What You Need to Know About the Difference Between Assault and Aggravated Assault
While assault and aggravated assault may often get confused, it is important to understand the difference and its potential consequences. Here is everything you need to know about the difference between assault and aggravated assault.
While aggravated assault is a type of assault, there is an important key difference. The difference between the two is that aggravated assault is an assault that causes or has the potential for causing serious bodily harm. It is important to understand the difference between simple assault and aggravated assault because these charges may result in very different penalties.
What is Simple Assault?
Legal definitions of assault vary from state to state. However, assault is generally defined as “intentionally putting another person in reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.” The victim must believe that the offender’s behavior will result in imminent harm or offensive contact.
The three components of simple assault include that:
- The offender acts,
- the offender intentionally puts the victim in fear of imminent harm, and
- the victim experiences fear of imminent harm.
Bodily harm does not actually need to occur for an incident to be considered assault. Assault is often linked with battery, which is defined as physically harming another individual. Assault and battery charges may occur together when an assault does lead to physical harm.
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In some jurisdictions, definitions of assault may be linked to a battery. For instance, in Illinois, assault is defined as “conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery.” Similar to assault, the battery can be defined as a simple battery or aggravated battery. Battery convictions often carry higher penalties than assault convictions.
What is Aggravated Assault?
Assault is considered to be aggravated assault when the assault does or could result in serious bodily injury. Examples of aggravated assault may include displaying or pointing guns or other deadly weapons. Assaults that do not involve the use of a weapon and do not result in serious bodily harm are often considered simple assaults. In some states, the definition of aggravated assault may also depend on the location of the incident or the identity of the victim.
Penalties for Assault and Aggravated Assault
There are different degrees of aggravated assault and simple assault, depending on whether or not the act was premeditated and the severity of the potential or actual harm inflicted. Typically, simple assault may be considered a misdemeanor and carry lesser penalties whereas aggravated assault may be considered a felony and is more likely to result in higher fines or potential imprisonment.
However, specific classifications and penalties vary from state to state. For instance, in Illinois, aggravated assault may be differentiated from simple assault based on the location of the assault, the identity of the victim, or the presence of weapons. Additionally, in Illinois, simple assault is a Class C Misdemeanor whereas aggravated assault may be a Class A Misdemeanor, Class 4 Felony, or Class 3 Felony. Different misdemeanor and felony convictions may impact penalties.
Steps to Take if One has Been Involved in an Assault
- Research the laws in the state of the incident. If one has been involved in an assault, it is recommended to investigate the specific laws in one’s state. Her Lawyer can help connect individuals with an attorney who may be able to provide specific details on legal classifications of assault in one’s location.
- Connect with legal assistance. For individuals accused of assault, Her Lawyer can help connect them with qualified criminal defense attorneys. Free consultations are available with Her Lawyer for a variety of legal issues, including assault cases.
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