Richmond Assault Penalties
There are four basic assault offenses in the city of Richmond. Basic assault offenses include assault and battery, domestic assault and battery, felony assault, and assault on law enforcement officer. Felony assault is a hate crime assault. Assault is a violent crime which means that it is taken very seriously by law enforcement and by the prosecution. Richmond assault penalties often include exorbitant fines and jail time. With so much at stake, retaining the services of a skilled assault attorney can be vital to building your case. Speak with a local assault attorney today and know that you are in capable hands.
Penalties for Assault and Battery
Assault and battery is a Class One misdemeanor and can carry the maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500. There is no first offender program for that assault case. there is also domestic assault, which is also a Class One misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500. However, there is a first offender program for that particular case. If a person is charged with domestic assault on a first offense, then that person can enter into a program. With the successful completion of a program like anger management or a parenting class, depending on the situation, and two years of good behavior, the case will be dismissed against that person.
Consequences for Assault of a Law Enforcement Officer
Assault of law enforcement officer is when a person assaults a law enforcement officer. It increases the Richmond assault penalties from a standard Class One misdemeanor of 12 months in jail to a Class Six felony, which carries up to five years in jail. A Class Six felony gives a person up to five years in jail. There is no first offender program for assault on law enforcement officer.
On top of that, if that person is convicted of that charge, there is a mandatory minimum penalty involved, which carries six months in jail. If a person is convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer, no matter what the situation and no matter how much time they do not want to give them, the judge or the jury has to give that person a minimum of six months day-per-day, and they have to do it. There is also assault based on hate crimes or assault based on race, religion, color, or national origin. Those are also going to be a Class Six felony. If a person is convicted of that, it carries a 30-day mandatory minimum jail sentence.
Judge’s Role in Assigning Penalties
Judges are instrumental in the process of designating which Richmond assault penalties a person may face. In most situations, a judge can suspend some or all of a person’s jail sentences. In Richmond, judges often will suspend their entire jail sentence, especially if that is what the guidelines call for or there is some kind of a program, whatever the case may be. However, if there is a mandatory minimum attached to the particular charge a person is charged with, they are convicted of that particular charge or a person is charged but then that person is convicted of that particular charge, then the judge cannot suspend any of that time and the jury has to give that time.
Even though it is a Class Six felony, a jury or a judge can give a person anywhere up to five years, which means no time or five years or anywhere in between. However, there is a mandatory minimum attached to it. They have to start at that mandatory minimum. For a law enforcement officer, they have to start at six months and with assault based on race, religions, color, or national origin, they have to start at 30 days.
Value of Working With a Richmond Assault Attorney
A lot of people believe that they are able to handle assault charges on their own because they are not necessarily taken out by the police. Given the nature and the style in which assaults are tried, it is imperative that a person works with a lawyer who knows how to try an assault case because there are a lot of evidentiary issues and a lot of factual issues that come into play during assault trials. Whenever a person is going to an assault trial, the individual has a lawyer more likely than not and, more times than not is going to be victorious because they know what things can and cannot come to trial and what things should and should not be argued. If an individual faces Richmond assault penalties they should speak with a qualified assault attorney that could advocate for them.
