Assault is an intentional attack on another individual. It does not require to actually cause harm or injury. It is enough if the physical attack puts the victim in a state of fear for his or her safety. This means that attempting to physically attack someone is an assault.
Richard Freeman (AKA Mr. Technicality) is one of Scotland's most prominent Solicitor Advocates with the skills, decades of experience and technical expertise to vigorously defend your position. Its important to enlist the services of an expert defence lawyer with a strong track record such as Mr. Freeman.
Do not delay, time is vital in order for us to properly examine the evidence against you, contact potential witnesses, ensure timelines are consistent with the evidence and investigate many other aspects in order to create your strongest legal defence.
Call our national helpline 0800 567 7810 now or our local numbers. Alternatively, complete a contact form or request a call back.
OR
An example of a completed crime of assault is where ‘A’ goes to punch ‘B’ but misses completely. This is still regarded as an attack and therefore the crime of assault is complete.
Another example is where ‘A’ goes to strike ‘B’ by throwing a bottle at him and misses, but instead hits ‘C’ an innocent bystander, injuring ‘C’. In this example ‘A’ is responsible for assaulting ‘C’ and for causing the injuries even though he had intended only to strike B. This is called the doctrine of the ‘transfer of intent’ from ‘B’ to ‘C’.
A defence to an allegation of assault is when someone acts in self-defence when being attacked by another. This are a number of qualifications to this.
First the manner in which someone defends themselves has to be proportionate to the incoming attack. The actions of self-defence cannot grossly exceed that which is necessary to fend off the attack. You are also allowed to defend yourself from an imminent attack if you have a reasonable basis for thinking that an attack is about to occur.
Secondly for self-defence to stand up, there also has to be no means of escape from the attacker. If you can run away from an attacker, you will be expected to do that. If you fail to run away when you are able to but, stand your ground a plea of self-defence will fail. There are however, circumstances where you cannot run away, for example if you are protecting another who is being attacked.
Additionally there are circumstances where two people are involved in a scuffle during which one becomes injured where there was no attack. At first sight this may appear to be an assault but if there was no intend to attack the result could be simply down to an accident occurring.
A minor assault, where there has been no injury, or where a minor injury has occurred, is usually prosecuted as a simple assault, before a sheriff sitting alone, in what is called a summary jurisdiction. Where the injuries are more severe for example a broken bone or where there are lasting consequences like permanent scarring, or even a potential danger to life, these cases will be prosecuted before a sheriff and jury in proceedings referred to as Solemn jurisdiction.
We have defended tens of thousands of assaults over the years from the lower courts to regularly appearing in the sheriff and jury courts as well as the High Court. We appreciate the importance of scrutinising and testing the evidence in such cases. There are many ways to do this successfully and we have devised many strategies to counter the evidence which seems initially to be stacked against our clients.
Defence Criminal Solutions are well known for our unrivalled experienced and skill at preparing and trialling in courts throughout Scotland. Like mostly all criminal investigations advice should be sought from such a specialist solicitor, from an early a stage as possible. We can be contacted day or night for an important free consultation to provide you with advice from the outset, which could make all the difference in avoiding a conviction further down the line.
Don't delay! You can Contact us by form or by phone on 0800 567 7810 to find out what can be done.