QUESTION
What would are the best and worst case scenarios for this assault situation?
Asked on Dec 10th, 2013 on Criminal Law - Texas
More details to this question:
A female friend of mine had an incident involving her boyfriend where she bumped into him with her car. They were in a big argument and she ended up striking him with her fist. After this it escalated and she went to leave in her car. He stood in front of her car about a foot away as if to challenge see if she'd and in her rage she went forward and bumped into him. He jumped on the car and rolled to the side with no bodily harm. Her boyfriends boss saw the situation and he filed a police report. In my friends panic of the police she fled the scene and went to her parents. She has no record and she doesn't know what step to make next. Is there anyway she should state her intention when she hit him like claim it was an accident? Any advice on this situation would be greatly appreciated.
2 ANSWERS
Assault Attorney serving Richardson, TX
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Here it is impossible to give a best-worst scenario. There are several ways it might be indicted, with deadly weapon or without. The attitude of the boyfriend is critical in negotiating with the State. It would be helpful for her to get an attorney early, if possible before the Grand Jury hears the case. The accident claim has problems but helps in terms of a possible reduction because of negligence instead of an intentional act. In cases I have handled, I have found that it is helpful to see about counceling for anger control and getting a psychological evaluation.
Answered on Dec 11th, 2013 at 3:29 PM
Criminal Law Attorney serving Houston, TX
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If the boss has already called the police and a report has been generated, there really is no "best case scenario," at least in terms of whether she will be charged or not. If a warrant hasn't already issued, it is very likely to happen in the immediate future.
Hitting the b/f with her fist can be charged as a Class A misdemeanor: Assault - Bodily Injury.
Hitting the b/f with her car can be charged as a 2nd degree felony for: Aggravated Assault - Deadly Weapon. A car is not legally considered a deadly weapon, per se. However, it can be proven up to be a deadly weapon by a jury, if it is used in such a way that it can be considered a deadly weapon.
For leaving the scene she could possibly be charged with the felony offense of Evading Arrest/Detention. There's not enough facts given in your inquiry for me to be able to say how likely the Evading charge would be, but there is the potential for that.
The best thing your friend can do is to hire an attorney and refuse to speak to law enforcement. She needs to not speak about it with any friends. She needs to not text about it. She needs to not post about it on FB or MySpace or any other social media. In a situation as convoluted as you've described, she needs to invoke her right to not incriminate herself, and let her lawyer take the reins from there.
Example: if she speaks to law enforcement and tells them the assault was an accident, she could still be convicted of the offense if the DA's office charged her with committing the offense recklessly. So, if she isn't trained to spot all the issues that can come up when speaking with authorities, the best solution is to not do it.
There may also be some legal defenses available to her. If successfully argued, a valid legal defense might help her get the case(s) dismissed, or get her acquitted at trial. Those may be screwed up too, if she speaks to law enforcement without knowing the potential effect of every word she says.
If the wheels of law enforcement are already turning, she needs to move quickly to be prepared for what is coming.
Answered on Dec 11th, 2013 at 3:14 PM