Criminal charges of assault involve some element of physical force or threat. Mount Holly courts hand down severe punishments for individuals convicted of assault-related crimes because violent and threatening behavior undermines social order.
If you are facing charges of assault, aggravated assault, harassment, making a terroristic threat or similar crimes in Burlington County, you could go to prison if convicted, be ordered to pay heavy fines, and be saddled with a criminal record. You need to seek immediate assistance from an experienced Mount Holly criminal defense attorney if you have been charged with any type of assault or threat crime.
The attorneys at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall in Mount Holly offer aggressive and strategic representation against assault charges and related crimes. Our attorneys handle cases in Burlington County Superior Courts and municipal courts in townships like Evesham, Florence, Pemberton, Medford and Delran. Being represented by the Law Offices of Jonathan Marshall offers unique advantages including:
- Over 200 years of combined legal experience defending individuals facing assault and threat offenses and other criminal charges in counties and municipalities across New Jersey
- 10 defense attorneys who focus solely on defending people who are accused of crimes
- Experience and insider knowledge gained through years as prosecutors and public defenders in New Jersey before becoming defense attorneys. Our attorneys have led local crime units that include a Major Crimes Bureau, Domestic Violence Unit, Guns Task Force, Special Operations Unit and an entire Trial Division
- Lawyers who are certified as criminal trial attorneys, which puts them among less than 2% of New Jersey lawyers
- A track record of countless cases ending with charges against our clients being dismissed.
If you have been charged in Burlington County, you could serve six months in jail for a simple assault or years in prison for an angry comment charged as a terroristic threat. You should not face the charges alone. Contact the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall at 855-450-8310 or online so we can help fight to keep a conviction for a violent crime off of your record.
Assault and Threat Charges You Could Face in Burlington County
You could be charged with an assault or threat crime under New Jersey law for any number of reasons. Such charges grow out of fights and verbal altercations or are add-ons to different criminal charges. The settings in which an incident could lead to an assault charge are almost limitless, including ballfields, schools, concerts, bars, restaurants and even at home as the consequence of a domestic altercation.
New Jersey law defines simple assault as when a person:
- Suffers bodily injury as a result of an intentional or reckless act
- Physically threatens someone else, putting him or her in fear of serious bodily injury
- Uses a deadly weapon to inflict bodily injury.
- Aggravated assault, a more serious offense, occurs when:
- Significant bodily injury inflicted upon another person is intentional or results from reckless conduct undertaken with extreme indifference for the value of human life
- Bodily injury results from intentional or reckless conduct involving a deadly weapon
- An individual points a firearm at another person
- Simple assault is committed upon a police officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, judge or other public official
- Bodily injury is a consequence of fleeing or eluding a police officer
- An individual starts a fire or causes an explosion that injures an emergency responder
A terroristic threat under New Jersey law is a statement that:
- Threatens to kill another person and purposely puts that person in fear of death and under the reasonable belief in the immediacy and likelihood of the threat being carried out
- Threatens to commit any crime of violence to terrorize another person or to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public inconvenience, or is made in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience
The charge you could face after an arrest or in an indictment for allegedly assaulting or threatening someone may be cited in a variety of ways. Common assault and threat crimes our experienced Mount Holly criminal assault attorneys handle include:
- Aggravated Assault
- Assault by Auto
- Carjacking
- Disorderly Conduct
- Eluding
- Harassment
- Obstructing
- Resisting Arrest
- Robbery
- Simple Assault
- Stalking
- Terroristic Threat
It is crucial to engage a criminal defense attorney experienced in Burlington County courts as soon as possible after being charged with an assault or threat crime. Your freedom is at stake. To obtain the most favorable resolution to your case available under New Jersey law, contact the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall in Mount Holly as soon as possible.
Penalties for Assault & Threat Charges in Burlington County
Assault crimes in Burlington County may be charged as disorderly persons offenses or as indictable second-, third-, fourth-degree crimes. Terroristic threat charges may be filed as a third-degree offense or as a second-degree offense if the alleged threat was made during a period of national, state or county emergency.
The standard penalties for these levels of criminal charges, upon conviction, are as follows:
- Second-degree offenses are punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000.
- Third-degree offenses are punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
- Fourth-degree offenses are punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
- Disorderly persons offenses are punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
In addition, a defendant found guilty of an assault, aggravated assault or terroristic threat charge will be ordered to pay:
- Violent Crimes Compensation Board Assessment of $50.
- Safe Neighborhood Assessment of $75.
- Court Costs of $33.
- Domestic Violence Surcharge (if applicable) of $100.
