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I am Accused of Criminal Assault - What should I Do? - California Penal Code 240

By Walin & Klarich

California Penal Code Section 240 defines an assault as an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another. In other words, it is some type of action that attempts to physically injure someone. You will often hear the defendant was charged with ?assault & battery.? This means that the defendant is charged with two crimes. Assault is different from battery. Assault actually does not need to cause an injury or any physical contact. Assault is just the attempt to cause the injury. Therefore, even if no one gets hurt, you can still be charged with this crime. For example, a person might be at a bar and he might take a swing at someone. The person dodges the punch. The person who took the swing can still be properly charged with criminal assault...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).