Assault

For more than 25 years, criminal defense lawyer Dan Koukol has successfully defended battery cases in Placer County, including Roseville, Granite Bay, Auburn, Lincoln, Loomis, and surrounding areas.

If you are charged with an assault of any kind, you need an lawyer who:

1. Knows the intricacies of the assault charges you face and the consequences of such charges.
2. Can defend the charges by presenting accurate and powerful evidence regarding self-defense.
3. May be able to obtain outcomes involving community service or successful completion of a batterer's program instead of jail, prison, a strike, driver license consequences, or firearm possession prohibitions.
4. Understands offered settlements and how to structure outcomes to help you clean up your record.

I have represented hundreds of clients, and my experience with assault cases in Placer County, Roseville, Granite Bay, Auburn, Lincoln, Rocklin, and Loomis allows me to get to the best outcome possible in your case.

If you are facing assault charges, call me at (530) 823-5400 to set up a free consultation.

Assault is the attempt to commit a battery.

There are many different types of assault. One of the lowest level assaults is referred to as simply “assault” and is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum jail term of six months.

Some assault charges are based upon the victim, such as battery of an officer, firefighter, or school employee. Some charges are based on the circumstances of the assault, such as force likely to cause a serious injury, a deadly weapon (including a vehicle), a firearm, a stun gun, or with a caustic chemical such as acid.

Most forms of assault are considered wobblers (meaning they can be charged either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the circumstances of the crime and your criminal record). Many of the assault charges are also strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law.

A misdemeanor conviction for assault carries a 10-year prohibition from possessing a firearm. A felony assault conviction results in a lifetime firearm possession prohibition, though in some cases the lifetime ban can be reduced to 10 years.

A frequently charged assault offense is assault with a deadly weapon which is charged under Penal Code section 245(a).

To prove you are guilty of this crime, the prosecutor must prove that:

1. You acted with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, that by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to another person,
OR
2. You did an act that by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to another person,
OR
3. The force you used was likely to produce great bodily injury,
AND
4. When you acted, you were aware of facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize that the act by its nature would directly and probably result in the application of force to someone,
AND
5. When you acted, you had the present ability to apply force likely to produce great bodily injury with a deadly weapon defined in #1 to another person,
AND
6. You did not act in self-defense or in defense of someone else.

Although the legal defenses that apply are different in every case, there are several defenses common to assault charges. Some of these include (but are not limited to):

• You were acting in self-defense or the defense of someone else.
• It was consented (as in a contact sport or actors in a fight scene).
• It was an accident.

If you cannot successfully defend against the assault charge, to enter an admission to settle your case you will want to:

• Carefully negotiate the offense you admit to.
• Negotiate to avoid jail, prison, or other consequences
• Make arrangements to clean up your criminal record and get your life back on track as soon as possible.

If you are facing assault or other charges, I can help. Call me at (530) 823-5400 to set up a free consultation.