As a criminal defense lawyer, one of the hats I wear is assault lawyer.
The basic crime of assault: "A person is guilty of assault in the third degree
when...with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person".
Simple enough. However, the law of assault is quite complex, because intentionally causing physical injury to another person is often justified; it's not always a crime. The law recognizes the defense of "justification" (commonly referred to as "self-defense"). When asserted by the accused, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an alleged assault was not justified.
In Court, juries can have a difficult time sorting out assault cases. On the street, police seldom try. Often, the defendant is the true victim, while the alleged victim - the accuser - is the one who actually started the fight.
Consider some examples of police responding to a fight between Smith and Jones. (Don't expect any sophisticated crime-solving.)
Sometimes the investigation proceeds like this:
Police Officer: "Who called 911?"
Smith: "I did."
The police arrest Jones.
Sometimes the investigation proceeds like this:
Police Officer: "Who threw the first punch?" Smith's friend: "Jones did." The police arrest Jones.
Sometimes the investigation goes like this:
Jones is on top of Smith when the police arrive. The police arrest Jones.
Sometimes it goes like this:
Smith has a fat lip and a bloody nose when the police arrive. Jones has no injuries. The police arrest Jones.
Sometimes like this:
Smith is a woman and Jones is a man. The police arrest Jones.
And sometimes it's like this:
The police arrest both Smith and Jones.
Too often, it's like this:
Smith is a police officer and Jones is a civilian. The police arrest Jones. Even if Jones has a broken jaw and Smith's only injuries are bruised knuckles from repeatedly punching Jones in the mouth, the police arrest Jones.
As you can see from the examples described above, 1) Jones has no luck; and 2) the police often save their best work investigating crimes other than assault.
Innocent people are arrested for assault more frequently than any other crime.
After you've been in a brawl, you might need me to fight for you in the courtroom. Call Bruce Yerman today at 646-480-1278 for your FREE consultation with an assault lawyer.
