Worcester Assault Lawyer

Worcester first and second-degree assault charges are serious, and a conviction could result in harsh penalties. In some instances, the person accused of committing the assault may have been acting out of self-defense.

If you are facing assault charges, you need to contact a skilled Worcester assault lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced defense attorney could listen to your version of the facts and set to work on preparing a good defense.

First-Degree Assault Charges

First-degree assault crimes in Worcester are felony charges because they either involve firearms – or an offender who allegedly inflicts, tries to inflict, or there is a risk of inflicting a serious bodily injury or death on someone else. First-degree assault is a specific intent crime, which means the offender deliberately caused or tried to cause a severe physical injury to another person. In the case of first-degree firearm assaults, the weapon used may be a rifle, shotgun, handgun, antique firearm, short-barreled rifle, or short-barreled shotgun, among a multitude of other non-conventional weapons such as a crowbar, bat or wrench.

The penalties for a first-degree assault conviction are serious. A person who incurs a first-degree assault conviction in Worcester is guilty of a felony and is subject to a maximum 25-year prison sentence.

Second-Degree Assault Charges

A second-degree assault charge in Worcester arises when a person engages in a harmful or offensive, unconsented-to contact, or creates a reasonable apprehension in another person that they are likely to experience an offensive or physical harm. To qualify as an assault, the defendant does not actually need to touch the accuser. For instance, spitting on someone could be considered second-degree assault. Moreover, words alone are not sufficient to rise to the level of an assault. Second-degree assault is considered a general intent crime, which means the offender does not have to necessarily intend for the actual act or injury to occur.

Similar to first-degree assault, a conviction for second-degree assault can result in equally serious penalties. Specifically, a conviction may result in a maximum monetary fine of $2,500, ten years of incarceration. or both.

If the accuser is a police officer or some other member of law enforcement, such as a probation officer acting in the course of their employment, then the potential fines double and is deemed a felony.

Defenses Against Assault Charge

A Worcester attorney could help individuals facing assault charges come up with a good legal defense.

One common defense to an assault charge is that the accused lacked the necessary intent to commit the crime. Alternatively, the accused may allege that they were merely acting out of self-defense at the time of the altercation.

To assert self-defense, the accused must reasonably believe that the accuser is going to harm them or someone else, and the accused must use a proportionate amount of force against the accuser.

Call a Worcester Assault Attorney About Your Case

Assault cases are very fact-specific. If you are in the midst of assault proceedings, you want a seasoned lawyer on your side who has defended assault cases in court and who knows how to handle them.

In a Worcester assault case, a skilled attorney may be an invaluable help. A Worcester assault lawyer could review police reports and witness statements, speak with witnesses, and investigate the circumstances of the alleged crime.

A lawyer may then help you prepare a strong legal defense to your assault charge and might effectively cross-examine the accuser– and any of the prosecution’s other witnesses – in court. You should call a Worcester assault lawyer to assist you with defending your criminal case today.