Virginia Assault and Battery Lawyers

Virginia Assault and Battery Client Story

Disclaimer: The names and details of this story have been changed to protect the identity of our client.

Max was in undergrad when he got into an altercation that could have ruined his entire future.

It was a Friday when Max was sitting in his last class of the day. He was half zoned-out while his professor droned on about a battle in France.

He felt his pocket buzz indicating that his best friend and roommate Shane had texted him back.

He was waiting to find out if there was anything going on at campus that would be worthwhile for them to go to.

This was his junior year so he was pretty well settled into his friend group. They usually went out on Friday nights so he was not surprised when Shane texted back that there was a party at one of the campus houses.

However, the party turned out to be at Greg’s place.

Greg was not necessarily an enemy but they used to room together freshman year. They were polar opposites in most ways so they always seemed to butt heads when they hung out.

Max shrugged. There were going to be plenty of people at the party. He would barely see Greg, he thought.

After class let out, Max headed to the dining hall, ate dinner with some friends who were also planning to go to the party, then showered quickly.

He was quietly hoping that Chelsea would be there tonight so he threw on an extra dab of cologne.

Shane and Max played video games together while they waited until after ten to leave for the party so they were not the first ones there.

By the time they got there, it was starting to fill out. He saw a few friends as they made their way to the back yard.

Max immediately noticed Greg throw him a dirty look from the kitchen window.

He tried to ignore it.

They sat down in a group by a fire in the yard. He noticed Chelsea was across the fire from them.

“Hey, I’ll be right back,” he told Shane.

Shane noticed Chelsea then and smirked at Max, “Okay, buddy. Have fun.”

Max approached her and plopped down next to her, “Hey, Chelsea, how are you?”

“Max! Hey, I’m glad you came,” she threw her arms around him. “We were just talking about the last time we were all together. Do you remember the bachelor party we crashed?”

She dove into a slightly embarrassing anecdote to her friend on the opposite side of her.

After a while of flirting and drinking, Max excused himself to go use the restroom.

On his way up to the house, he had to walk past Greg.

He kept his gaze down. He didn’t want to start anything tonight.

Greg stepped in his way.

“What makes you think you can talk to her?” he asked Max.

“Excuse me?” he replied.

“In fact, what made you think you were even invited?” Greg continued, his pale beard looking even sparser than the last time Max was this close to him.

“Get out of my way, Greg. I don’t want to start anything,” said Max.

Greg stepped closer to him, eying him up and down.

“You stay away from her,” he said in a lowered voice that made Max’s face go hot.

“No, man. She’s my friend. If anything you should be the one to stay away from her. She turned you down twice for a reason,” Max knew this would piss Greg off.

Greg shoved into Max’s chest hard causing him to stumble backwards into someone else. Max could tell by the flush in Greg’s face that he was pretty drunk.

He tried to get past him again, but Greg swung at him and made contact with Max’s eyebrow which split open and started bleeding immediately.

Max felt rage and before he knew what he was doing, he was throwing punches back at Greg.

A fight ensued between them until a few of their friends came over to split it up.

As Greg was dragged back into the house, Max saw Chelsea staring over at him horrified.

He shrugged Shane off of him as he tried to ask him what just happened and stalked off to the front yard where Greg was surrounded by friends trying to calm him down.

Greg noticed Max and came at him swinging again.

It wasn’t until sirens were blaring down the street that the two stopped throwing punches.

In his panic and rage, Max didn’t realize that he had really done a number on Greg..

Before he knew it, he was in cuffs and an officer was in his ear talking about the right to remain silent.

He was booked for assault.

After getting bailed out by his parents, and the longest scolding of his life, he finally explained that he was just trying not to get killed by Greg who seemed to be jealous of the attention Chelsea gave him.

They set out to find a lawyer right away and a quick search on the internet led them to us.

Max had three main questions he was looking to get answered

1. What is my charge exactly?
2. What is going to happen to me?
3. How are we going to defend my case?

You likely have very similar questions to Max. Here is what he learned during his first consultation.

Read until the end to learn about some mistakes you can avoid making after an arrest.

What is my charge exactly?

Max wanted to know what he was up against. He was scared that he was not going to be able to vote if he was convicted.

We explained to him that this was a misdemeanor charge. Those types of charges did not prevent him from being able to vote if he was convicted.

Furthermore, because it appeared that Max had met Greg out on the yard to finish the fight, he was facing an assault charge against Greg.

“But I didn’t start it,” he said to us deflated.

“We know that. Now we just need to prove that.”

We assured him that he was not the first person to be charged for a fight he did not start. This was also not the first of this type of case that we have represented successfully.

What is going to happen to me?

Not only was Max concerned about the possibility of jail, he was worried about finishing his junior year of college, being able to graduate, and find a job after that.

He wanted to know if he was going to have to give up any of this because of this charge against him.

