Assault Charges – Can You Defend Them?

Ottawa assault lawyers at Auger Hollingsworth defend many clients charged with assault, spousal / domestic assault, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.

Call an Ottawa assault lawyer at (613) 699-8192 or email [email protected] so we can use our experience to help you.

This is Serious!

Here are the maximum sentences that can be imposed if you are convicted of assault:

Assault–  imprisonment up to five years

Assault causing bodily harm– imprisonment up to ten years

Assault with a weapon –imprisonment up to ten years

Aggravated assault – imprisonment up to fourteen years

There is a lot at stake!

If you are convicted, you could have problems crossing the U.S. border, obtaining a professional license (such as a real estate agent or mortgage broker) and have other job problems.

How can an Ottawa Defence Lawyer help?

• An Ottawa defence lawyer will study the Crown brief (the evidence they collect from the police).
• An Ottawa defence lawyer will identify who the Crown witnesses are and investigate their backgrounds.  In many cases we engage private investigators with great success.
• An Ottawa defence lawyer will interview witnesses you suggest or who we uncover who may provide a different perspective on the Crown’s version of events.
• An Ottawa defence lawyer knows how to review the disclosure (the Crown’s evidence, primarily from the police) to detect if your Charter rights were violated during the process leading up to your arrest.
• For example, if you gave a statement to police that the Crown wants to use against you, your Ottawa defence lawyer will scrutinize how that statement was obtained to ensure your rights were not violated.  If your rights were violated, the Crown may not be able to use your statement against you.
• At Auger Hollingsworth, our criminal defence lawyers ae prepared to take an aggressive stand during the pretrial stage to help you avoid the expense and worry of a trial by pressing the Crown to withdraw charges where they have not reasonable prospect of conviction.

What Should You Do NOW?

• DO NOT tell your family and friends the “whole story” leading to your arrest.  Keep the details to yourself and your Ottawa criminal lawyer.
• DO make notes of what happened leading up to your arrest and provide them to your Ottawa defence lawyer.  Make these notes asap after you are released from the police station while the events are still fresh.
• Do follow your Ottawa criminal lawyer’s advice.  If your lawyer wants you to go for anger management, drug or alcohol assessment or other psychological investigations, DO IT.  Your efforts can only help you.
• DO comply with any conditions of release imposed by the police carefully.  Your criminal defence lawyer’s bargaining power with the Crown decreases significantly if you are charged with a breach of your terms of release.
• DO stay clear of the person who you are alleged to have assaulted.  If it is essential that you communicate with the other person, your defence lawyer can take steps to get permission.

If you are looking for a criminal defence lawyer to help you with your charges of assault, contact a Ottawa Criminal Defence Lawyer at (613) 699-8192 or by emailing [email protected].