Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi. I'm Colleen Kirby, a Maryland criminal defense attorney with the law firm of Price
Benowitz.
One of the issues I'm going to address with you today is a very common charge that I deal
with, which is assault.
Assault comes in two forms. There is first degree assault and second degree assault.
First degree assault is a felony and carries much more serious consequences than second
degree assault.
The different between first and second degree assault is that first degree assault is an
assault involving a firearm or an assault in which the victim has sustained serious
physical injury to their person.
Second degree assault is a misdemeanor, although should be taken very seriously.
Second degree assault can be what is commonly known as a battery, which is an unwanted touching
in any way, shape, or form.
It can also be when you place another person in reasonable fear of immediate bodily harm.
For example, if someone holds up a baseball bat and threatens to hit the person with the
baseball bat, that would be one example of an assault, because you have placed that person
in reasonable fear that they are going to be suffering immediate bodily harm at that
time.
With assault charges, one of the most common ways that we see them is in domestic violence
cases.
With domestic violence, the definition there does not necessarily mean that there is a
romantic relationship. It's any relationship between the parties.
When I say "any relationship," it can include boyfriend and girlfriend, it could include
husband and wife, it could include ex-husband and ex-wife, any type of relationship there
between the parties that would be considered a domestic violence case.
These are taken extraordinarily seriously by the prosecutors in the state of Maryland.
In fact, they have specialized prosecutors who are trained in handling these domestic
violence cases.
As a former prosecutor, I have the insight and knowledge as to how to best assist you
with getting the charges dropped, mitigating your possible defenses, and preparing you
for trial.
With domestic violence cases they can be charged in one of two ways.
One of the ways they're charged is when the police arrive and the police file the charges.
The other very common way that they're charged is when of the aggreged parties goes to the
Commissioner's Office, files the charges, and submits them to the Commissioner. The
commissioner then issues either a warrant or a summons and sends the charges
out to the defendant.
At that point, the charges have been submitted to the State's Attorney's Office, and the
prosecutor is the only person who has the discretion as to which way the charges are
going to be handled.
One of the most common misconceptions about domestic violence cases, when they're charged
through the Commissioner's Office, is that when the person
who files the charges changes their mind, or makes up with the other party, or doesn't
want to proceed with it, they believe it's within their power to drop the charges.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. Once it's in the
prosecutor's hands, the only person who can drop those charges is the prosecutor.
If you find yourself facing these charges, you're going to want to find an attorney who
is not only experience and skilled, but is going to aggressively defend your rights.
Therefore, it's extremely important that you contact an attorney immediately to protect
your rights, protect you in court, and give you the most zealous representation
possible.
Call my office so that we may discuss the facts of your particular case and get started
on your defense right away.