Rana Lawyers Client Steps
Explain your case and we’ll determine if we need to have a conference or simply answer any questions you may be concerned about.
Book in for an initial conference with one of our experienced criminal lawyers and we’ll progress from there.
What is Common Assault?
Assault is Defined As:
“A person who strikes, touches, or moves, or otherwise applies force of any kind to, the person of another, either directly or indirectly, without the other person’s consent, or with the other person’s consent if the consent is obtained by fraud, or who by any bodily act or gesture attempts or threatens to apply force of any kind to the person of another without the other person’s consent, under such circumstances that the person making the attempt or threat has actually or apparently a present ability to affect the person’s purpose, is said to assault that other person, and the act is called an “assault”.
This is a broad charge and can be established by a number of acts, such as punching, pushing, attempting to push, and so on.
The charge of assault must be dealt with in the Magistrates Court, which means it does not have to be committed to the District or Supreme Court.
If you wish to contest the charge, the Prosecution must prove the following general ‘elements’ of the offence beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You did an act;
- By applying force, or attempting to apply force;
- To another person;
- Directly or indirectly;
- Without their consent.
If The Charge is Made Out
Following defences are most commonly raised
Provocation – That you were provoked to such a degree by the complainant that you lost your temper and applied, or attempted to apply, force to them and a reasonable person with your characteristics would have lost control in the same circumstances
Self Defense – Due to the complainant’s conduct, you were forced to defend yourself and the mechanism of defending yourself was not excessive in the circumstances
Defence of Property – You had to apply force to the complainant in order to defend your property and there was no other way to defend said property.
What Are The Penalties for A Common Assault Charge?
Common Assault is an offence under section 245 of the Criminal Code Act 1899, and it carries a maximum of 3 years imprisonment.
Criminal Law Experts in Common Assault Charges
We can help you understand the court process when it comes to Common Assault charges.
If you are convicted of Common Assault, the penalties vary from fines to terms of imprisonment. It is important to have your case assessed by a lawyer to determine the potential outcomes and consequences of being charged with this offence.
Once you contact Rana Lawyers for an initial consultation with one of our experienced assault lawyers, our team will assess your case, and provide an outline of what is to be expected from the case and what happens once you retain us.
If you are pleading guilty to a Common Assault charge, you will be required to fund our firm’s services for the entirety of the matter. Our team of experienced lawyers will then start processing the case material, as well as the prosecution’s material. From there, we respond to that material by having another conference with you, retrieving any evidence we need, and then assessing whether the matter requires case conferencing with the Prosecution.
The next stage is attending Court for the sentencing hearing.
If there’s a trial, then it’s a much longer procedure, however, our team will lay out what is to be expected in that initial conference with you.
You can trust Rana Lawyers to provide the highest quality of representation in Court. When you place your trust in us, it comes down to experience in an adversarial setting, because we aren’t an average firm.
At Rana Lawyers, our decades of experience in trials and adversarial work has shaped how we handle our cases.
We have a large team of lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants, and administrators that can ensure our clients are taken care of every step of the way with meticulous details never missed.
