Have you been charged with assault? According to assault attorneys, you shouldn’t simply sit back and wait for the court’s verdict. You should take measures that will allow you to protect yourself and if possible, win your case. To help you out, here are some of the things you should do:

Understand your offense

You are said to have assaulted someone when you put them in fear that you are going to hit them physically, with the intent of hurting them. If you were involved in a fight, in most cases you will be charged with assault and battery. You should note that if the fight was broken up by law enforcement officers or bystanders, you will most likely be charged with assault.

For you to be guilty of assault, the prosecutor should show proof that you were deliberately threatening the other person and you put another person in fear of immediate bodily harm.

You should take time to understand the charges before you. This is to help you to come up with a defense. It will also help you in areas to focus on when putting together your defense.

Get a defense attorney

Many people have the impression that an assault case is simple and they can solve it by themselves. There is nothing that is further from the truth than this. You should note that when you are found guilty of the charges you can serve time in jail or be required to pay a hefty fine. For you to avoid the risks that come with going it alone, you should arm yourself with an attorney.

You should be cautious when hiring the attorney as hiring the wrong one will be worse than going at it alone. Take time to find an experienced professional with a great personality. As rule of thumb, avoid a cheap professional as he/she will give you substandard services.

For the lawyer to know how to approach the case and defend you, you should tell him everything about it. You should give all the details and include everything, regardless of how minor you think they might be.

Develop a defense strategy

Work with your attorney and come up with a defense strategy. Remember, the prosecutor has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you put your victim in fear of bodily harm. Your role is to defend yourself and prove that the fear didn’t exist.

There are a number of defense strategies you can use with your lawyer to challenge the evidence in court. The most common ones are:

Affirmative defenses: These defenses acknowledge that you committed the crime, but you had a legitimate reason for doing it. For example, you might say that you were defending yourself from attack.

Poking holes in the prosecutor’s evidence: Law enforcement officers are usually overworked thus don’t have time to do a lot of research in a case. Due to this, they are bound to make mistakes in their evidence. Work with your attorney and understand the ins and outs of the case and you will be able to identify areas that you can attack.

Put together your witnesses

You need evidence and witnesses for you to win the case. Were there people at the time of assault? Talk to them and ask them to accompany you to court and testify on your behalf. Don’t wait a few days before the case to notify the witnesses. The best way of going about it is rounding up the witnesses while the memories of the event are still fresh in their minds.

Stay out of trouble

The judge might not tell that you avoided being on the wrong side of the law but he/she will know when you are arrested for a crime. For you to be on the safe side, avoid any situations that might cause you to brush with the law. For example, if you are fond of fighting in the bar, avoid going there during the duration of the case.

You should note that committing another offense makes your work and that of your criminal defense attorneys difficult as the judge will already be having a bad impression about you.