In this article let us talk about the different cases that could lead a domestic altercation to a felony charge
Assault with a deadly weapon
The felony charge of an assault with a deadly weapon is when the crime is committed with the use of a gun, knife, chair, bottle, phone.
This act is already considered as a felonious assault and is defined under felonious assault charges under MCL 750.82 which are sought when one allegedly “assaults another person with a gun, revolver, pistol, knife, iron bar, club, brass knuckles, or another dangerous weapon without intending to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm less than murder.”
It is considered as a dangerous crime and comes with a very high penalty of A sentence of up to 4 years in prison and as much as $2,000.00 in fines for an assault with a dangerous weapon.
The definition provided in the law is just on that part but it is all encompassing. The portion that defines “other dangerous weapon” means that it covers any object that is used in a way that would cause serious physical injury or death.
As long as the weapon is dangerous and it can cause serious physical injury or even death to the other person then that is already considered as an assault with a dangerous weapon and is already a felonious act. This would include any object that causes the injury to another person such as a bottle opener or a simple wine bottle or even a car when it uses its strength in order to cause damage or injury to another person.
Again, it is already felonious to use the dangerous weapon. For example, a husband used a fork to stab his wife when according to him his only intention was to force his wife to listen to what he was saying during his altercation with her.
In this specific instance the husband is already guilty of felonious assault because he used a fork to cause damage or injury to his wife. The same thing applies if the husband used a bath to make his wife listen to what he is saying because the controlling factor here is the use of the dangerous weapon that cost harm or injury to another person
Assault with intent to commit sexual contact
Another kind of felonious assault is assault with intent to commit sexual contact against the victim. The covering law of this is MCL 750.520g which states the following:
“(1) Assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct involving sexual penetration shall be a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years.”
But that doesn’t explain much of anything. To begin with, you must understand the legal definition of what an “Assault” is. And to understand the definition of Assault, you must first know what a “Battery” is.
A battery is a “forceful, violent, or offensive touching of the person or something closely connected with the person of another. The touching must have been intended by the Defendant, that is, not accidental, and it must have been against the accuser’s will. It does not matter whether the touching caused an injury.”
Assessing the degree of the assault can be found in the Michigan Standard Jury Instruction for Assault, which says an Assault is either:
- “an attempt to commit a Battery on the accuser or an act that would cause a reasonable person to fear or apprehend an immediate battery; or
- “intending to make the accuser reasonably fear an immediate battery. An Assault cannot happen by accident. At the time, the accused must have had the ability to commit a Battery, appeared to have the ability, or thought they had the ability.”
These two are the top felonious assault cases that we have handled in the state of Michigan. We have seen a lot of couples fight over the assault and the existence of the crime because in some instances one member of the couple does not admit to any of the wrong doings that he has committed because of the fact that for him or her it is not considered as wrong. In situations like this the important thing is that we get our client off of the charges that have been filed against him and that we also protect the other party by making sure that we try to fix things for both.
Here at Haque Legal, our priority is in the protection of the parties, whoever our client may be. There are a lot of other felonies that are related to assault and battery and domestic violence, we will discuss further in the next part of this article series.
Defending Domestic Violence or Assault and Battery
If you have committed domestic violence or need help prosecuting one, it is important to know that you also have a team that can help you out with your specific needs. The legal consequences of domestic violence are dire and must be addressed as soon as possible. Our law firm is dedicated to making sure that those who are innocent will be protected by the law and the full extent of justice will be used.
Disclaimer:
The article that you have read is based on general applications of the law. It is not legal advice and it is not to be construed as any legal consultation with the firm. No client-attorney relationship is created when you read the articles we have provided.
Let us help you out.
If you’ve been charged with a domestic violence crime you need a criminal defense lawyer on your side, call us immediately. If you have any problem with the law or are seeking justice and truth, our numbers are standing by to take your call. If you merely defended yourself, you need to prove that you have done self-defense and nothing else.
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