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Top Rated Boston Assault and Battery Defense Attorney
If you have been charged with assault and battery in Massachusetts, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer who understands the Massachusetts court system and the applicable Massachusetts assault and battery laws. Attorney Stephen Neyman represents individuals accused of assault and battery and other violent crimes in Boston and throughout Massachusetts.
Charged with Assault and Battery in Massachusetts?
An assault and battery charge can have serious consequences. There is the potential for a criminal record, probation and in some cases incarceration. Your employment may be impacted, there could be immigration consequences and personal restrictions such as restraining orders or stay away and not contact orders. If you have been arrested or charged with assault and battery in Massachusetts, an experienced criminal defense attorney will develop a defense tailored to the specific facts of your case. The lawyer will challenge the district attorney’s evidence, investigate the allegations you face, and mount a strong case for dismissal, acquittal, or other resolution.
Boston criminal defense attorney Stephen Neyman represents individuals accused of assault and battery and other violent crimes in Massachusetts. His firm handles assault and battery cases in all Massachusetts District Courts and Massachusetts Superior Courts.
In Massachusetts, if you get involved in a physical altercation with another person, you may be charged with assault and battery. The law of assault and battery is established in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 13A, and is prosecuted primarily in the Massachusetts district courts.
There are two different types of assault and battery: Intentional assault and battery, and reckless assault and battery. Each crime has different elements for the prosecution to prove in order to convict you. Like other crimes, you may also assert defenses to avoid conviction.
What Are The Elements of Assault and Battery in Massachusetts
To convict you of assault and battery, the district attorney must prove the following four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- That you committed a touching act, no matter how slight.
- That you committed the touching intentionally. This element can be inferred from your conduct.
- That the touching was harmful or offensive. Massachusetts law states that a harmful touching is contact with an individual that is physically harmful or potentially physically harmful. An offensive touching is a touching that amounts to an affront to a person’s integrity.
- That the touching was committed without justification or excuse. For instance, a justification is when a person engages in contact sports or when someone submits to an examination by a doctor. An excuse is touching that occurs when you make contact with someone by accident; such as when you are riding in a subway car and you accidentally bump into them.
Defenses to intentional assault and battery
If you are charged with intentional assault and battery in Massachusetts, there are many defenses you can assert. These defenses include self-defense, necessity, consent, and accident.
Self-defense:
If you reasonably believe you are about to be attacked, you have the right to defend yourself. However, you are required by law to take reasonable steps to avoid resorting to force. In addition, you are not allowed to use more force than is reasonably necessary to defend yourself. Critically, Massachusetts law requires that you must attempt to retreat, if such an avenue is available, before resorting to force. If you are in your home, you are not required to retreat, so long as you believe the intruder is about to inflict great bodily harm or injury upon you, and you use reasonable means to defend yourself.
Necessity or duress:
Necessity or duress is available to a defendant when exceptional circumstances exist. To assert this defense, the defendant has to demonstrate that, based on the facts and circumstances, breaking the law caused significantly less harm than if the defendant had complied with the law. For instance, the defense of necessity exists when circumstances force you to perform a criminal act. The defense of duress exists when other persons coerce you into performing a criminal act.
Consent:
If an individual consents to an offensive touching, the defense of consent may be available. As discussed above, consent to an offensive touching may occur when you agree to play contact sports. However, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Comm. v. Carey that consent is not a defense to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, even in situations involving consensual sexual activity.
Accident:
If the touching that occurred was accidental, you may be able to successfully assert the defense of accident. Since the law requires that the touching be intentional, if you can prove that the touching was accidental, you cannot be found guilty of intentional assault and battery.
Defense of others:
Massachusetts law states that in some situations a person may have the right to use reasonable force to protect another person from an imminent threat of harm. If you are charged with assault and battery after intervening to another person, defense of others may be a potential defense to the charge.
The defense depends on the circumstances surrounding the incident. Did you reasonably believe that someone was in imminent danger? Was the force you used reasonable under the circumstances? Who initiated the confrontation? How much force was used? What was the nature of the threat? All of this must be explored when considering the viability of this defense.
