When you are in the military, it means that not only does the civilian justice system expect you to uphold the law, but so does the military. When someone has accused you of assault and battery, you may not realize how serious this charge is and what it can do to your military career. Assault and battery can encompass a wide variety of different types of acts that span anywhere from threats of physical harm to inappropriate touching to physical abuse. With this kind of charge, do not rely on a civilian attorney to represent you in court. Instead, you should seek help from a military defense lawyer at Fort Hood, like one from The Federal Practice Group. Not only do we have the background necessary to understand how to properly defend you in a court-martial, but we will argue on your behalf to give you the best possible defense when it comes to your assault and battery charges. Before your consultation, however, it is important that you understand what exactly it means when someone accuses you of assault and battery and what penalties you may face.
Understanding How the Military Defines Assault and Battery
The Uniform Code of Military Justice defines an assaulter as a person who uses some type of force to physically harm someone else. Even if the alleged assaulter did not cause such harm, their attempt to do this injury can still result in a judge convicting them of assault. A more serious form of assault is aggravated assault, and this happens when the assaulter commits assault by using deadly weapons.
Battery, on the other hand, is when a person intends to cause harm and follows through with causing the person harm. Whereas assault does not have to end in the victim actually sustaining an injury, battery must end in the attempt to cause harm as well as the victim getting injured as a result. Additionally, the person who commits battery can still be guilty whether they directly or indirectly caused the harm. So, while an obvious example of assault and battery would be to want to cause someone harm by hitting them with a baseball bat and then harming them with the baseball bat, another form could be through tampering with equipment that you know will cause them harm in the future.
What do our attorneys recommend after such a charge?
When someone has charged a member of the military with assault and battery, it is possible that not only will the punishments be worse, but there may be military repercussions even before the court-martial. When a judge convicts you, you may also face:
- A minimum of 3 months of confinement
- A forfeiture of 2/3 of your pay
- A dishonorable discharge
How Our Attorneys Can Help You
When you are a member of the military, you deserve the best defense possible. While an assault and battery charge is not the same as a conviction, it can still ruin your reputation and it can lead to military penalties even before your trial has begun. Do not feel that you need to face this problem with a civilian attorney. Instead, rely on a military defense attorney to ensure you get the defense you deserve.