Maryland Assault Case Process
The Maryland assault case process and how it is treated in court are dependent on the nature and the severity of the assault. If it is an unconsented touching and there and no injuries or minor injuries, the individual could expect a period of supervised probation and might be ordered to pay restitution or perform community service.
If you are facing similar penalties, contact a distinguished assault lawyer to help you prepare for the Maryland assault case process. An experienced Maryland assault lawyer can review the useful evidence in your case and help you gather relevant witnesses.
Outcome of an Assault Case
Any assault case where the accuser has been permanently injured or had to have surgery to deal with their injuries will be treated seriously and possibly with the risk of jail or prison time. A conviction of this type of offense means the individual would be ordered to pay restitution for the accuser’s medical bills and sometimes that restitution can be very costly. How the court is going to treat it depends on how severe the assault was.
The conclusion of a Maryland assault case process may be that someone made up an allegation of an assault to try and get the other person in trouble. The prosecution hopefully gets to the bottom of it and dismisses the charges that were brought. It is possible for two people to have committed an assault on each other by fighting and injuring each other. Potentially they both could be charged with an assault. The state could let them both invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify. They could also decide to do some further investigation and determine which person was the aggressor and pursue that person only.
If an individual caused any serious harm that permanently injured the other person, they can be charged with a felony offense, especially if the injuries require surgery to fix. This kind of charge means someone could end up doing jail time or prison time. Assault cases run the gamut from the least serious, basically the unlawful touching, to the most serious of someone permanently injured.
Types of Evidence in an Assault Case
The Maryland assault case process often relies on eyewitnesses. The state is going to have people come to court and testify what they saw. Sometimes there is also physical evidence. If it is investigated and the person has injuries, those injuries can be photographed. If it is serious enough that someone seeks medical treatment, those medical records potentially could be used as evidence.
Effect of Aggravating Factors
Aggravating factors that could affect the Maryland assault case process would be the extent of the accuser’s injuries and whether or not they had to go get medical attention or have surgery or perhaps a cast for their injuries. If the assault was accomplished by using a weapon, that typically is taken into consideration and is more serious. The person could end up doing consecutive sentences both for the assault and for the use of the weapon.
The court considers it to be an aggravating factor if the individual is vulnerable, for instance, if it involves a young person or a disabled individual. If it is a situation of domestic violence and the spouse is in an abusive relationship, the court would take that into consideration. Mitigating factors would include things like a drunken brawl and the court is going will take that into consideration. If the assault is very slight, for example, if there is not any injury or a minor injury that is a mitigating factor taken into consideration in a Maryland assault case.