Assault and battery charges in Oklahoma City are serious, so it’s essential to know the process and get legal counsel if you face these allegations. This is the information you’ll need.
Criminal Offenses of Assault and Battery in Oklahoma City
While the phrase “assault and battery OKC” is frequently used in popular culture, you may be surprised to learn that it refers to not just one but two separate offenses. The two crimes frequently co-occur. This is why they are often grouped when discussing or charging them.
Assault is defined as using or threatening physical force or violence against another person, as stated in Title 21 Section 641, Oklahoma Statutes. Assault threats are used to instill a sense of imminent danger.
Assault occurs when one’s hand is raised, intending to slap another person. The act of assault can occur without physical contact. When someone reaches out with an open hand to hit you in the face, they are trying to and threatening to do so.
You have committed battery if you use force or violence against someone without their consent. Title 21 Section 642 of the Oklahoma Statutes
The battery is the actual slap if the open hand was an assault. A battery can be seen as an assault that results in physical contact. Therefore, every time someone commits a battery, they also commit an assault, although an assault can occur without a battery.
Factors in the Offense
For a prosecutor to win a conviction, they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that all of the elements of the crime were present. No criminal conviction can stand without proof of every essential element.
Assault and battery must include the following elements to be considered a complete crime:
- persistent and
- unlawful
- Use of physical force
- for the benefit of someone else
OUJI-CR 4-0-26
Strategies for Defense
The failure of the prosecution to provide evidence in support of specific essential components provides the basis for many defenses, though not all of them.
This was done to cause harm. If the actions were carried out accidentally or as part of a joke, and a reasonable person would have understood their humor, you may have a legally sound defense. To give you an example, if you and some of your friends were playing around physically and someone got hurt, but you weren’t trying to threaten or hurt them, then that could be considered accidental contact.
This must be an instance of illegal battery and assault on another person. If the use of force or violence was appropriate, then there was no assault or battery committed. There are a few instances in which the use of force or violence is sanctioned, including self-defense, the defense of others, the protection of one’s property, and the resistance to an unlawful arrest. The statute in question can be found in Oklahoma Statutes, Title 21, Section 643.
If required, parents, carriers, and others may use lawful force to restrain a mentally ill person who threatens to commit an act that would affect others.
The use of force should be limited to the minimum amount required to prevent the offensive action from occurring. This remains true even if the perceived threat posed by the other party is overstated, provided that the level of force used is reasonable. The final score was OUJI 8, while CR received four points.
When someone is trying to break into your home or commit a felony, you have the right to use any force you deem necessary. In the event of an assault and battery, the victim may use the defense of habitation if they can demonstrate that a reasonable person in the same situation would have reasonably believed the alleged threat was real. In other words, the victim must be able to show that a reasonable person would have believed the alleged threat was real. OUJI CR8-14 CR8-14
Punishments for Assault and Battery Various
A person can be charged with a misdemeanor in Oklahoma City for committing an act considered to be a simple assault, a simple battery, or an act that is both a simple assault and a simple battery.
If you are found guilty of simple assault, you could face up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both depending on the severity of the crime. State of Oklahoma Statutes, Title 21, Section 644
For the offenses of simple assault and battery, the potential penalties include either ninety days in jail or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both.
Assault and battery charges are upgraded to more serious offenses when lethal weapons are involved, the victim is a law enforcement officer, or the victim is an adult over 65.
Reviewing the beginning of your case with your attorney in Oklahoma City from the very beginning is essential to mounting a solid defense. Sometimes, it’s the little things that make the most significant difference.