What is Reckless Assault and Battery in Massachusetts?
Reckless assault and battery is the less common form of assault and battery. To convict you of reckless assault and battery, the prosecution must prove the following two elements beyond a reasonable doubt
- That you engaged in actions that caused physical harm or bodily injury to someone. To prove this element, the prosecution must show that the injury was sufficiently serious to interfere with someone’s health or comfort. The injury does not have to be permanent. An action that only causes momentary discomfort is not considered sufficient.
- That your actions amounted to wanton and reckless conduct. To prove this element, the prosecutor must establish that your actions went beyond mere negligence and amounted to recklessness. For your conduct to be considered reckless, you must have known or should have known that your conduct would likely have caused substantial harm to someone, but you proceeded with the conduct anyway.
For example, negligent conduct is merely acting in a way that a reasonable person would not. In contrast, your conduct is considered reckless conduct if a reasonable person, under the circumstances as they were known to the defendant, would have recognized that his actions were so dangerous that substantial injury would likely result.
As with intentional assault and battery, if you can demonstrate that your acts occurred by accident, you cannot be found guilty of reckless assault and battery.
Injured while escaping
In some cases, you may be convicted of assault and battery even if you do not physically touch the victim. If the prosecution proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant caused an individual to fear an immediate attack from the defendant, and the individual tried to escape and injured himself in the process, the defendant may be convicted of assault and battery
Assault and Battery Penalties in Massachusetts
According to Massachusetts law, the maximum punishment for assault and battery is 2.5 years in the house of corrections or a fine of $1000.
Assault and Battery Frequently Asked Questions
Can the victim drop the assault and battery charges in Massachusetts?
No. The victim cannot drop assault and battery charges in Massachusetts. As with most Massachusetts crimes, once the district attorney commences a prosecution, the case will proceed. If you want to resolve your case early, there are many ways to do so, such as a continuance without a finding or pretrial probation under G.L. c. 276 §87. Or, if you believe that the alleged victim will not appear in court or that he or she will take a privilege to avoid testifying, then the case might be scheduled for trial and dismissed once the district attorney realizes an inability to proceed.
What is the difference between assault and battery and domestic assault and battery in Massachusetts?
Assault and battery applies to anyone who intentionally touches someone in a harmful or offensive manner or who recklessly causes physical injury to another person. The alleged victim can be anyone. Domestic assault and battery requires the additional element that the victim be a “family or household” member. A family or household member is a spouse, former spouse, someone with whom you share a child, someone with whom you are in a dating relationship with, a relative by blood or marriage or someone who you live with.
Can the victim refuse to testify?
Yes. If the victim has a privilege, such as a 5th Amendment privilege or the marital privilege, he or she can refuse to testify. The privilege is asserted on the day of trial. The person invoking the privilege will be questioned by the judge to determine whether or not the privilege is a valid one. Once that is established, the victim will not have to testify.
What is the difference between assault and assault and battery in Massachusetts?
Assault and battery in Massachusetts requires the element of a nonconsensual touching. In other words, there must be physical contact with the victim. The crime of assault in Massachusetts does not require that the victim was touched. Rather, an assault is an attempted battery or putting the victim in reasonable fear of an immediate harmful touching.
Can I be convicted of assault and battery if the victim was not injured?
Yes. In Massachusetts, an assault and battery case does not require that the victim is injured.
Experienced Massachusetts Assault and Battery Defense Attorney
You should be aware that the crime of assault and battery carries possible time in the state house of corrections. The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman has over 38 years of experience defending individuals against a vast array of criminal charges. If you are facing prosecution for assault and battery, your future could be jeopardized.
You need an excellent defense to provide you with the best chance of avoiding a conviction. Stephen Neyman P.C. Our skilled team of criminal law professionals will defend your case from the investigative stages to trial. Please call us today at 617-263-6800 or contact us online for a free consultation.
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