Criminal cases involving assault or threats may lead prosecutors to devote substantial resources toward securing a conviction, given the harm suffered by the victims. If you face prosecution for an assault or threat crime, you need legal representation to help level the playing field.
William Fay, Esq., can help you pursue the best possible resolution to your charges under the NJ battery penal code. A former New Jersey deputy attorney general, he has seen firsthand how the state investigates and prepares criminal cases. Mr. Fay leverages his experience to challenge the prosecution’s charges against his clients, pursuing favorable outcomes.
Contact William Fay, Esq., for a free, no-obligation initial case review with a knowledgeable Ocean County assault defense lawyer. Discover how he can fight to protect your rights and interests.
Why Hire William Fay for Your Assault & Threats Defense in Ocean County, NJ?
If you’ve been arrested for an assault or criminal threat offense, hiring legal representation can become one of the most important decisions you make in your case. As an experienced battery lawyer, Mr. Fay understands that every client has a unique case, so he takes the time to thoroughly investigate the charges to develop a tailored legal strategy and vigorously advocate for his client’s interests.
He maintains regular contact throughout a case, allowing clients to reach him directly via his cell phone. Mr. Fay handles every case personally, never delegating clients to associate attorneys, paralegals, or legal assistants. His results-driven approach means we take an aggressive approach in the courtroom while remaining compassionate and reliable for our clients.
Reach out today for your free, fully confidential case evaluation.
Why Do You Need a Lawyer When Facing Assault & Threats Charges?
An assault and battery attorney can defend your rights and interests by doing the following:
- Independently investigating your charges to ensure you have evidence that can support your defense
- Reviewing the facts and circumstances of your case to identify potential defenses
- Explaining the differences between battery vs. assault and helping you understand the details of your charges to ensure you can make informed decisions about how to face your case
- Protecting your rights by seeking to exclude evidence unlawfully obtained by law enforcement
- Fighting the prosecution’s case at each stage to obtain the best possible outcome, even if that means going to trial
What Types of Assault & Threats Cases Does William Fay Handle?
Mr. Fay can help you pursue a favorable resolution to all types of assault, criminal threat, or violent crime charges. Common examples of misdemeanor or felony assault charges in New Jersey include the following:
- Simple Assault – A person commits simple assault if they attempt to cause or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly cause injury to another person, negligently injure another person with a deadly weapon, or use physical menace to cause a person to fear imminent severe injury.
- Disorderly Conduct – The crime of disorderly conduct involves purposely or recklessly creating public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm through fighting, making threats, violent behavior, or creating a physically dangerous condition through an act that serves no legitimate purpose or involves the use of loud, coarse, or abusive language in public with the intent to offend the sensibilities of those nearby.
- Criminal Mischief – The offense of criminal mischief involves purposely or knowingly damaging another person’s property or recklessly or negligently damaging property through the use of fire or explosives, or involves tampering with another person’s property to endanger life or property.
- Stalking – A person may commit stalking when they purposely or knowingly engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause them to reasonably fear for their own or a third party’s safety or to suffer emotional distress.
- Harassment – The crime of harassment occurs when a person makes or causes another party to make one or more communications anonymously, at extremely inconvenient hours, with offensive language, or in any manner likely to cause annoyance or alarm. It also occurs when a person subjects another individual to offensive touching or threatens to do so, or engages in any other course of alarming conduct or repeated behavior with the intent to annoy or alarm an individual.
- Aggravated Assault – Aggravated battery in New Jersey involves trying to cause or actually causing serious injury, showing extreme disregard for human life, assault with a deadly weapon, pointing a gun at someone recklessly, injuring someone while fleeing police, or injuring someone by purposely starting a fire or explosion.
- Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer – New Jersey law elevates the crime of simple assault to aggravated assault when committed against a protected employee, such as a police officer, firefighter, judicial officer, or corrections officer, in the course of the employee’s duties.
- Terroristic Threats – A person commits terroristic threats by threatening violence to scare someone, force an evacuation, or cause public panic. The crime also applies when someone acts with reckless disregard for the fear they cause, or when they threaten to kill another person in a way that makes the threat seem real and immediate.
- Manslaughter – In New Jersey, the crime of manslaughter occurs when a person recklessly causes another’s death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life or while fleeing law enforcement, or when a person recklessly causes another’s death or kills another person while acting under a heat of passion.
- Homicide – The crime of homicide encompasses the unlawful, unjustified killing of another person. The offense of murder involves the intentional killing of another person with malice aforethought.
- Criminal Restraint – A person commits criminal restraint by restraining another individual without lawful authority under circumstances that expose the individual to a risk of severe injury or by holding an individual in involuntary servitude.
- Trespassing – A person can face prosecution for trespassing either by entering or surreptitiously remaining in another party’s property knowing they do not have a right or privilege to do so, if a person remains on another’s property after the owner or occupier tells them to leave, or if a person enters or remains on property with notice against trespass or enclosures manifestly intended to exclude intruders.
- Assault by Auto – A person commits an assault by auto when they operate a vehicle or vessel recklessly and injure another person.
- Resisting Arrest – A person commits the crime of resisting arrest when they purposely prevent or attempt to prevent a law enforcement officer from making an arrest.
- Obstructing the Administration of Law (Obstruction of Justice) – An individual can commit the offense of obstructing the administration of law/obstruction of justice by purposely obstructing or impairing the administration of law or another governmental function or by preventing a public servant from performing an official function by means of flight, intimidation, force, violence, physical interference or obstacle, or another unlawful act.
What Are the Consequences for Threat and Assault Crimes in New Jersey?
A person convicted of violating the assault penal code in New Jersey can face consequences that begin with a criminal sentence. The penalties imposed in a sentence for an assault or threat crime can include the following:
- Jail or prison time
- Probation (as an alternative to incarceration)
- Fines
- Court costs
- Restitution (which compensates a victim for financial losses caused by the defendant’s crime, such as medical bills)
A conviction for a crime classified as a petty disorderly persons offense or disorderly persons offense (also referred to as misdemeanors) may result in the imposition of jail time. However, a conviction for an indictable crime (also referred to as a felony) can result in a prison sentence of 18 months or more.
Convictions can have other long-term consequences beyond criminal sentences, including the following:
- Immigration consequences for non-citizens
- Potential suspension or revocation of professional licenses
- Loss of firearm rights for felony offenses or domestic battery-related convictions
A conviction will also result in a defendant having a criminal record that can follow them for years after the offense, appearing on background checks for professional licenses, employment, or housing applications, and making it more challenging to pursue such opportunities.
Can Threat and Assault Charges Be Dropped?
Many people assume that an alleged victim of assault charges in New Jersey can ask the police or prosecutors to drop charges arising from the alleged offense against them. However, once police or prosecutors decide to file charges for a threat or assault offense, the alleged victim cannot stop the prosecution.
Instead, prosecutors and courts retain the discretion to determine whether to drop charges. Prosecutors may drop an assault or threat charge if they decide they lack sufficient evidence to secure a conviction at trial, or when they negotiate the dropping of certain charges as part of a plea agreement.
Contact an Ocean County Assault & Threats Defense Attorney Today
Following an arrest for battery charges in New Jersey, you need dedicated legal counsel who will fight for you. Let William Fay, Esq., an experienced Ocean County assault defense attorney, discuss your options for pursuing a positive outcome to your charges. He’s here to help protect your freedom, reputation, and future and fight for an outcome that allows you to move forward with your life.
Contact today for a free, fully confidential consultation via phone or in person.