If you’ve been charged with battery, you should immediately contact Southern California and Los Angeles Battery Attorney at The H Law Group to represent you. Our battery lawyer has the experience and knowledge required to achieve the best possible outcome for you. The State of California considers battery to be a serious crime, as such a conviction for battery can result in you being sent to jail for a maximum of six (6) months, as well as paying heft court fees and fines that can exceed $2,000.
Also, the court may order you to pay restitution to the alleged victim. In California, battery is a wobbler, meaning the prosecution can charge battery as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Usually, this depends on the seriousness of the assault, the injury to the victim, and whether a weapon was used to assault the alleged victim. Regardless of whether you’re charged with a misdemeanor battery of felony battery, you should contact a battery lawyer at The H Law Group to represent you. Our battery attorney has a lot of experience defending those who’ve been charged with it. If you’ve been charged with battery in Los Angeles or anywhere else in Southern California, contact us at (213) 370-0404.
If charged with felony battery, you should know that it counts as a strike against you. Having a strike against you should worry you because if you’re convicted of a subsequent violent crime, the prosecution will use the first strike to enhcance (harshen) the penalties against you. For example, if you commit battery again, instead of sending you to prison for two years, you might go to prison for four years. If you get a second strike and you are convicted of a crime after that, you will be sentenced 25 years to life in prison. So, if you’ve been charged with battery, you should immediately contact a Los Angeles Battery Attorney at the H Law Group to represent you and fight for you. Our attorneys have represented countless individuals charged with battery. Often, we’ve had charges against our clients dismissed; if we can’t get the charges dismissed, we negotiate with the prosecutors to get the best plea deal possible.
Many people mistakenly believe that assault and battery are the same thing; however, they are very different when it comes to California criminal law. Battery occurs when an individual causes injury or force to be placed on another person. Assault, on the other hand, is much easier to establish because it’s an intended battery. Said differently, an assault occurs when the defendant engages in an action that may cause physical harm or an unwanted touch on another person.
To make it easier for you to understand, a battery involves an individual making physical contact with another person while assault does not.
In Los Angeles, an individual who is convicted of battery faces a maximum jail sentence of six (6), a fine of up to $2,000, pay restitution to the victim, and a firearm ban of up to 10 years. The punishment gets stricter for individuals convicted of felony battery.
Felony battery carries a much stricter punishment than a misdemeanor battery. If you’re convicted of felony battery, you face up to three (3) years in California State Prison. What makes a felony battery conviction worse than a misdemeanor battery conviction is that it counts a strike under California’s three-strikes rule. As mentioned previously, having a strike on your criminal records increases the severity of punishment for subsequent convictions.
The best defense to battery that you can make is that you acted in self-defense or in defense of others. For example, if you can show that the alleged victim committed a battery or an assault on you first, you may be able to show that the battery you inflicted against him was in self-defense. To prove self-defense, you must establish the following three elements: (1) you reasonably believed that you or another person was in immediate danger of suffering great bodily injury, (2) you believed the force you used was reasonably necessary to defend against being injured, and (3) you used reasonably necessary force to defend yourself or another person. To find our the best defense strategy for the battery charges against you, contact an experienced battery attorney at The H Law Group to defend you. Our attorneys have the knowledge and experience to best defend you.
In Los Angeles, California, battery can be charged as a simple battery under California Penal Code (CPC) Section 242. For the prosecution to prove an individual guilty of battery under section 242, it need only show that the defendant made any type of contact, no matter how slight, with the alleged victim.
That said, if the defendant allegedly committed a battery that caused the victim great bodily harm, the prosecution can charge the defendant with aggravated battery under California Penal Code Section 234(d), which makes it unlawful for a defendant to cause another person serious bodily injury.
Aggravated battery, like a simple battery, is a wobbler, meaning the prosecution has the discretion to charge it as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the defendant’s conduct. If the prosecution convicts an individual of misdemeanor aggravated battery, he may be sent to jail for up to one (1) year. On the other hand, if convicted of felony aggravated battery, an individual faces up to four (4) years in California State Prison. If convicted of misdemeanor aggravated battery, an individual loses his right to own a gun for ten (10) years. If convicted of felony aggravated battery, an individual loses his right to own a gun for his entire life. Therefore, if you’ve been arrested for aggravated battery, contact an aggravated battery lawyer at The H Law Group to represent you. Our attorneys have successfully represented countless individuals charged with battery, both aggravated and simple.
A domestic battery is a battery-offensive touching or contact–that is committed against:
In California, battery is a deportable crime, meaning if you’re convicted of battery, the immigration can use your conviction to deport you from the United States. So, even if you’re in the U.S legally, you need to take into account that deportation proceedings can be brought against you if you’re charged with battery. As such, let our battery attorneys defend you in court to reduce the chance of deportation.
If you or a person close to you has been charged with battery, aggravated battery, or spousal battery, please contact the battery defense lawyers at The H Law Group. We have been representing those who are charged with a battery in Los Angeles and Southern California for the past ten years. So, we have the knowledge and experience to achieve the best possible outcome for you. At the outset, we will try to have the charges against you dismissed; if we are unable to do so, we will negotiate the best possible plea deal for you to keep you out of jail and minimize the consequences on your future. Schedule your free consultation today by filling out the contact form below or by calling us at 1 (213) 370-0404.
Penalties for battery vary based on the severity of the offense and jurisdiction. They can range from fines, probation, community service, and mandatory anger management classes to jail time or even years in prison for aggravated battery.
Simple battery usually involves minor physical harm or offensive contact. In contrast, aggravated battery involves serious bodily injury, the use of a deadly weapon, or harm to vulnerable individuals such as children or the elderly.
Yes, self-defense is a common defense in battery cases. You may be acquitted of the charges if you prove that you protected yourself or someone else from imminent harm and used reasonable force.
A battery charge can be dismissed if the evidence is insufficient, if it’s proven that the alleged victim consented to the contact, or if there are inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case. Your attorney will work to uncover weaknesses in the charges.
Yes, a battery conviction will likely appear on your criminal record, affecting employment, housing, and other aspects of your life. Depending on your jurisdiction, you can expunge or seal the record after a certain period.
A battery attorney may use several defenses, arguing that the act was accidental, done in self-defense, or lacked intent. They may also challenge the credibility of witnesses or evidence presented by the prosecution.
A battery conviction can seriously affect those with professional licenses, especially in healthcare, law enforcement, and education. Your attorney may help mitigate the impact on your career or licensing.
