Hunterdon County Aggravated Assault Attorney

Hunterdon County Aggravated Assault Attorney

You got arrested in Hunterdon County last week, maybe in Flemington or Clinton or Readington or Hampton or Lebanon Township, maybe charged with aggravated assault after a domestic violence incident where police claim you struck your partner with a frying pan causing a skull fracture that required hospitalization and now the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office is reviewing whether to present the case to a grand jury for indictment, maybe charged with aggravated assault after a bar fight at a tavern on Main Street in Flemington where witnesses say you hit someone with a beer bottle causing serious facial injuries and permanent scarring, maybe charged with aggravated assault after a road rage incident on Route 31 where you allegedly got out of your vehicle and struck another driver with a tire iron causing broken bones, maybe charged with aggravated assault on a police officer after resisting arrest in Clinton where you struggled with officers and one officer sustained injuries. You don’t know whether you’re facing a disorderly persons offense for simple assault that stays in municipal court with six months maximum jail or an indictable offense for aggravated assault that gets forwarded to Hunterdon County Superior Court at 65 Park Avenue in Flemington with years in state prison. You don’t know the difference between simple assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a) which is a disorderly persons offense versus aggravated assault under the same statute subsection (b) which is indictable and graded by degree. You don’t know what “serious bodily injury” means under New Jersey law or whether the injury in your case qualifies as serious. You don’t know whether assault with a deadly weapon is automatically aggravated assault or whether the degree depends on the extent of injury. You’re concerned about whether you’ll be facing fourth-degree aggravated assault with up to eighteen months, third-degree with three to five years, or second-degree with five to ten years and the No Early Release Act requiring 85% time served. You’re concerned about whether you’ll lose your job, whether this will show up on background checks forever, whether you’ll be able to support your family if you’re incarcerated for years. The answer depends on multiple factors including whether the prosecution can prove serious bodily injury, whether a deadly weapon was used, whether the victim was a police officer or other protected person, whether you acted purposely or knowingly or with extreme indifference to human life, and whether you have prior criminal history. Simple assault charges are handled in your local Hunterdon County municipal court where the maximum penalty is six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Aggravated assault charges are initially filed in municipal court but then forwarded to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office in Flemington where prosecutors review the case and decide whether to present it to a grand jury for indictment. If indicted the case proceeds to Hunterdon County Superior Court at the Justice Center at 65 Park Avenue in Flemington where you face years in state prison if convicted. Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We’ve represented clients charged with aggravated assault in Hunterdon County for over 40 years, many, many cases at municipal courts throughout Hunterdon County for simple assault charges, many, many cases at Hunterdon County Superior Court in Flemington for aggravated assault prosecutions. If you’re reaching out to us – we understand the stakes you’re facing.

Aggravated Assault vs Simple Assault

Simple assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(a) is a disorderly persons offense that occurs when you attempt to cause or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to another, or negligently cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, or physically menace another putting them in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. Simple assault is punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Common simple assault scenarios include bar fights with minor injuries like black eyes or bloody noses, shoving matches, domestic disputes with minor physical contact, or threatening gestures. Aggravated assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b) is an indictable offense that is far more serious and occurs when you cause serious bodily injury purposely or knowingly or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, when you attempt to cause or purposely or knowingly cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, when you assault certain protected persons including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, teachers, or judges, or when you cause bodily injury while fleeing or attempting to elude police. The key distinction is serious bodily injury versus simple bodily injury. Serious bodily injury means injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or causes protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ. Examples include skull fractures, broken bones requiring surgery, stab wounds, gunshot wounds, permanent scarring, loss of teeth, or injuries requiring extended hospitalization. Aggravated assault is graded by degree based on the circumstances with vastly different penalties.

Fourth-degree aggravated assault carries up to eighteen months in state prison and a $10,000 fine under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6. This typically applies when you cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon but without serious bodily injury, or when you recklessly cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon. Third-degree aggravated assault carries three to five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine. This applies when you purposely or knowingly cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon, or when you cause bodily injury while fleeing or eluding police, or when you recklessly cause serious bodily injury under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life. Second-degree aggravated assault carries five to ten years in state prison and a $150,000 fine under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-3. This applies when you purposely or knowingly cause serious bodily injury, or when you attempt to cause or purposely or knowingly cause bodily injury with a deadly weapon in certain circumstances, or when you assault a police officer, firefighter, or other protected person. Second-degree aggravated assault also triggers the No Early Release Act under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2 requiring you to serve 85% of your sentence before parole eligibility.

Hunterdon County aggravated assault cases are prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors at the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office located at 65 Park Avenue in Flemington. After your arrest in a Hunterdon County municipality the case is initially filed in your local municipal court but then forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for review under Hunterdon County Courts procedures. A prosecutor examines the police reports, witness statements, medical records documenting injuries, photographs of injuries, and any other evidence. The prosecutor decides whether the evidence supports aggravated assault charges or whether the case should be downgraded to simple assault and sent back to municipal court. If the prosecutor determines the evidence supports aggravated assault charges the case is presented to a Hunterdon County grand jury. The grand jury hears testimony and reviews evidence in secret proceedings where you and your attorney are not present. If the grand jury finds probable cause they return an indictment formally charging you with aggravated assault. Once indicted your case proceeds to Hunterdon County Superior Court at 65 Park Avenue in Flemington where Superior Court judges preside over pre-trial motions, plea negotiations, and trials. The entire process from arrest to trial can take many months or over a year depending on the complexity of the case and court scheduling.

Defenses to aggravated assault in Hunterdon County include self-defense when you reasonably believed you faced imminent unlawful force and used proportional force to protect yourself, defense of others when you acted to protect a third party from harm, lack of intent when you did not act purposely or knowingly to cause serious injury, insufficient evidence of serious bodily injury when the prosecution cannot prove the victim’s injuries meet the legal standard for serious bodily injury, mistaken identity when you were not the person who committed the assault, false accusation when the alleged victim fabricated or exaggerated the incident, accident when the contact was unintentional, and consent in limited circumstances like mutual combat. For cases involving deadly weapons you can challenge whether the object qualifies as a deadly weapon under New Jersey law or whether it was used in a manner likely to produce death or serious bodily harm. Former prosecutors who now practice criminal defense in Hunterdon County understand how the prosecutor’s office evaluates cases and what factors influence charging decisions. They know when cases are likely to be downgraded from aggravated assault to simple assault based on insufficient evidence of serious bodily injury. They know how to negotiate with Hunterdon County prosecutors and when to take cases to trial before Hunterdon County Superior Court judges.

Call 212-300-5196.