What is assault?

Under the U.S. common law system, the crime of assault is committed when a person intentionally puts another in fear of receiving serious bodily injury or offensive contact. When the victim is actually injured or contacted in an offensive manner, the offender is guilty of battery. Today, while some states continue to separate the two crimes of assault and battery, many have combined both under one single assault statute.

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What is the definition of mayhem?

The crime of mayhem refers to serious assaults on an individuals that leave a lasting physical impact. The definition of mayhem makes a crime any serious infliction of injury to a victim’s body part in way that removes it or renders it useless.

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Child Battery

Child battery is a category of offenses used to describe injuries inflicted on children. Some states label child battery offenses with titles like child abuse and injury to a child, or list it as an aggravated form of assault.

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What is aggravated assault?

Aggravated assault is an attempt to cause serious bodily injury to another or to cause serious bodily injury purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life. Aggravated assault also occurs when a person attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.

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What is the difference between assault and battery?

In some jurisdictions assault is defined as the threat of bodily harm that reasonably causes fear of harm in the victim. Battery is the actual physical impact on another person. In certain jurisdictions, assault and battery are often paired together as one offense.

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Assault Penalties, Punishments, and Sentences

Assault penalties vary depending on the circumstances and the state, but sentence ranges and punishments for assault are usually serious because assault is considered a violent crime. Even minor assaults are treated more harshly because there is a concern that the level of violence will escalate when a second event arises. A defendant charged with assault should know the different types of assaults, the defenses available in their state, and the punishment ranges for the different types of assault offenses.

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What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is an offense that indicates the perpetrator is biased against a particular sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, religion, or other social group. Hate crimes are also called bias crimes. Almost any type of offense against another person can be classified as a hate crime. An offense can be a hate crime under both state and federal law.

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Criminal Battery Charges

Criminal battery is any touching that causes another pain. Because many criminal battery charges are classified as misdemeanor offenses, a large number of defendants show up to court and accept a plea bargain, as long as the plea involves probation or time-served provision. Before a defendant accepts a plea bargain, he should be aware of the nature of a criminal battery charge, possible defenses, and the consequences of a criminal battery conviction.

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Assault with a Firearm

Assault with a firearm is considered one of the highest level of assault charges because the use of a firearm increases the threat or risk of injury to another person. As the name implies, assault with a firearm is an assault by threat or injury that involves the use of a gun. Read on to learn more about the charge, defenses, and punishments for an assault with a firearm charge.

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