The California PC 240 outlines the crime of assault. The crime of assault has several elements that the prosecutor must prove to show that you have violated the law. You may face assault charges if you engage in an act that may result in the application of force on another person. To face assault charges, you must willfully commit the act. At the time of committing the act, you should have been aware that the act would make a reasonable person believe that the act would lead to the application of force. At the time of acting, you should have the present ability to apply force on the victim. Assault is a criminal offense under California law and attracts detrimental consequences. You may face enhanced penalties if you commit the crime of assault on a public official.
Applying Force on another Person
According to California law, any form of offensive or harmful touching may qualify as an application of force on another person. If you touch another person in an offensive or rude manner, you may face charges under California law. You may face charges even if the touch is slight, as long as you do it offensively. You may face assault charges even if your charge does not lead to any form of injury on the victim. The touch does not have to be direct; you may face charges for indirectly touching another person using an object. To face assault charges under California law, you do not need to succeed in the application of force on another person. You will face charges as long as your actions were likely to lead to the application of force on another person.
You cannot face assault charges unless you acted willfully, and you were aware of your actions. To be guilty of acting willfully, you do not have to break the law, hurt another person, or gain from your actions. You only need to understand the implications of your actions. At times, you may not have had the intention to use force against another person. You only need to have known that your actions would result in the application of force.
California assault laws go hand in hand with battery laws. Most people assume that assault and battery mean the same thing and even use the terms interchangeably. However, there is a distinction between assault and battery. Under California law, assault and battery are two separate offenses, albeit related. The California PC 240 outlines assault as an action that causes physical harm to another person. It is an unwanted touching of another person. According to the California PC 242, the crime of battery entails the actual infliction of violence or physical force on another person.
As many people like to put it, the battery is like a completed assault. Battery involves physical touching of the victim, but assault does not require you to touch the victim physically.
Public Official
As part of their service, public officials have to make important policy decisions. Most policy decisions in the United States are dramatic and unpopular. For this reason, many public officials are at constant risk of threats and physical attacks. It is for this reason that the California legislature came up with a specific law that seeks to fight the assault on public officials. The California PC 217.1 (a) outlines the crime of assault on a public official. Upon facing conviction for the assault of a public official, the consequences can be detrimental.
Who is a public official? Many people have little understanding of the people who qualify as public officials. According to California PC 217.1(a), a public official may include commissioners, judges, referees, and other bench officers. Other persons who qualify as public
Officials include mayors, city council members, sheriffs, and county supervisors. Public officials may also comprise of directors or secretaries of any federal or state agency. Prosecutors or district attorneys and public defenders also qualify as public officials. The president or vice president of the United States is a public official. Any present or former juror or judge in the local, state, or federal justice qualifies as a public official. All elected officials at the federal or the state level also qualify as public officials.
According to California law, a public official is any person who is a peace officer, a member of the government, or an affiliate of the judiciary. You should note that the state protection on public officials also applies to the immediate family members of the officials. Immediate family members of public officials include the children, spouse, parents, or siblings of the public official.
Public officials may have varying roles. Their roles mainly revolve around the settlement of disputes in the state in the best way possible. Public officials may also take an active part in creating state laws. Assault on a public official attracts more severe penalties than an assault on a regular individual. In most cases, assault on a public official attracts felony charges under California law. In some severe cases of assault on a public official, the court may impose a death sentence.
The prosecutor has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you indeed assaulted a public official. Other than fighting the assault on a public official charges in a state court, you may also have to fight the allegations in a federal court. The prosecutor must prove that the assault on a public official had the aim of preventing the official from performing his/her legal duties. The assault on the official may also have been a form of revenge against the official for exercising the law against you.
Elements of PC 217.1 (a)
According to California law, assault on a public official is a severe offense, and the associated consequences are detrimental. Under normal circumstances, the crime of assault is a misdemeanor. However, if you assault a public official, you will automatically face felony charges under California law.
