Assault & Battery Attorneys in Grainger County

An assault and battery conviction in Grainger County can have significant consequences for your reputation, freedom, and future. Fortunately, you don’t have to face your charges alone. Instead, you can let Evan M. Newman, an experienced criminal defense lawyer from Daniel, Daniel, & Newman, guide you through the criminal justice process and advocate for your interests.

For over 80 years, residents in Grainger County and across Eastern Tennessee have relied on the Daniel name for critical legal advice and advocacy. Evan Newman works tirelessly to provide the top-quality legal representation that his great uncle Creed Daniel and Creed’s son, the late Dirk Daniel, built their reputation on. As a Christ-centered law practice, we understand the culture, ideals, and values that the people of Grainger County hold dear. That’s why we strive to provide clients with the understanding, empathy, and compassion they need during challenging times.

Ready to talk with an experienced Grainger County assault defense lawyer about your legal options? Then contact Daniel, Daniel, & Newman today for a free initial case evaluation, and let’s defend your future together.

Why You Need a Grainger County Assault and Battery Defense Attorney

An assault charge puts your freedom and future at stake. Evan is an experienced assault and battery attorney from Daniel, Daniel, & Newman. He can help you seek a favorable resolution to your battery charges in Tennessee by:

• Thoroughly investigating your assault charges to recover all available evidence, including evidence not found by the police or prosecution
• Reviewing the facts and evidence to identify potential defense strategies
• Helping you understand your charges and the potential outcomes of your case
• Vigorously contesting the prosecution’s case, including moving to exclude unlawfully obtained or inadmissible evidence or to dismiss your charges for lack of evidence
• Fighting for the best possible outcome, whether that involves a negotiated plea deal or going to trial when you choose to contest your charges or assert your innocence

What Are the Differences in Battery vs Assault in Tennessee?

Knowing the difference between battery vs. assault can help you understand your charges in Grainger County. Historically, criminal and civil tort law regarded assault and battery as distinct offenses. A person commits assault when they intentionally or knowingly put another person in reasonable fear of imminent injury. Conversely, a person commits battery when they touch another individual in an offensive manner or cause that individual to suffer injuries.

However, Tennessee’s current criminal law combines the offenses of assault and battery into a single criminal statute titled “Assault” under TN Code §39-13-101. Under that statute, a person commits an assault if they:

• Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly injure another individual
• Intentionally or knowingly cause another individual to reasonably fear imminent injury
• Intentionally or knowingly have physical contact with another individual that a reasonable person would consider highly offensive or provocative

What Are Common Forms and Charges for Assault and Battery?

Committing an assault or battery may lead to various types of criminal charges. Common examples of charges that may arise from an assault or battery offense include:

• Simple Assault – A simple assault may occur when a person injures or offensively touches another individual or puts that individual in reasonable fear of imminent injury.
• Aggravated Assault – A person may commit an aggravated assault if they cause the victim’s death or severe injury, use/display a dangerous weapon during the assault, or strangle or attempt to strangle the victim
• Domestic Battery – Domestic violence may occur when a person commits a battery against an individual who qualifies as a “domestic abuse victim,” such as a current or former spouse, household member, dating/intimate partner, or a family member related by blood or marriage.
• Assault with a Deadly Weapon – An assault may involve the use or display of a dangerous weapon, which may increase the grading of an aggravated assault charge and the potential penalties for a conviction.

Furthermore, an assault and battery offense that involves strangulation in which the victim loses consciousness may result in charges of attempted first- or second-degree murder.

What Are the Differences Between Simple Assault vs. Aggravated Assault?

Tennessee criminal law also has different gradings of assault: simple and aggravated assault. Under the aggravated assault statute in TN Code §39-13-102, a person commits aggravated assault if they intentionally or knowingly commit an assault as defined by §101 and the assault:

• Causes severe injury
• Kills another person
• Involves the use or display of a deadly weapon
• Involves strangulation or attempted strangulation

A person may commit aggravated assault if they recklessly commit an assault that:

• Results in severe injury to another person
• Results in another person’s death
• Involves the use or display of a deadly weapon

As a result, the differences between simple and aggravated assault focus on the offender’s conduct during the assault or the harm suffered by the victim. Aggravated assault occurs when a person severely injures or kills the victim, displays or uses deadly weapons, or strangles or attempts to strangle the victim.

