Facing criminal charges, especially in your youth, can lower your quality of life. For example, you may find it hard to land employment or miss out on further education opportunities because of your criminal record. Therefore, you need to take your charges very seriously, given that there is much at stake.
A conviction for assault and battery could also ruin your reputation since you may be perceived to be a violent person. If you find yourself facing such charges, you need to be aware of the possible defenses you could rely on for a favorable conclusion to your case. They all revolve around removing the element of intent or recklessness on your part.
Claiming self-defense
This is perhaps the most common defense in assault cases. To establish self-defense, the other party must have threatened, harmed, or used unlawful force against you. You can also claim self-defense if there was a real and honest perceived fear of harm you could not retreat from or escape.
Most importantly, the force used in self-defense must be reasonable to the threat posed by the aggressor.
Claiming defense of others or property
The other party might have threatened or used force against another person, and you acted in their defense. Similarly, your actions might have been intended to protect your property, like in a home invasion.
Consent
Suppose the victim agreed to participate in an activity that they knew bore an element of risk but consented voluntarily. In that case, they cannot accuse you of assault over injuries stemming from the activity.
Protecting your legal rights
Before settling on a defense strategy, you need to look at every aspect of your case. Were your rights violated before or after the arrest? Once you ascertain that, you may then choose from the several defenses available depending on the circumstances of your case.
