Assault and Battery are widely considered as battery charges throughout in Virginia. People usually think that assault and battery are two different things and both have different penalties and charges. Whereas, in reality, the penalties for assault and battery are same. Mostly they fall under the category of Misdemeanor 1, which is the highest and serious category in Misdemeanors; then comes felony charges which are six in total. Assault and battery charges can lead to felonies in a different manner; there are specified classes of how severe the injury is. It can exceed the penalty up to Felony 3, which has serious penalties and charges.
Penalties for Assault and Battery Charges
- Any person who commits assault and battery crime will be charged with the misdemeanor 1 class. Although, this can exceed if a person does it because of race, religion, color or national origin. This can lead you to felony 6 class instead of Misdemeanor 1. Minimum of six months jail will be applied; in which 30 days in the jail are mandatory no matter what. However, things can change if it is proved that the person has committed assault and battery because of race, religion, color or national origin. This will be a confirmed class 6 felony crime and will lead to a minimum of 6 months in jail; 30 are mandatory.
- If a person attacks any protected employee knowingly and deliberately, such as a magistrate, an officer, law-enforcement agency officer or a judge, the penalties are going to be very serious. The protected employee list gets longer; Any employee of Department of Correction, such as, local faculty or regional faculty, healthcare department, Medicaid, Medicare, any firefighter or volunteer of firefighters, any employee from Department of the Juvenile; convicting assault and battery crime on any of the mentioned above will result in Felony 6 charges on the guilty person. Felony 6 has a minimum of six months in jail according to Law, in which 30 days in the jail are mandatory.
- If a person commits battery and assault charges on the person who is engaged in school activities or part of an institution such as school, he will be charged with class 1 misdemeanor and will have to spend at least 15 days in the jail in which two days are mandatory. But the situation gets worse if the person has used any weapon or firearm in the school, then he will be charged with Class 6 felony and will be sent to the jail for a minimum of 6 months in which 30 days are mandatory.
When it is about misdemeanor and felony convictions, then you must know that it is a very serious and severe case. You need to consult an attorney and hire them according to your budget.