Maryland Enhanced Assault Penalties
Assault charges are prosecuted seriously in Maryland. If someone is convicted of first-degree assault, it can carry serious penalties. There is also the possibility of enhanced assault penalties in Maryland if a weapon was involved. If the crime is assaulting a law enforcement officer, firefighter, EMT, et cetera, the fine increases to $5,000, which is enhanced as far as the fine is concerned.
There is an enhanced penalty that relates to having a prison employee come in contact with a bodily fluid. This would be an enhanced assault penalty in Maryland for any time that the employee of a correction facility is the alleged victim. If the defendant maliciously caused or attempted to cause the employee to come into contact with some sort of bodily fluid, then that defendant could get a penalty for the assault. That sentence could run consecutively to any other sentence that the person is serving.
If you are being charged with assault and face serious penalties, it is important to contact an attorney to understand the enhanced assault penalties in Maryland that you could face.
Enhanced Assault Penalties
The Maryland enhanced assault penalties could include the intentional contact with bodily fluid if the alleged victim is an employee of a correctional facility, whether it is the DOC or a local jail. There could be an enhanced penalty of a greater fine if the assault was a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or EMT.
Another enhanced penalty could be if the person ended up being convicted of a first-degree assault because it is considered a crime of violence, which means that the person is not eligible for parole until they have served 50% of their sentence.
Burden of Proof
What the prosecution has to prove depends specifically on what type of assault the person has been charged with. Each crime has different elements that have to be proven in a Maryland enhanced assault charge when deciding penalties. Each element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt for someone to be convicted. For the crime of an assault by touching someone without their permission, the state has to prove that there was a touching, that it was unconsented, and that it was justified.
For the crime of an assault by touching someone without their permission, the state has to prove that there was a touching, that it was unconsented, and that it was justified.
Most of the time, people can make an argument regarding self-defense or the facts may be that the person was defending themselves. If they can prove that then they would not be convicted of an assault charge. Depending on what type of assault it is, it changes the elements that the prosecution has to prove.
For example, when proving an assault on a law enforcement officer, the prosecution has to prove that the person knew or should have known that it was the law enforcement officer, that they were identifiable, and that they were working in their capacity. The state also would have to prove that there was some sort of physical injury and not a minor injury.
Contact an Attorney
There are many reasons that contacting a lawyer can be beneficial if you are facing penalties as the result of a Maryland enhanced assault charge. The main reason being that the sooner that an individual has an attorney, the earlier the lawyer can begin building the case.
Your attorney can conduct their own investigation by hiring their own private detective to interview people, go to the location, and take pictures or measurements as necessary. Collecting evidence in the early phases of the case is important because witnesses can become harder to find. It is important to get in contact with a Maryland lawyer and rest assured that you are in capable hands.