We assured him that we would fight to defend his future. All of what he was worried about was normal. These are huge, life-altering things that he was up against and the possibility of jail time would be more than he could even imagine.

Just a few nights ago, his biggest concern was a mid-term. Now he was thinking about fines and jail.

How are we going to defend my case?

We explained to Max that, because this whole fight happened because of the initial shove from Greg, this was self defense.

While we likely could not get the witness testimony from his friends in the front yard to give us testimony supporting self defense, there were plenty of people in the backyard during the initial fight that could tell the story the way it happened.

We promised Max we would protect his future.

We were later able to get Max out of this unscathed. He pled not guilty to his charges and it was clear through the testimony that Greg was the agitator.

Assault and Battery Mistakes to Avoid Making

There is a lot to think about after you were involved in an altercation. You need to be cautious that you do not make things worse for yourself as the penalties are a heavy fine and jail time.

If you are serious about safeguarding your future, please do not make the following mistakes.

Resisting Arrest

The way you handle yourself during the arrest process is going to matter a lot. You do not want to end up in a situation where you are arguing with the arresting officer, trying to get them off of you so they can hear you out.

While it may be true that you are not the one that started the altercation, you can let your lawyers handle that for you. We can communicate this truth for you in the proper setting.

The last thing you want to have to worry about is getting an additional charge of resisting arrest.

Furthermore, if you are calm and cooperative during your arrest, you are more likely to be taken seriously when you explain that you were not the one who started the fight or initiated the altercation. It might not get you out of handcuffs, but you will be seen as more credible.

Listen to your Miranda Rights being read to you. Be patient and give us a call right away. We are going to be able to help you far better if you don’t have an added charge of resisting arrest.

Contacting the Other Party Involved

After you get released, you are technically free to contact whomever unless this was a situation of domestic assault. You likely won’t have a restraining order against you, but regardless if you do or not, you should, under no circumstances, reach out to the other party involved.

If this was a domestic assault allegation and you did have a protection order against you, reaching out can put you in a world of trouble.

Even if this was a simple assault, you should still avoid contacting the other party involved. Not only are emotions tense which could lead to another altercation, but anything you say to them right now is not going to be helpful.

You especially don’t want to contact them via text, email, direct message, or any other traceable way. Anything you say to them in writing can be used against you. It is best to simply avoid talking to them altogether.

There may be some desire for you to try to communicate your truth to this person who has an assault charge on you. You can rely on your lawyer to take care of being a voice for you.

Posting About This on Social Media

This is a similar warning.

Anything that you put into the internet is permanent. Even if you posted something for a second, that could be screenshot by someone on the other side of this case.

We understand that, again, you may feel voiceless and that rumors are being spread about you that you would like to defend.

Social media is not the place you want to be after you have been arrested.

If you would not want whatever you write on your Facebook wall to end up in a court in front of a judge, keep it off of the internet.

You can confide in others privately. You can always rely on our Virginia assault and battery lawyers to hear your concerns. We always want to know every detail of your side of the story. Telling us is going to help your case. Telling the entire internet is not going to keep you from facing a fine or jail time.

Keep your business off of social media while your case is proceeding.

Waiting to Talk to a Lawyer

When you are charged with assault or battery in Virginia it is not something to take lightly.

Your future is on the line.

If you are convicted with simple assault and battery this will be a misdemeanor and you can be facing up to a year in jail as well as a fine of $2500.

If you wait to call a lawyer, not only are you more susceptible to making case-ruining mistakes, but you are going to be up against possible life changing penalties.

The sooner you reach out to us, the better.

We want to set up your first consultation right away. You do not need to go another day unrepresented when the prosecution will be working hard to win their case.

You deserve to have immediate representation especially if this was something like what Max experienced. If you got caught up in an altercation and now you have to face the penalties, call us right away.

Picking the Wrong Assault and Battery Lawyer

There are few things that will affect the results of your charges more than who you pick to represent you.

Ultimately, the person you choose to defend you is going to be the quarterback of your case. If you choose an attorney that does not have experience in this area of law, then you can just about guarantee that you will not get the results you are hoping for.

When hiring a lawyer, consider their level of experience in criminal law. They should be able to tell you stories of cases like yours they have defended successfully.

Make sure that you hire someone who handles criminal law on a regular basis. They should have dedicated their career to helping those in similar situations to you. This should be what they specialize in.

You would not want to call the person who helped you with your real estate to see if they can help you out right now. You need to make sure that the lawyer you choose to defend you does this all the time.

You wouldn’t want someone who only occasionally dabbles in criminal law to have your future in their hands. Put your trust in someone who can successfully handle your case.

Call Our Virginia Assault and Battery Lawyers Today

Do not hesitate to reach out to our office right away. You deserve to have someone as dedicated to protecting your future as you are. This is a scary time. Let us take care of everything for you. Set up your free consultation with our Virginia assault and battery lawyers right away.