Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
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The crime of assault can be either a misdemeanor or a felony in California depending upon:
A person can be accused of assault even if no one was injured.
There are three types of assault under California criminal law.
Assault is defined under California law as:
The punishment for assault ranges from misdemeanor probation and county jail, to state prison and large fines.
Defenses to assault charges in California include:
To prove that a person is guilty of misdemeanor assault a prosecutor must prove that:
The terms application of force and apply force mean to touch in a harmful or offensive manner. The slightest touching can be enough if it is done in a rude or angry way.
Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose. It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt someone else, or gain any advantage.
To prove that a person is guilty of felony assault a prosecutor must prove that:
Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is an injury that is greater than minor or moderate harm.
A deadly weapon other than a firearm is:
An assault does not require physical touching.
The punishment for assault in California ranges from misdemeanor probation and county jail, to felony probation and state prison sentences.
Simple assault is a misdemeanor punishable by:
Please note that the punishment for simple assault can be doubled if committed against specified people (police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, and others).
Aggravated assault can be either a misdemeanor or a felony punishable by up to:
Assault with the intent to commit certain felonies is a felony and generally punishable by:
Please note that certain sentence enhancements or other factors might increase these penalties and make assault charges strikes under California’s Three Strikes law.
Yes, defenses to a charge of assault could include:
An experienced criminal defense attorney defending a California assault case will:
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.