Effective Representation In Assault Cases

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An assault conviction can have serious ramifications. An experienced attorney can help you protect your legal rights and fight the charges.

At Pearson & Paris, we have more than 22 years of legal experience that we will use in your defense. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior felony prosecutor who knows how the prosecutors handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiating plea bargains to waging full on court battles.

Whether in the Louisville area or anywhere in Kentucky, there are four degrees of assault contained in the Kentucky Penal Code.

Assault in the First Degree occurs when a person intentionally causes serious physical injury to another person with a deadly weapon or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life he wantonly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another and thereby causes serious physical injury. Assault in the First Degree is a Class B felony, K.R.S. § 508.010, and it is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 10 years nor more than 20 years.

Assault in the Second Degree occurs when a person (1) intentionally causes serious physical injury to another person (without the use of a deadly weapon) (2) intentionally causes physical injury by means of a deadly weapon, or (3) wantonly causes serious physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon. Assault in the Second Degree is a Class C felony, K.R.S. § 508.020, and it is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 5 years nor more than 10 years.

Assault in the Third Degree serves to protect law enforcement personnel who serve in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and is committed when the person intentionally (or recklessly with a deadly weapon) causes or attempts to cause physical injury to a law enforcement official. Assault in the Third Degree is a Class D felony. K.R.S. § 508.025, and it is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 1 years nor more than 5 years.

Assault in the Fourth Degree occurs when the person intentionally or wantonly (or recklessly with a deadly weapon) causes physical injury to another person. Assault in the Fourth Degree is a Class A misdemeanor. K.R.S. § 508.030, and it is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment not to exceed 12 months.

Vehicular accidents may also result in assault charges.

Possible Defenses for Assault

In the case of assault, the defense may center on the fact that the person did not act with intent to cause a particular result. It may also be possible to demonstrate that the assault occurred in self-defense.

Assault cases require a comprehensive defense approach that may require the assistance of other professionals in a variety of disciplines to analyze all aspects of the case. The defense may require experts in the areas of gunshot residue (GSR), DNA, serology, emergency medicine, psychology, psychiatry, human reaction, firearms, tool marks, foot prints, tire marks, crime scene investigations and police procedure.

Other defenses may also apply. This includes an analysis of any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.

It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced manslaughter lawyer to defend you in a manslaughter case in La Grange, Oldham County, or across Kentucky.

Call us at 502-688-5200 in the Greater Louisville area or email here for an initial consultation.

Contact Our Firm in La Grange, Kentucky

For an initial consultation with a Louisville criminal law attorney, contact Pearson & Paris. We represent clients throughout Trimble, Henry, Oldham, Jefferson, Shelby, and Spencer counties in such cities as Louisville, St. Matthews, Lyndon, Prospect, Anchorage, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Shively, Crestwood, Goshen, Buckner, La Grange, Simpsonville, Shelbyville, Mt. Washington and Shepherdsville.