New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
What is the penalty for Assault? How much jail time can you get for Assault? For that matter, what is an Assault charge? Whether you are arrested for violating New York Penal Law section 120.00, 120.05 or 120.10, every conviction will leave you permanently tarnished with a misdemeanor or felony criminal record. Make no mistake. When you find yourself before a Manhattan Criminal Court Judge, Brooklyn Supreme Court Judge, a White Plains City Court Judge or a Justice Court Judge in North Castle, Scarsdale, Nyack, Brewster or anywhere in the Hudson Valley, there is much on the line. The following answers to some fairly basic questions can provide you with the foundation you need to work with your criminal attorney and best ensure your defense is the right one to minimize your exposure.
What is an Assault Charge: Understanding the Crime
Assault in the Empire State comes in three main forms even if there is variation and subsections within each of these. These offenses are First Degree, Penal Law 120.10, Second Degree, Penal Law 120.05 and Third Degree, Penal Law 120.00. The basic denominator is that you intend to cause a particular type of physical injury and you in fact do so. Yes, your act can be recklessly, such as Penal Law 120.00(2), and an otherwise lesser misdemeanor Assault can become a felony by the mere use of a “dangerous instrument, such as Penal Law 120.05(2). However, the most common distinction is whether you intended to and caused a “physical injury” to another person or your intent was a bit more nefarious when you tried to and inflicted a “serious physical injury.” Other factors, and not inclusive of all of them, are whether you committed a “hate crime,” if a victim is a police officer, or you commit this crime during the commission of another felony.
What is the Penalty for Assault: How Much Jail Time
The punishment for an Assault conviction depends on many factors. The first of these, and the only one addressed here, is whether your conviction is for misdemeanor PL 120.00(1) or PL 120.00(2), Assault in the Third Degree. In these cases, a judge can sentence you up to one year in jail or no jail at all. Probation, community service or even a probation-jail “split” are possible. Alternatively, as Violent Felonies, a conviction for PL 120.05 or PL 120.10, Assault in the Second Degree and Assault in the First Degree, are more severe. Second Degree Assault has a presumptive two year minimum with a maximum prison sentence of seven years. First Degree Assault mandates a minimum of five years incarceration and a maximum of twenty-five.
Ultimately, there are numerous questions one should ask their legal counsel about the crime of Assault in New York, the elements of the charges and the related penalties. Information, not conjecture and speculation, along with a clear strategy will always be your best defense.
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Saland Law PC is a criminal defense firm founded by two former Manhattan prosecutors. Saland Law PC represents clients throughout the City as well as the counties of the Hudson Valley and beyond.