Defending a Ridgefield Third Degree Assault Charge

Domestic violence assault in the third-degree is a serious offense. It can result in severe penalties and can have implications on your personal and professional life. Defending a first-time charge of assault in the third-degree in Ridgefield, but you do not have to do it alone. If you have been accused of assault in the third-degree, consult a qualified assault attorney that can help.

Steps a Person Can Take to Help Their Case

When defending a first-time charge of assault in the third-degree in Ridgefield, the first step a person can take to help their domestic violence case is to meet with a therapist that can address the underlying issues that led to the arrest. If the person was drunk when they were arrested and the incident stemmed from drinking, they can go see a licensed drug and alcohol counselor for a few sessions just to start to treat the underlying issue.

This looks really favorable to the court because the court will see that the defendant is taking their domestic violence case very seriously and has taken steps to seek rehabilitation to recover from this and ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

Another step a person can take is just to follow the protective order entirely. Sometimes, a full no-contact protective order is put into place and the alleged victim will end up reaching out to the defendant and initiating contact, and sometimes the defendant will take that as a sign that contact is okay when it is still prohibited by the court. The other thing that a person can do that really helps a case is just to abide by the protective order entirely, regardless of whether or not the alleged victim has given the accused person permission.

Essential Evidence When Preparing a Defense

Some essential evidence in defending a first-time charge of assault in the third-degree in Ridgefield is assessing whether or not there was domestic violence at all. If a person is being charged with assault in the third-degree, a major piece of evidence against the crime would be that the other person did not suffer any sort of injuries.

An experienced Ridgefield attorney might contact the victim regarding any injuries and then contact the hospital that treated the victim, or whatever doctor treated the victim, to see how serious those injuries really were. If there were no actual injuries, that is a great defense for someone being charged with assault because there has to be some sort of physical injury in order to be guilty of that crime.

Another defense is that the defendant was trying to de-escalate the situation and was not actually the aggressor. So, if two people are in a fight and one of them tries to de-escalate the situation and walk away, and then the other person is the aggressor and wants to continue the fight, the person who’s trying to leave and calm the situation down typically has a good defense in the case because they were not the person who was initiating the domestic violence.

What Constitutes Self-Defense and Defense of Others in the Realm of Domestic Violence?

Under Ridgefield law, self-defense can be any form of defense that is protecting someone from an aggressor. So, if two people are involved in a domestic violence case and one of them is being attacked by the other person, the person who is being attacked can use any means that matches the aggression of the person who is doing the attacking.

This means the person cannot use any sort of force that goes above the force that is being used against them. For example, if someone is approaching a person to punch them in the face, that person cannot shoot and kill the aggressor because that is not the same level of force that is being used against the person.

Under Ridgefield law, the defense of others occurs when a person sees someone who is about to be injured and uses whatever force that they would use to protect themselves in that situation against the aggressor.

Benefit of a Domestic Violence Assault in the Third-Degree Attorney

The benefits of using a local Ridgefield domestic violence lawyer are that Ridgefield’s attorneys have a lot of experience in Danbury Court, so they know what the state frowns upon and what the state likes to see in a case.  A local Ridgefield domestic violence lawyer can highlight what they know that the state will find favorable just based on all of their experience in that courthouse. If you need help defending a first-time charge of assault in the third-degree in Ridgefield, consult an experienced attorney today.

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