back at them.
These are termed self-defense cases whereby a criminal lawyer would say, “yes my client did assault them, but it was in self-defense or in the defense of others.” These doctrines permit a commiserate force when that type of force is used against themselves or another person. These cases are always a little convoluted because it usually comes down to how the facts play out and what the judge thinks of your witnesses.
Assault cases can be problematic and can hurt your record if convicted and this is why it is recommended you speak with a reputable assault lawyer such as one from a law firm like Garrett, Walker, Aycoth & Olson, Attorneys at Law, PLLC today. You want a law firm that handles assault cases of every sort: shooting, assault on a female, and every assault charge one can think of. Call your local office today.