There might be an occasion when you are charged with assault and battery in either a criminal charge or a civil suit in the form of a personal-injury case. In either category, your lawyer will most likely use a common defense. Read on and discover just a few of the most common defenses that are employed in such cases. If you find yourself being charged with assault and battery, it's in your best self interest to hire the services of either a criminal law or personal-injury attorney, depending on the case.
Self-Defense
If you were responding in kind to a threat or reality of harm, this constitutes a self-defense case. In almost every case, if you can adequately prove that you were acting out of self-defense, then you can usually win such a case in which you are the defendant. However, it must be determined that you acted within the scope of reasonable action. "Reasonable action" is a nebulous term, but it generally means that you acted in response to the level of violence by neutralizing the violence, not by using excessive force. If you are able to pin down someone who is punching others in a crowded area, this will most likely be considered using reasonable force. Shooting someone in the head for doing such a thing will not fall under that rubric.
Consent
If the victim was hurt, but he or she agreed to the chance that he or she might be hurt during the action that took place, then there is a level of consent involved. If the defendant can prove consent, it is likely they will not be charged. This is a charge that often occurs when a person is charged with a personal-injury assault and battery case in which the two individuals were playing a contact sport like football or rugby. If the plaintiff broke a bone due to a tackle by the defendant, the case will most likely not end well for the plaintiff, as there is an implied level of consent regarding playing contact sports and the possibility that you will be injured during the game.
Privilege
Some individuals have jobs that allow some degree of privilege when it comes to assault and battery cases. Law officers, for example, often will not be able to be charged with assault and battery cases so long as the extent of their actions exist within the scope of appropriate or reasonable physical force.
For more information, visit sites such as http://www.lebaronjensen.com/ to find a personal-injury lawyer in your area.
