First offense of assault and battery in Virginia:
Battery:
A battery is when a person touches or hurts another without his/her offense. As an example of this, think of a man walking along a sidewalk and another person comes up to him and hits him in any part of his body. It must be noted that the offender does not need to hit a victim himself/herself, merely throwing something or to make something hit the victim, is classified as a battery in Virginia. This will be classified as a first offense assault and battery if it was the offender’s first offense of an assault and battery.
Assault:
On the other hand, an assault is when someone attempts, but fails, to commit a battery towards his/her victim and/or make his/her victim scared of any bodily harm that could happen to him/her. This is exemplified if an offender tries throwing a rock or stick at his/her victim and misses.
If an assault and battery is made due to the religion, ethnicity, and/or race of the victim, then the punishment, towards the offender, will be much stricter.
A first offense of assault and battery in Virginia (Domestic)
An offender that makes his/her first offense of assault and battery towards any one of his/her family, then he/she is considered to have done the first offense of domestic assault and battery.
Penalties for an offender that commits an assault and battery towards a victim or a family member:
First-time offenders could be asked to do an anger management program or any other program, and they also could go under probation, which are issued by the court. However, if the first time offender gets a positive result through the anger management programs and/or any other programs, then his/her charges would be dismissed. Also, a class one misdemeanor is issued upon a person that has committed his/her first assault and battery towards one of his/her family members. An offender that gets convicted of an assault and battery towards a family member, he/she could be subject to up to one year or 12 months of jail time. Also, he/she could have to pay a fine of up to $2500. Additionally, a class six felony will be issued on an offender if he/she commits an assault and battery and the victim suffers from any bodily injuries. The offender could face a jail sentence up to five years. Also, if an offender commits an assault and battery towards his/her victim due to the victim’s religion, ethnicity, and/or race, then the offender could have to pay a maximum fine of $2500 and/or be subject to six months to a one-year jail sentence. Furthermore, if the offender is issued with a misdemeanor and/or felony due to an assault and battery that he/she made, there will be a permanent criminal record issued on the offender. This will make it much more difficult for the offender to find a job and/or keep his/her current job.
