Assault

Assault is where one person causes injury to another person with the intent to cause such injury. The crime occurs even if the person winds up injuring someone other than the intended victim. Where the physical injury is serious, the New York District Attorney will charge you with Assault in the second degree. A serious physical injury means impairment of a person's physical condition which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ. ^[1] Where a deadly weapon^[2]is used to cause the serious injury, you will be charged with Assault in the first degree.

If you are accused of assault, you may be charged with a felony^[3] or misdemeanor^[4]. The District Attorney will take in account many different factors in deciding how to charge you, including the severity of a victim’s injury, whether the defendant used a weapon or object to cause such injury, whether the defendant caused the injury while committing another crime, whether a victim is provided special protection by New York law (ie: police officer, elderly or a minor^[5]).

If you are charged with a misdemeanor, you may receive jail time, probation for three years, fines and restitution, as well as an order of protection. If you are charged with a felony, you can receive a prison sentence. A prison sentence for felony assault is an “indeterminate” term, which means that a judge imposes a sentence with a minimum and maximum term (for example, three to nine years). A defendant must serve the minimum term and is then eligible for parole. A fine for a felony conviction cannot exceed $5,000, and the period of probation is five years.

Lavy Law is the best firm to help you win your assault case. As a former prosecutor who has handled a multitude of assault cases, we have insider's knowledge on how to get your charge dismissed or reduced. As a trial attorney who has taken assault cases to trial, we know how to win your case before a judge or jury. As a counselor, we know how to empower you during this intimidating process like a coach would during a game.

Unlike most firms who limit their practice to criminal court, Lavy Law can help you defend your assault case in criminal court and immigration court due to our multilateral experience. This means that your Lavy lawyer will protect you from being punished twice by two different courts. In fact, with any criminal lawyer you may obtain a great deal or plea bargain in criminal court, but in the immigration court suffer severe collateral consequences such as removal from the country. Lavy Law will ensure that your criminal plea is a safe plea in the immigration court.

We encourage you to read our Recent Cases to see that we have won a case just like your own.

If you are you accused of an assault offense, Contact Us for a free consultation.