Defence Lawyers
Facing a charge of assault? Here’s how we can help
Being charged with assault can be a very stressful experience. Aconviction of assault can have serious impacts on your family, your jobprospects, and your ability to travel overseas. It is therefore of the utmostimportance to have specialist lawyers acting for you who can ensure the bestoutcome possible.
Types of Assault
There are a number of common types of assault that people arecharged with, with different elements that must be proven beyond a reasonabledoubt. Common types of assault include the following:
· CommonAssault;
· Assault occasioningactual bodily harm;
· Recklessgrievous bodily harm (GBH) or wounding; and
· Grievousbodily harm (GBH) or wounding with intent.
Common Assault
A charge of common assault is the least serious type of assaultthat you can be charged with. However, a guilty verdict can still have amonumental impact on your lie. In NSW, the charge of common assault is found ins61 of the Crimes Act. A common assault is any unlawful touch of another person thatdoes not actually cause any injury. Common examples of common assaults includepunching, kicking and spitting on another person.
The lightest touch of another person can constitute an assault.Indeed, it is enough for you to cause another person to fear an immediateunlawful contact, without having actually touched the other person, for you tohave committed assault. Under the Crimes Act, the maximum penalty for thisoffence is two years imprisonment.
In order to be convicted of common assault, the followingelements must be proven:
1. You unlawfully touched another person, or you caused them toanticipate immediate unlawful force through your actions;
2. You did so recklessly or intentionally; and
3. The other person did not consent to your actions
If these elements are not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, youwill not be convicted of common assault. If an actual injury is caused to theother person, then you will be charged with a more serious form ofassault.
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm
If you assault someone and they receive a ‘non-trifling’ injury,then you will be charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, as under s59 of the Crimes Act. Examples of injuries that would constitute actual bodily harm,but not amount to a more serious injury, include bruising, deep scratches or ablack eye. Assault causing actual bodily harm carries a maximum sentence of 5years. If you are found to have committed this offence while accompanied byother people, the maximum sentence will instead be 7 years. In order to be successfullyconvicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, the prosecution will needto prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. You unlawfully touched another person, or you caused them toanticipate unlawful force through your actions;
2. You did so recklessly or intentionally;
3. The other person did not consent to your actions; and
4. Through your unlawful actions you caused injuries to the otherperson that were more than ‘merely transient’.
If these elements are not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, youwill not be convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Reckless grievous bodily harm or wounding
If you are alleged to have caused a serious injury to someoneelse, such as an injury that is life-altering or disfiguring to the victim, orelse causing a wound (an injury that causes a break in the skin such as a splitlip or a stab wound) then you will be charged with causing grievous bodily harm(GBH) or wounding.
If it is not alleged that you caused this harm intentionally,but were still reckless about whether you would cause this harm to the otherperson, you will be charged with causing reckless GBH or wounding under s35 of the Crimes Act.
To be convicted of reckless GBH or wounding, the prosecutionmust prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. You applied unlawful force to another person
2. This unlawful force resulted in a grievous injury or awound
3. You were reckless as to whether your actions created a risk ofinflicting a grievous injury or wound.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 10 years in prison forcausing GBH, and 14 years for causing GBH in company. The penalties are 10years for wounding in company, and seven years for wounding someone when actingalone.
Grievous bodily harm or wounding with intent
If it is alleged that you inflicted the injuries with intent, oron purpose, you will be charged with GBH or wounding with intent, under s 33 of the Crimes Act NSW. This is more serious than simply inflicting grievous injuryrecklessly, but it is also more difficult to prove, as, along with the aboveelements, the prosecution must successfully prove beyond a reasonable doubtthat you intended to cause a grievous injury or wound at the time of theoffence. The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years in prison.
Defences
There are a number of defences available to those who arecharged with an assault offence. Depending on your circumstances, one of thesedefences may be available in your case.
Self Defence
If you can prove on the balance of probabilities that you wereacting in self-defence, you will be found not-guilty of the charges againstyou. The requirements to prove self-defence are found in s418 of the Crimes Act. In order to successfully raise the defence of ‘self-defence’,you must be able to prove two things on the balance of probabilities:
1. That you believed your conduct was necessary to defend yourself,another person, or property; and
2. That your conduct was a reasonable response to the circumstancesas you perceived them.
You will not succeed in this defence if, for instance, you areable to prove that you believed your conduct was necessary to defend yourself,but are unable to prove that your response was reasonable or proportionate. Forinstance, it may be very difficult to prove that your conduct was reasonable ifsomeone threatens to push you and in response you stab them. The more seriousthe assault charge against you is, the harder it will be for you to prove onthe balance of probabilities that you were acting in self-defence.
Other defences
Other defences that you may be able to consider, depending onthe circumstances of your case, include arguing that you were acting underduress - that someone was forcing you to carry out illegal acts by threateningyou with death or serious harm.
Another defence that may be available is to argue that you wereacting out of necessity, where you honestly believed that your illegal actionswere necessary to prevent death or serious harm. An example of this would be ifthere was a fire and you push someone out of the way while trying to escape.The defences available to you will depend on the circumstances of your case. Itis therefore very important to have a specialist defence lawyer who will beable to examine all the aspects of your case and advise on the best path totake.
Should I plead guilty or not guilty to an assault charge?
Whether or not you should plead guilty to an assault charge willdepend on the circumstances of your case and the evidence against you. Even ifyou are found guilty of an assault offence, with a specialist lawyer, theimpact of this conviction can be minimal.A specialist lawyer will be able tolook at the circumstances of your case and advise whether a guilty or notguilty plea is most appropriate in the circumstances.
If you are currently facing an assault charge or anothercriminal charge, we are here to help. Our team at Sydney Criminal LawSpecialists are experts in all areas of criminal law.
Get in touch at 0434 856 436 or click here for a free consultation today!
The information provided on this website is for generalinformational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice.
