Utah Assault and Battery Attorney

Assault and Battery Lawyer Salt Lake City

Assault and Battery cases in Utah require an experienced attorney. You can call us now at 801-364-6454, and we can likely talk to you, or return you call very quickly. We have handled thousands of cases, and we will fight very hard to get you justice, and preserve your rights.

The Utah statute governing assault, generally, reads:

• (1) Assault is:
• (a) an attempt, with unlawful force or violence, to do bodily injury to another;
• (b) a threat, accompanied by a show of immediate force or violence, to do bodily injury to another; or
• (c) an act, committed with unlawful force or violence, that causes bodily injury to another or creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to another.
• (2) Assault is a class B misdemeanor.
• (3) Assault is a class A misdemeanor if:
• (a) the person causes substantial bodily injury to another; or
• (b) the victim is pregnant and the person has knowledge of the pregnancy.
• (4) It is not a defense against assault, that the accused caused serious bodily injury to another.
• (see Utah Code Ann. ¶ 76-5-102)

Utah Code, Section 76-5-102 does not distinguish a difference between committing an assault versus attempting or threatening an assault. Arguably, actually committing an assault is better described as an act of "battery." The Utah Attorney General, the chief prosecutor for Utah, defines "battery" as "An intentional, unwanted and forceful/violent touching of another person, or something closely connected with that person."

The attorneys Brent Smith (former prosecutor) and Steven Russell defend assault and battery charges with passion and purpose. If you are charged with either of these acts, we have experience with the law dealing with assault and battery; we will diligently protect your presumption of innocence.

More about assault and battery

Assault charges are enhanced to class A misdemeanors and felonies under special circumstances:

• An assault against a school employee is a Class A Misdemeanor under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.3
• An assault against a peace officer or a military service member is a Class A Misdemeanor for a first offense and can be filed as a Third Degree Felony if it’s a second offense under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.4
• An assault by a prisoner (whether confined in jail or prison, or even just while in custody or arrest) is a Third Degree Felony under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.5
• Throwing substances at a correctional officer can be a Class A Misdemeanor or even a felony if that substance is blood urine or fecal matter. If he spits on the correctional officer knowing himself to be infected with HIV, Hepatitis B or Hepatitis C, can also be a felony offense in Utah under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.6
• An assault against a health care provider or an emergency medical service worker can also be a Class A misdemeanor under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.7
• An attempt to disarm a police officer is considered a first degree felony under Utah Code Section 76-5-102.8
• An assault in the alleged victim’s home can be a Felony in either the first or second degree, depending on the whether there was a dangerous weapons alleged or based on the extent of the injuries or the severity of the behavior under Utah Code Section 76-5-103
• An aggravated assault be a prisoner is a first or second degree felony depending on the severity of injuries under Utah Code Section 76-5-103.5

Mitigating circumstances

We have excellent rapport with judges and prosecutors, and can engage them in reasonable negotiations on your case despite your degree of guilt or personal regrets. Don’t just plead guilty! Our credibility goes a long way in helping judges and prosecutors understand that the situation may not have been black and white. There may be circumstances that could be leveraged to achieve a pretrial motion to reduce or dismiss charges. We work to understand the circumstances surrounding your assault charges and will ask prosecutors to consider:

• Whether you were provoked or severely taunted?
• Whether the person provoking you a known bully?
• How much blame does the victim bear?
• Were you off medications?
• Was the assault as severe as reported, or did the victim exaggerate the injuries for effect?
• Was any supposed injuries properly documented?
• All these aspects and more can be discussed with prosecutors before trial in a cooperative and professional way, not an adversarial one. Over the years, we have earned the trust of other lawyers, and this is important in plea negotiations and often results in more favorable outcomes for our clients.

Serious charges require high-quality legal representation

If you are charged with any of these crimes listed above you may be facing fines, prison, stress for you and your family and the loss of your reputation. If you are an immigrant, you may be faced with even deportation as a result of a conviction of any of these offenses. We will leverage our experience and knowledge to defend you and to produce a positive outcome in your case. Contact attorneys Brent Smith (former prosecutor) and Associates today at 801-364-6454 for a no-cost consultation and an honest assessment of your case.

To understand Utah’s laws on assault and battery, you need to understand just a bit of history. You see, historically in Utah assault and battery cases were actually not criminal. You can read all about how Utah used to feel about such crimes in the case of Jeppson v. Jensen. That case was a Utah Supreme Court case that was decided during World War I when tensions were obviously very high. The case was very interesting indeed, and changed the course of Utah law. Mrs. Jeppson sued Mr. Jensen because of the hell he had put her through. She claimed that Mr. Jensen entered her and her husband’s home at night in Mantua, Utah. After entering (he was actually invited in) the home, and in the presence of Mrs. Jeppson, Mr. Jensen then rudely cursed and verbally abused her husband. Mr. Jensen remained there for approximately 15 minutes, and actually held a drawn revolver from his pocket, and he even threatened to kill Mr. Jeppson. Mr. Jensen finally left the Jeppson’s home, but attempted to return later that night. He was denied re-entry for obvious reasons. After that incident, Mrs. Jeppsen became a nervous wreck and couldn’t sleep. She was pregnant at the time of the incident, and felt that Mr. Jensen’s horrible behavior may have caused her baby to be still born. As a result, Mrs. Jeppson sued Jensen for $10,000. At the trial, the Defendant admitted what he did, but denied any intentional infliction of harm, and the case was dismissed.

Upon appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, the Court reversed the dismissal and awarded Mrs. Jeppson $10,000 because the Court felt his conduct was willful and wanton (in other words, totally intentional and mean). See Jeppson v. Jensen, 155 P. 429 (Utah 1914).

Today in Utah that conduct could land a person like Mr. Jensen in prison for a second degree felony of burglary, a second degree aggravated assault, and possibly more. Take this advice: never enter someone’s home if you are angry. If you enter a person’s home with the intent of committing of theft or an assault, it is a burglary. And if you actually commit an assault while there, it get bumped up to a first degree felony – up to life in prison. And never take anything with you into the home or business of another that could be construed as any type of weapon. If you push somebody on the sidewalk, that may just be a class B misdemeanor. But if you do the same thing in their doorway, it could be a first degree felony!