Vineland Assault Lawyer
Fight Your Assault Charge in Vineland with the Help of an Experienced Defense Lawyer
If you’ve been charged with assault in Vineland, your efforts to protect yourself need to start now. Assault charges carry substantial penalties, and a conviction can stay with you for the rest of your life. A Vineland assault lawyer at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. can help, but it is important that you contact us as soon as possible.
Why is it important to hire a lawyer promptly? Simply put, it will take time to build your defense. Additionally, if you wait to seek legal advice and representation, you could make mistakes, miss deadlines, and lose opportunities to resolve your assault case without unnecessary consequences.
We Handle All Simple and Aggravated Assault Cases in Vineland, NJ
Under New Jersey law, you can be charged with either simple assault or aggravated assault, depending on the facts of your case. Simple assault charges can involve any of the following allegations:
- Attempting to cause bodily injury
- Purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury
- Negligently causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon
- Attempting by “physical menace” to put someone in fear of imminent serious bodily harm
Simple assault is classified as a disorderly persons offense. If you get convicted of simple assault in Vineland, you can face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine—plus other penalties and long-term consequences.
Aggravated assault cases can involve a much wider range of allegations. These cases are also much more serious. Depending on the allegations involved, aggravated assault can range from a fourth-degree to a second-degree indictable crime. Fourth-degree indictable crimes carry up to 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine, while second-degree indictable crimes carry 5 to 10 years in prison (85% without parole eligibility) and up to a $150,000 fine. Some examples of potential allegations in aggravated assault cases include:
- Attempting to cause serious bodily injury
- Causing bodily injury “under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life”
- Attempting to cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon
- Purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon
Additionally, circumstances that would normally only warrant simple assault charges can lead to aggravated assault charges in some cases, depending on the victim involved. For example, assaults committed against police, firefighters, first responders, judges, correctional officers, school teachers and officials, and employees of the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) will lead to aggravated assault charges in most cases.
What You Should Do if You Are Facing an Assault Charge in Vineland
While prosecutors can pursue simple assault and aggravated assault charges in a wide range of circumstances, there are also several potential defenses available. Additionally, even if you cannot avoid a conviction entirely, an experienced Vineland assault lawyer may be able to negotiate a plea bargain that minimizes both the short-term and long-term consequences of your arrest.
With this in mind, if you are facing any type of assault charge in Vineland, you should:
1. Exercise Your Right to Remain Silent
If you have been arrested for assault, it is critical that you exercise your right to remain silent. Regardless of what you think about the charges against you, you should not say anything to the police or prosecutors (or anyone else) unless your lawyer advises otherwise. You are in a very high-risk situation, and you do not want to say anything that prosecutors could use against you in court. Even if what you think you are saying is harmless, this might not necessarily be the case.
2. Try to Make Sure You Understand the Specific Allegations Against You
To the extent that you can, you should make sure you understand the specific allegations against you. Are you being charged with simple assault or aggravated assault? Are you being accused of attempting to injure someone or actually causing injury? Are you being accused of acting purposely, knowingly, or recklessly? All of these are critical details that you will need to know in order to build an effective defense.
3. Avoid Making Any Assumptions About Your Defense
At this stage, it is also critical that you avoid making any assumptions about your defense. New Jersey’s assault statute is complicated, and your constitutional rights could come into play in your case as well. Additionally, prosecutors have the burden of proof, so no matter what happened, if prosecutors can’t prove it, you should be able to avoid a conviction in court. An experienced Vineland assault lawyer will be able to help ensure that you are making informed decisions.
4. Make Sure You Know When You Need to Appear in Court
If you have been arrested for assault in Vineland, you will have a court date. You need to make sure you know your court date, and you need to make plans to appear on time. If you miss your court date (or if you are late), not only could this negatively impact your assault case, but it could also lead to an additional charge for failure to appear (and potentially a bench warrant for your arrest).
5. Schedule a Consultation with a Vineland Assault Lawyer
Given the risks you are facing and the complexity of assault cases in New Jersey, you need an experienced Vineland assault lawyer on your side. The sooner you hire a lawyer to represent you, the sooner your lawyer can get to work on your defense. With offices in Vineland, we can get to work on your case immediately, and we can use our extensive experience handling assault cases to help protect you by all means available.
Speak with a Vineland Assault Lawyer in Confidence As Soon As Possible
From helping you understand your assault charge to negotiating a plea bargain or fighting your case in court, there are many ways an experienced Vineland assault lawyer at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A. can help you. To schedule a confidential consultation as soon as possible, call 877-435-6371 or tell us how we can reach you online now.
