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What Defenses Can You Use Against An Assault Charge?

25 March 2022

Dolores Rice

Assault is a very serious criminal charge. In addition to the possible sentence you're facing, having an assault conviction on your record means people may view you as a violent person. Here are some of the defenses you can use against an assault charge. 

Self Defense

If you were accused of assault but acted in self-defense, you have a good chance of beating an assault charge. The best way to prove that you acted in self-defense is by showing that the other party was the first aggressor. For example, if someone came up behind you and punched you from behind, you have an absolute right to defend yourself. You have to show that's what happened.

The problem with assault cases is that there may not have been any witnesses at the beginning. There's a chance that no one saw that you were assaulted first and thought you were the aggressor. You may need to find other evidence that shows you didn't commit assault. For example, maybe everyone knows you're a peaceful person, you had no clue who the other person was, and you had no reason to assault them except to defend yourself.

Mistaken Identity

In some cases, the police might arrest the wrong person. Someone else may have assaulted someone and then ran off. You might have just been walking in the area when police arrived and saw that you fit the description.

The best way to show that the police arrested the wrong person is by establishing an alibi. An alibi is evidence that you were somewhere else at the time of the crime. You might have people you were with who could testify or receipts from a business you were in.

If you don't have an alibi, remember the prosecution has to prove it was you beyond a reasonable doubt. You can argue that the description the police had wasn't very specific and could have matched a lot of people.

Provocation

Provocation means you were provoked into an assault, such as someone using a racial slur against you. Provocation isn't an absolute defense since you don't have the right to assault someone unless it's an act of self-defense.

What provocation can do is lower your charges or the possible sentence. The law understands that someone who was provoked is in a different situation than someone who goes around assaulting people for no reason.

Contact a criminal law attorney near you for more information. 

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