Recently I sat down with a potential client who believed he was being charged in correctly. He advised me that he was being accused of hitting someone when he never laid a hand on anyone. He was fairly adamant that his case should be dismissed because he did not assault anyone.
After about 10 minutes of us discussing his case I realized that he understood assault differently than how Florida defined it. To my surprise a lot of people confuse the two, depending on where they grew up (this potential client happen to have grown up in the Northeast).
Assault and battery have different meanings under Florida Law. Assault is defined as an intentional threat to commit an act of violence –that makes someone feel like they’re in danger of getting hurt. While Battery is defined as the intentional, but unlawful, touching of someone else.
Assault
To illustrate an assault is threatening to knock someone out but never actually hitting them. An assault can take several forms such as simple assault, aggravated assault or sexual assault.
Battery
In contrast, a battery is actually hitting or touching someone. A battery can be a simple battery, aggravated battery or even sexual battery.
If you or a loved one has been arrested in Miami-Dade County, Broward County or Palm Beach County for assault or battery please give me a call. I have experience handling those kinds of cases and have been able to get a lot of positive results.
Call us at 954-998-4567 or email houson@housonlafrance.com.
Houson R. Lafrance