An assault charge may be filed as aggravated assault under certain circumstances outlined above, which increases the potential penalties:
Second-degree offense
- Inflicting serious injury while fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer
- Inflicting serious injury while driving a stolen car
Third-degree offense
- Attempting or inflicting serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon
- Displaying or pointing a firearm or an imitation firearm toward a law enforcement officer
- Inflicting bodily injury upon a:
- Law enforcement officer, firefighter or person engaged in emergency first-aid or medical services as part of their job
- School board member or school employee
- Employee of the Division of Youth and Family Services
- Judge or justice
Fourth-degree offense
- Recklessly causing bodily injury to another person with a deadly weapon
- Pointing a firearm at or in the direction of another person.
In addition, New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2) requires that a person sentenced to prison for certain violent crimes – including Aggravated Assault, Robbery, Carjacking and more – must serve at least 85% of the prison sentence before becoming eligible for parole. After release from prison, he or she remains under parole supervision for 3 years if originally imprisoned for a second-degree offense.
How a Mount Holly Assault and Threat Crime Lawyer Can Help
No one should face assault or threat charges on their own, regardless of whether it is a disorderly persons charge stemming from a scuffle, a comment misconstrued as a threat or an aggravated assault involving a deadly weapon. No one should plead guilty to a criminal charge of any kind without the advice of an attorney who has fully examined the case.
Anyone charged with a criminal offense has the Constitutional right to a robust legal defense that seeks the best available outcome for them. The criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall will protect your rights and fight to resolve the assault charges in a manner that causes the least adverse impact on you and on your future.
Without a guilty plea, prosecutors must prove the charges against you beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain a conviction. That’s a high bar. We regularly handle cases in which we find that police did not have a clear understanding of the circumstances when they made an arrest or sought an indictment. We get criminal charges against our clients dropped or reduced because prosecutors’ cases do not support the original charge. We also have a strong track record of “not guilty” verdicts obtained at trial.
Once you have engaged the services of the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, our team will start an investigation of the charges against you. We will obtain your statement and statements from any witnesses. We will examine the statements of prosecution witnesses during pre-trial “discovery.” We will analyze all evidence against you and argue for exclusion of disputable evidence from future proceedings in your case.
In some cases, we can have charges dismissed because of police or prosecutorial misconduct or other flaws in the case, such as:
- Illegal arrest
- Illegal search and seizure
- Mistaken identity or faulty suspect lineup
- False or impeachable witness statements
- Unavailable witnesses
- Faulty or fabricated evidence
- Faulty forensic testing particularly regarding DNA evidence
- Faulty “chain of custody” of firearms or other weapons presented as evidence
- Racial, ethnic, socio-economic, gender, or other bias
Because of our attorneys’ extensive experience in Burlington County courts, local prosecutors know us and will consider the arguments we present for dismissing charges or reducing charges against you as part of a plea bargain. In some cases, it may be possible to reach out to the alleged victim of an assault to express remorse and seek withdrawal of the charges. Our attorneys are skilled negotiators who know whether circumstances warrant such overtures and how to follow through with understanding and compassion.
As we investigate each assault case, we do so as if the case will go to trial. Potential defenses against assault or terroristic threat charges include:
- Acting in self-defense
- Acting to defend someone else
- Acting to defend property
- Acting in the heat of passion, i.e., lack of intent to harm or being incapable of forming the requisite intent due to impairment (situational, temporary or permanent)
- Mental illness at the time of the alleged crime that prevented understanding of right vs. wrong or the consequences of the individual’s actions.
When you have the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall representing you, you can be assured that our legal team is collaborating to prepare a strong and persuasive defense. When conviction is unavoidable, the professional relationships our attorneys have with Burlington County prosecutors help us argue for a minimum sentence and fine, including alternatives to jail time.
After you have been arrested or you realize you will be charged with assault or making a threat, exercise your legal right to remain silent except to inform police that you want to talk to an attorney. Our Mount Holly defense attorneys are available 24/7 to secure your release from custody in Burlington County and to begin our investigation into the charges you face. Each case starts with a free legal consultation to review the charge and your legal options.
Contact Our Burlington County, N.J., Assault Crime Defense Attorneys
If you or a loved one has been charged with one or more assault or threat crime offenses under New Jersey law, you cannot afford to face the potential punishment conviction would bring on your own. At the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, our attorneys have more than 200 years of combined experience defending Burlington County residents against criminal charges, including charges of assault, aggravated assault and issuing terroristic threats. We will protect your rights and your freedom.
Contact us online or at 855-450-8310 as soon as possible about assault charges originating in Delran, Evesham, Florence, Medford, Mount Holly, Pemberton or another Burlington County township. The sooner you get our legal team working for you, the sooner we can find the holes in the case against you. We have the skill, dedication and local reputation required to get you the best result possible, possibly without going to court. Contact us now.
