The Best Defenses Against Assault Charges in North Carolina

North Carolina prosecutors take assault charges extremely seriously. If you have been charged with assault in North Carolina, it is important to understand your rights. It is also important to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.

An attorney can help you understand your legal options and begin fighting for the best outcome in your case, whether that is a dismissal of the assault charges against you or getting the charges reduced. The Charlotte criminal defense attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, are prepared to fight for your legal rights.

When you are facing assault charges, you need an aggressive criminal defense attorney. When you speak to an attorney who may represent you, there are specific questions you can ask to help you decide whether it will be a good fit. You will want to provide as much information as possible about your case and learn more about the attorney's communication style and what they can expect from the criminal justice system. You should ask what kind of outcomes the attorney thinks may happen with the understanding that nobody can predict the future altogether.

When police show up to a scene involving an assault, they have to make a hasty decision as to who committed the assault. Police officers do not always have all the information, and they may charge and arrest the wrong person.

Instead of arresting the person who started the fight and the altercation, they may arrest the person defending themselves. Consequently, one of the most commonly used defenses to assault charges involves proving that you were defending yourself or someone else at the time of the alleged assault.

The purpose of a self-defense claim is to show that you were not the initial attacker but that the alleged victim was the one who attacked you. If you have injuries and there are witnesses to the initial attack, you can use their testimony and photos of your injuries to show that you were attacked first.

To prove that an assault occurred, the prosecutor needs to show that you were at the location the alleged assault happened. It has happened before that police officers show up at an innocent person's house and arrest them for assault, claiming the assault happened an hour ago. The person being arrested may have no clue what the police are talking about. If this happens to you, it is best to cooperate with the police and comply peacefully.

Do not provide them with recorded statements or answer questions in an interrogation until you talk to an attorney. Your attorney can help you use the defense that you have an alibi, meaning you were somewhere else entirely when the alleged assault happened and could not have been the perpetrator. It is not uncommon for a spouse going through a divorce or child custody to dispute to falsely accuse the other spouse of an assault to try to bolster their claim. You may have been the victim of a mistaken identity. In any case, your attorney can work with you to use the alibi to have the charges against you dismissed.

Consent is another defense to assault, but it is less commonly used. You may be able to claim that you and the alleged victim were engaged in a consensual fight that led to possible injuries. You may have been wrestling or boxing with someone else at the gym and unintentionally caused serious injury to the other person. They may decide to press charges against you for assault, but you can defend yourself by claiming that you and the alleged victim both consented to engage in the activity that led to the victim's injuries.

At Arnold & Smith, PLLC, we understand that choosing a criminal defense attorney is important, especially when facing assault charges. That is why we offer potential clients a free case evaluation. You can ask us questions about our law firm and how we handle cases without the pressure of paying for your consultation. If you have been charged with assault or any other serious crime in North Carolina, do not hesitate to contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC, to schedule a complimentary, no-pressure case evaluation.