Waco Assault Attorney

Our assault attorney helps clients navigate the Texas criminal justice system while using the law and strategy to help defeat an assault charge.  A knowledgeable assault attorney knows the Texas assault laws and is able to assist clients facing assault charges and related matters. We will investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to determine if certain defenses may apply to a charge of assault, such as self defense and defense of others

What is Assault? Assault and Battery?

Generally, a person commits an assault under Texas law if the person knowingly puts another person in reasonble fear of some sort of imminent bodily injury.  Therefore, actual physical contact is not necessarily required for an assault charge.  However, if there is physical contact, especially if there is a minor injury as a result of the contact, then the level of assault goes up, which means the potentional punishment becomes more severe.

Many times people will refer to an assault offense as assault and battery.  Based on present understandings of criminal law, both assault and battery are considered as one. There was a time when assault and battery laws treated the two differently. Assault referred to the threat of physical injury, and battery pertained to physical contact. However, Texas no longer discriminates between them. A qualified assault attorney will explain to clients that Waco law enforcement bring assault charges anytime someone tries to or succeeds in physically harming someone else or if the person contacts another person in an offensive or provocative manner.

Texas Law on Assault

Simple Assault:  A person commits an assault if he/she does one of the following:

1. intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
2. Intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury; or
3. intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with a person and the contact would normally be considered offensive or provocative.

A simple assault is a misdemeanor and may be charged as a Class A, B, or C misdemeanor.

Class A Misdemeanor Assault is normally charged when there is unconsented to contact and the contact results in an actual minor bodily injury.

Class B and Class C Misdemeanor Assault charges normally occur when there is just a threat of imminent bodily injury or if there was contact, but the contact did not result in any bodily injury, but it would be considered offensive or provocative.  Whether the assault will be charged as a class B misdemenaor or a class C misdemeanor depends on who the assault was against and the circumstances surrounding the assault.

Aggravated Assault

An aggravated assault is a felony under Texas law and, therefore, is treated more seriously and has much harsher punsihments. 

Aggravated assault:  A person commits an aggravated assault if he/she commits a regular assault as described above AND one of the following applies:

1. the assualt results in SERIOUS bodily injury; or
2. shows or uses a deadly weapon while committing the assault.

Aggravated assault is a felony and may be charged as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree felony.

Normally, aggravated assault is charged as a 2nd degree felony under Texas law, but it may be raised to a 1st degee felony depending on the circumstances.

Contact Our Assault Law Firm

When the stakes are high and you’re facing assault charges, you need an assault attorney with experience to support you. We know the Texas assault laws. Call us for a consultation right away. If you want to know what to expect with an assault charge and the legal process, we will explain everything to you. We will thoroughly investigate your case in our drive to get the best possible result in or out of court.  

Contact Central Texas Criminal Law Online or by phone.