3 Important Actions When Faced With A Battery Charge
If you're charged with battery, a lot may be running through your mind. These incidents happen all of the time, and you may be completely incident. Don't let someone else's mistakes ruin your life by taking the following actions.
Monitor What You Say to the Police
Whatever altercation you were involved in with another person, the police will arrive to take an official police report. Although they are there to help and may seem friendly, it's important that you pay close attention to what you say on the record.
Be as accurate as you can with your side of the story, but never admit guilt. Doing so could lead to all sorts of legal woes that you can easily avoid. Only give the officer pertinent information to your case, and feel free to have witnesses talk to the officer as well. They may be able to point out details that you were not aware of when the incident unfolded.
Understand the Different Types of Battery
So that you know the severity and consequences of the crime you're be charged with, it's important to know what types of battery there are. Simple battery is perhaps the most common, involving all forms of contact that are not consensual. The contact involved is only criminal when the offender intended to inflict harm on the other party.
Sexual battery involves non-consensual touching of different body parts. Then there are family-violence battery and aggravated batter. The latter often results in disfigurement, while the former involves members of a family.
Contact an Attorney
If this is your first alleged criminal offense, it's important that you seek legal representation from an experienced criminal law attorney. This professional specializes in these exact cases, and can help build an effective case to get you off or lessen the charges.
There are many types of defenses your attorney can use to plead your innocence. For example, they may say the violent act only occurred in the name of self-defense. Consent is also a viable defense, in which both you and the other individual consented to fighting. This is often called mutual combat defense.
If evidence is stacked heavily against your case, your attorney can consider a plea deal. This way, the consequences won't be as severe.
Facing a criminal charge such as battery can shake you down to the core. Your life doesn't have to change for the worse, though, if you take the right actions after being charged. For more information, contact companies like Larson, Latham, Huettl Attorneys.
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