Maryland Second Degree Assault Lawyer Montgomery Howard Baltimore County
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Maryland has a variety of assault rules ranging from first degree assault to second degree assault. These statutes cover a variety of behaviors. An assault is a deliberate touching that inflicts injury to the victim and includes both the attack and the battery.
(Maryland Criminal Code, Section 3-201) An assault of the first degree is the deliberate cause or attempt of a serious bodily harm another person or an assault with a firearm. (Maryland Criminal Code, Section 3-202)
All other types of attacks fall into the category of second-degree attacks. This essentially means that a second degree assault occurs whenever a noxious touching occurs, except in situations involving death, permanent or prolonged injury, disfigurement or loss or impairment of a body part or organ.
(Maryland Criminal Code,Section 3-201) This definition is very broad. It can be applied to any kind of harmful or offensive touching that a person knows to be unwanted by the recipient.
Legal Standard For Maryland Second-Degree Assault
Although a Maryland second degree assault will not be punished as severely as a Maryland first degree assault, it is still considered a serious crime. As a rule, a Maryland second-degree assault charge will be punished as an offense punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $ 2,500, or both.
If the victim of the attack is a law enforcement officer, probation officer or probation officer acting in the context of his official duties, the crime will be punished as a criminal felony offense.
In such a case, the fines will be increased to $ 5,000 and a defendant may continue to be sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years (Maryland Criminal Code, Section 3-203).
Assault requires a deliberate touch. This element is met when a person initiates an act or procedure that they know may cause injury. It is not relevant if the exact touching is not the intended one.
For example, if you try to punch somebody in the jaw and the person it ducks and is instead hit in the eye, it is still a cause of injury. The intention does not have to be to cause the specific injury that results from the contact.
The law allows a person to assert a recognized defense in their case (Maryland Criminal Code, Section 3-209). One of the most common defenses against a second degree assault charge is self-defense. If a person reasonably believes they are in imminent danger of bodily harm, they are entitled to use appropriate force to prevent the other person from harming them. However, the applied force must be proportional.
For example, if someone pushes you, you can not pull out a gun and shoot at it. If someone attacks you, you can subject him to appropriate violence without being convicted of assault.
Another common defense to second degree attach is the defense of others. In any situation where a third party is threatened and legally allowed to defend itself, you have the right to intervene to prevent it from being harmed.
Again, the force applied in such a case must be reasonable and proportionate. In addition, the victim and the accused may file a joint motion with the court asking the judge to dismiss the second degree attack charge.
The judge will approve the dismissal if he believes that it is “reasonable,” even though the accused continues to bear his legal costs. (Maryland Criminal Code, Section 3-207)
In some cases, a person may be willing to plead guilty to reduce the penalties of a second degree attack charge. For example, the MD second degree attack attorney might try to negotiate with the state’s attorney to drop the Maryland second-degree assault charge and instead point out the charge of second degree attack should be amended to reckless endangerment, which is a lesser offense.
An experienced second degree attack lawyer can help you negotiate the best possible deal for your case. If you have been charged with second-degree assault in Maryland, contact a second degree attack criminal lawyer in Maryland today at 888-437-7747 for a free consultation and discussion of your situation.
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