Assault & Battery

Palm Beach County, Florida, Assault/Battery Defense Lawyers

Charged with Assault or Battery?  Contact Morse & Morse, L.L.C. today.

If you have been charged with Assault or Battery contact the skilled and experienced criminal defense attorneys at the law firm of Morse & Morse, L.L.C. We have the experience, knowledge, and resources to effectively defend you against criminal charges. Securing the services of a high quality criminal defense team can save you months or years of anguish.

Do not wait to speak with a lawyer, Contact the law firm of Morse & Morse, L.L.C. for effective legal representation today.

In Florida, an assault is intentional threats, words, or actions that cause a person to feel afraid of impending violence. Threatening to beat up someone, when said in a menacing or angry manner, is assault if the victim can reasonably believe, based on the statement and menacing behavior, that he is about to be struck or injured.

Battery:

784.011 Battery.

Battery is actual offensive physical contact, such as punching another person or hitting someone with an object. Striking another person with a fist during an argument and pushing someone are straightforward examples of battery. A more unusual example is grabbing and ripping someone’s clothing in anger. This is considered a touching because clothing is an extension of one’s person.

Simple assault in Florida is a second degree misdemeanor. Simple battery is a first degree misdemeanor. Assault against certain victims, such as police officers, the elderly, and school employees is a first degree misdemeanor; and battery against these victims is a third degree felony. The “special victims” identified by the statutes are those who were engaged in the performance of their duties as a:

• law enforcement officer or firefighter
  
• emergency medical care provider
  
• public transport employee
  
• breath test operator, while engaged in testing persons under investigation for driving while intoxicated
  
• parking enforcement officer
  
• licensed security officer
  
• employee at a detention or commitment facility for sexually violent offenders, if the defendant knew or had reason to know the victim’s employment status, and
  
• code inspectors, if the offender knew or had reason to know the victim’s employment status.
  
• employees or investigators for the Children and Family Services Department (if the offender knew or had reason to know the victim’s employment status)
  
• a person over the age of sixty-five years of age (the offender need not be aware of victim’s age)
  
• sports officials, while participating in a sporting event or immediately after the event
  
• school employees or elected officials (if the defendant knew or had reason to know of the victim’s employee status)
  
• visitors or detainees in a jail or correctional facility (if the offender is a detainee of the jail or correctional facility), and
  
• code inspectors, if the offender knew or had reason to know the victim’s employment status.
  

If you need a team of aggressive, experienced, and respected criminal defense trial attorneys, contact the law office of Morse & Morse, L.L.C. today.