Criminal Defense - Areas of Practice

Assault

Clients often confuse the crime of assault and battery believing them to be one in the same. Quite the contrary, the crime of assault requires no physical activity whatsoever. In fact, the mere mentioning of a threat of harm coupled with the ability to carry out the threat and a well founded fear in the mind of the victim from the threat can qualify as an assault.

Florida Statutes delineate several different types and levels of assault. As indicated above, there is a simple assault which can qualify as verbal threat, the waving of fists in the air, or a failed attempt to hit/kick/punch someone. Such crimes fall under this misdemeanor definition of assault.

However, a simple assault can be enhanced to a felony depending upon the use of a weapon during the commission of the threat. The law provides a wide definition of weapons. Not merely a gun, knife, or baseball bat; a weapon can take the form of a motor vehicle, flower pot, or even a rolling pin. If an assault rises to the level of a felony, the maximum sentence an accused faces changes from jail to prison.