Ocean City Assault Prosecution
A situation of confrontation or a fight does not entail a lengthy investigation. A physical altercation between two people will not take law enforcement long to respond and make an arrest. Usually, the police are called by one of the parties who was assaulted or a witness. The officers will then interview the people who were involved and any bystanders and then will make a determination for who to arrest on the spot. If an individual has been charged, then they will have to face Ocean City assault prosecution. If you have been arrested for assault, contact a seasoned assault lawyer today.
Proving Assault Charges
When dealing with assault charges, Ocean City assault prosecution has to prove that there was unlawful contact between two people or there was an individual who has an unreasonable fear of immediate harm or battery from another person. Most of the time, the defendant will claim they were acting in self-defense. If the prosecution is smart, they are going to be considering that potential defense and will be prepared to disprove that defense. Regardless of whether strangers or acquaintances have ended up with an assault charge, if the person was defending themselves, that is an absolute defense to the crime of assault. Self-defense is always something that the prosecutor should be thinking about in these cases.
How Ocean City Courts Treat Assault Cases
Ocean City courts treat assault cases like they would any other kind of case. The prosecutor’s office is aggressive on all cases in Worcester County. The interesting thing about Worcester County assault cases is that many times, the person charged is not a resident of Worcester County. Many people who commit crimes are in Ocean City for vacation or working in the area for the summer. This can raise many issues in the case because witnesses can scatter and may not show up for court.
Domestic assault cases are treated more seriously than other assault cases. Ocean City assault prosecution is looking to make sure that the accuser of assault is protected, which is why the prosecution team is more aggressive in these cases than usual. This why it is essential that people understand what to do following an assault arrest.
Mitigating and Aggravating Factors
There are many factors that can be associated with an assault case, which can enhance or mitigate penalties. Ocean City assault prosecution will take into account all the different factors too. An assault can be as simple as a push or a smack. Assault could happen between drunk strangers in a bar. A mitigating factor for the case can be that alcohol was involved because the defense can argue that if the person was sober, they never would have acted out of character. However, this could also be an aggravating factor because the other side can argue that this would not have happened if alcohol was not involved.
Other mitigating factors include if the defendant has no prior criminal record and is gainfully employed. Aggravating factors may include a prior criminal history and if the other person suffered a serious injury. This is why it is imperative for someone who has been charged with assault to reach out to an experienced attorney.