Have you been arrested and charged with an assault? If so, you may want to hire a lawyer for help. Even a misdemeanor assault charge can be a serious matter as a conviction means you have a criminal record with a violence charge. This can limit the places that will hire you or rent a home to you. Instead of pleading guilty and hoping the judge goes easy on you, speak with an Assault Lawyer in Reading as soon as possible, and certainly before your court hearing. There are three outcomes that a lawyer may be able to help you with.
- Having the Charges Dropped – In some instances, your lawyer may be able to get the charges dropped for you. This may be because of lack of evidence, because the person you are charged with assaulting decides to not press charges, or even because your arrest was improper. Your lawyer can help you figure out if there is any way to have your charges dropped.
- Treatment with Conviction Withheld – If you are guilty of the assault charge, your Assault Lawyer in Reading may try to convince the judge that you need treatment instead of jail time. If the judge agrees, you may be ordered to go to anger management classes. If conviction is withheld, it means that you will not have a conviction on your record as long as you complete the treatment the judge orders.
- A Lighter Sentence – For some cases, it may not be possible to have the charges dropped or have treatment with conviction withheld instead of a guilty charge and a jail sentence. In these cases, however, your lawyer can help. Instead of taking your chances alone and being sentenced to the maximum time in jail, your lawyer will either be able to get you the minimum sentence or convince the judge to give you parole instead of jail.
An assault charge is a serious matter and, as such, should be met with a plan of action. The legal field can be complicated and impossible for a person with no legal training to navigate it. Instead of taking your chance, an assault lawyer like Jay M. Nigrini will be able to try to obtain one of the three above outcomes for you. These are always better options than spending the maximum amount of time in jail for an assault conviction.
