Defending Assault Charges in Greenwich
Assault charges can be intimidating because a person might not know how the court process works or know what options are available to them. Individuals might also be concerned about the penalties that they could potentially face. That is why it is important to work with a knowledgeable assault attorney. A skilled lawyer could be an invaluable asset when defending assault charges in Greenwich. If someone has been charged with an assault offense, they should seek the services an experienced legal advocate that could fight for them.
How Law Enforcement Treats Assault Offenses
Law enforcement takes assault charges very seriously and they will generally prosecute it every time that it is brought to their attention and then in the family assault situation, they actually do not even have any discretion, they must make an arrest as long they have probable cause that an assault has occurred. They need to make the arrest even if they otherwise might just be inclined to let something go because of many different circumstances in the family type of case that they cannot do that and they must make an arrest regardless. Often, the police do not need much time to investigate the assault before the arrest, as long as they can find witnesses who can confirm that the accused inflicted injury on the accuser. If law enforcement needs additional evidence, they may continue their investigation after making an arrest.
Prosecution of Assault Cases
The most common assault charges are typically related to domestic violence type cases or cases of assault that involve family members. Outside of that, the most common assault situations arise when people are inebriated, drunk, or under the influence of some kind of drug or alcohol, out a the bar or a social event, and tempers flare and it results in an assault.
During the prosecution of assault offenses, the prosecution is trying to prove the defendant committed an act that was intended to hurt another person and did, in fact, hurt the other person. Evidence that the defense attorney might use to contest the prosecution’s claims includes:
- Medical documents and evidence
- Videos
- Audio/Recordings
- Witness statements
An assault attorney could use the aforementioned evidence when defending assault charges in Greenwich.
Potential Defenses and Mitigating Factors
Self-defense is one of the most common arguments an attorney may use when defending assault charges in Greenwich, meaning that the person that is charged with an assault only committed the assault because they believed that they were in danger of being hurt themselves. The other defenses that a defense team can leverage are that the accused did not intend to do something; they did not intend to cause the result that they actually caused. Another type of defense that can be used is that the actual physical injury that occurred was not as serious as it was initially believed to be.
The Process of Building a Defense
By making sure that all the appropriate evidence is gathered and all the video evidence that may be available to preserve, witness statements are taken, and the medical evidence is given to an appropriate professional to be analyzed to see what the degree of harm actually was.
The other thing is to gather positive information about the person so that it can possibly be used to mitigate the sentence. And the other part is to get them into appropriate services and counseling; that will be helpful particularly in the family type assault cases or domestic violence type cases where judges and prosecutors in the Family Relations Department will be looking for an engagement in those types of counseling services so that they can feel satisfied that the person is ready to reintegrate with their family at an appropriate time.
Importance of Retaining a Greenwich Assault Defense Lawyer
Because assault cases can be very serious, they have serious levels of punishment and that can be anywhere from imprisonment or probation, to very serious fines and money that needs to be paid to the person that was hurt. But there are a lot of opportunities to mitigate the circumstances significantly or to completely have the charges dismissed if the person is eligible for a diversionary program or if it is a bonafide self-defense case or otherwise a misunderstanding. A dedicated lawyer with experience defending assault charges in Greenwich could devote the time and resources necessary to protect an individual’s rights and advocate for them.