Assault & Battery

Oklahoma City Lawyer: Assault Charges

If you are facing an assault charge or robbery, you should speak with a criminal defense lawyer before discussing your case with the district attorney, making a statement to the police or deciding to plead guilty. The allegation of assault and battery may have arisen out of a simple misunderstanding or a domestic dispute — a conviction might result in serious consequences, such as jail, and have an effect on your ability to rent an apartment or work in certain occupations.

Attorney Rita Jencks: Contact me for a free consultation about defense representation.

From my office in Edmond, I provide criminal defense representation to clients in courts throughout the Oklahoma City area. I have extensive experience at trial, but often am able to get assault charges against a client dismissed or negotiate a plea bargain that reduces a felony assault charge to a misdemeanor charge. I may be able to negotiate an arrangement where, instead of a conviction and jail sentence, you complete anger management classes. I will explain your legal options and the likely outcome of each.

Assault charges

In an assault and battery case, the prosecutor will typically charge a suspect at the highest possible level. Factors that come into play include:

• If there was an injury, the degree of injury determines whether aggravated assault will be charged as a misdemeanor or felony.
• Was this a case of domestic violence? Spousal abuse is a more serious crime than the same action against a stranger, so these cases should be aggressively defended.
• Did the assault charge list the use of a deadly weapon, such as a gun or knife?
• Did the charges refer to an instrument other than a firearm, such as a lamp or household item, as a deadly weapon?
• Was a charge of aggravated assault included? If so, should we go to trial to demonstrate that you could not foresee your action would cause an injury?
• If you were charged with armed robbery, what was the alleged weapon? Can we negotiate a reduction to a simple theft charge?

Call a lawyer before talking to the police or prosecutor.

Exercise your right to remain silent. Anything you say to police or prosecutors will be used against you. If you would like to meet with me and discuss how I can help, please call 405.285.2882 or e-mail my firm to arrange a free initial consultation. At that time, we can discuss fee arrangements, including payment by credit card.