It's easier than you may think. A charge of assault or battery or both can arise out of a road rage incident, a verbal confrontation with a stranger, even coming to the defense of someone you perceive as being harassed. You need to know the law and act accordingly. First, let's look at how the law defines assault and battery.
Assault is the threat of doing violence to another person. This threat can come in the form of a gesture, words, or a physical movement which is perceived as threatening. In order to quality as an assault, the one accused of assault must be considered capable of carrying out the threat.
Battery is the infliction of physical harm to another person. This can arise as a result of a touch or a strike.
Now that we've defined the words in terms that law enforcement understand it, perhaps you can see how easy it can be to be charged with one or the other of these crimes. An assault and battery conviction will harm your reputation, have negative consequences on your job or your future job prospects. If you're charged with an assault or a battery, you need a good criminal defense lawyer that has experience dealing with these types of charges.
In defending these types of charges, an experienced criminal defense attorney will look at whether or not the the "assault" was really a matter of self-defense or the defense of another. In order to do this, there are many factors involved including gathering witness statements, a criminal history of those involved, and the account given by the accused.
Another defense may be application of what is known as the "Castle Doctrine". The Castle Doctrine is an exception to what the law sees as a "duty to retreat" in cases of physical confrontation. The Castle Doctrine permits use of deadly force if attacked in your own home or if you are in your place of business and in fear for your life.
In other assault cases where the issue of self defense is raised as a legitimate defense the amount of force must not be considered excessive. For instance, if someone is swinging a garden hose at you and you feel threatened, you would not be justified in using a firearm to defend yourself.
Speaking of firearms, never display a firearm, even if it's not loaded or you have no intention of using the firearm. The mere display of a firearm in this situation will land you in jail and if convicted, you'll face the mandatory minimum three year sentence.
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