What Are the Penalties for Assault in Tennessee?

Under Tennessee’s assault penal code, penalties for a simple assault conviction include:

• Causing Injury – Up to 11 months, 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $15,000, or both incarceration and a fine
• Causing Another to Reasonably Fear Imminent Injury – Up to 11 months, 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both incarceration and a fine
• Making Extraordinarily Offensive or Provocative Physical Contact – Up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both incarceration and a fine

Penalties for an aggravated assault conviction depend on the grading of the offense, which varies based on the circumstances of the aggravated assault. Potential penalties include:

• Class D Felony – Two to 12 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $15,000
• Class C Felony – Three to 15 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $15,000
• Class B Felony – Eight to 30 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $25,000

Further, an offense against a domestic abuse victim may lead to an additional fine of $100 to $200, consistent with a defendant’s ability to pay the additional fine.

In aggravated assault cases in which an incarcerated individual commits an assault on a correctional facility employee engaged in their official duties, the court can also order the offender to pay restitution to the victim, which reimburses the victim for financial losses incurred due to the aggravated assault. The court can order up to 50 percent of the restitution award deducted from the offender’s inmate commissary account.

What Are the Penalties for Battery in Tennessee?

Under the battery penal code in Tennessee, penalties for a simple battery conviction include:

• Causing Injury – Up to 11 months, 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $15,000, or both incarceration and a fine
• Making Extraordinarily Offensive or Provocative Physical Contact – Up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both incarceration and a fine

Potential penalties for an aggravated battery offense include:

• Class D Felony – Two to 12 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $15,000
• Class C Felony – Three to 15 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $15,000
• Class B Felony – Eight to 30 years in prison, plus a potential fine of up to $25,000

As with an assault, a person convicted of battery against a domestic abuse victim may face an additional fine of $100 to $200. A correctional facility inmate who commits an aggravated battery against a facility employee engaged in their duties may also have a restitution obligation to reimburse their victim for financial losses caused by the battery.

What Are Potential Assault and Battery Defenses?

A defendant facing prosecution for assault in Grainger County may have various factual or legal defenses against their charges. As an experienced battery lawyer, Evan can help prepare a case strategy that revolves around defenses such as:

• Self-Defense – A person charged with assault and battery may claim they acted in self-defense, defense of others, or defense of property in response to a perceived imminent threat of injury or violence inflicted by the alleged victim.
• Consent – In some cases, a defendant may argue that the victim consented to the alleged offensive touching, such as touching that occurs during a consensual sexual encounter.
• Mistaken Identity – Defendants may challenge the reliability of a victim’s or eyewitness’s identification of the defendant as the perpetrator of the assault by highlighting factors that could have affected the victim’s/witness’s perspective or arguing that police used an improperly suggestive identification process.
• Alibi – A defendant may argue that another person committed the alleged assault/battery by presenting alibi evidence to prove they were elsewhere when the alleged assault occurred.
• Lack of Intent – Defendants facing assault charges may argue that the prosecution’s case fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they acted with the required intentional, knowing, or reckless conduct.
• Unlawfully Obtained Evidence or Statements – A defendant may file a motion to exclude evidence or inculpatory statements from the prosecution’s case by asserting that police investigators conducted an unlawful search without a warrant or probable cause or a custodial interrogation that violated the defendant’s rights.

Contact a Grainger County Assault and Battery Defense Attorney Today

If you’re facing assault charges in Tennessee, get the legal help you need to defend your rights and interests in the criminal justice system. Contact Daniel, Daniel, & Newman today for a free, confidential consultation with Evan Newman, a reputable Grainger County assault defense attorney. Discover your legal options for pursuing a favorable resolution to your misdemeanor or felony assault charges.