The crime of assault on a public official has several elements under California law. The prosecutor has to prove all the elements for you to face charges under PC 217.1 (a). First, it must be evident that you committed an assault. You must have committed the assault against a public official or a close family member of the official. It should be apparent or evident that you committed the offense to deter or hinder the official from committing his legal duties. If you assault a public official, but the assault does not aim at affecting the official's job, you may not face charges under PC 217.1 (a). However, you may face normal assault charges or assault with a deadly weapon charge.
For instance, you may attack a person in a bar or other entertainment joint without the knowledge that the person is a public official. As long as you did not know that the victim was a public official at the time of the assault, you may not face charges for assault on a public official. The fact that you were not aware of the status of the victim would mean that the attack had nothing to do, preventing the public official from performing his/her legal duties. Therefore, you may face charges for regular assault but not for the attack on a public official.
You will face charges for the unlawful/illegal attempt to violently injure another person as long as you had the present ability to inflict the injury. To be guilty of assault on a public official, you do not need to succeed in injuring the public official.
Consequences for Assaulting a Public Official
When you assault a public official, you may face several consequences, according to California law. A crime under PC 217.1 (a) may attract felony or misdemeanor charges. The prosecutor has the discretion to charge the crime as a felony or misdemeanor. The prosecutor will consider your criminal record and other factors surrounding your case while deciding whether to assign felony or misdemeanor charges.
You may serve misdemeanor probation for assaulting a public official. The alternative name for misdemeanor probation is summary probation. This probation has less severe conditions of probation. You may also have to serve jail time that does not exceed one year. You will serve jail time in a California county jail. The other penalty includes a fine that does not exceed $1,000.
The court may also decide to charge the crime of assaulting a public official as a felony. The potential consequences for assaulting a public official include serving felony probation. The alternative name for felony probation is formal probation. The conditions for formal probation include regularly meeting with the probation officer or visiting the probation office. You may also have to engage in community service while on probation.
The court might impose jail time in a county jail in California. You may spend sixteen months, two years, or three years in county jail. This jail time is following California's realignment program. The court may also require you to pay a hefty fine that does not exceed $10,000.
Fighting Charges for Assault on a Public Official
If you are facing charges for assaulting a public official in California, you do not have to give up. With the help of a qualified criminal defense attorney, you can fight the charges in court. You can take advantage of the several legal defenses available. Some of the common defenses include:
You had no Intent to Prevent the Official from performing his/her Official Duties
You can only face charges for assaulting a public official if you attack the official with the intent of preventing the official from executing his/her official duties. However, if it is evident that you did not have this intent, the court may charge you with simple assault instead of assault of a public official. The crime of simple assault may be a plea bargain to an offense under PC 217.1 (a). You will face lesser charges for simple assault than you would face for assaulting a public official. You might use this defense if you assaulted the public official in another place than his/her official place of work. For instance, if you assault a person in a social joint only to learn that the person is a public official, this defense may apply.
You had no Ability to inflict injury on the official
You may also fight charges for assault on a public official by asserting that at the time of committing the offense, you had no present ability to subject the official to violent injury. When engaging with a public official, you may engage in a harsh exchange of words. You may even exchange hostile gestures. At times, you may even attempt to harm the public official. However, if it is evident that you had no present ability to damage the officer at the time of the offense, you cannot face charges. You cannot face any assault charges, including simple assault, as long as you could not hurt the public official. You may use this defense if the public official is stronger than you. For instance, if you are younger than the public official, and you have no physical ability to harm him/her, this defense strategy may apply. With proper legal presentation, the court may reduce your charges to a lesser offense like disturbing the peace. With the help of an attorney, you may even be able to beat the charges and walk away free.
You were Defending another Person or Yourself
You may fight the charges of assault on a public official by pointing out that you were defending yourself or another person. The public official may have been aggressive or violent towards you. In most cases, the prosecutors always assume that the defendant is to blame. It is hard for the prosecutor to believe that public officials may be to blame. However, it is common for defendants to face an assault on a public official charged, yet they were trying to defend themselves. You may assert in court that you or another individual was in danger of an unlawful touch or injury. You may proceed to point out that you responded to the impending threat by using reasonable force against a public official. For the case of self-defense or defense of another person, it must be evident that you did not use more power than was necessary under the circumstances.
You did Not Act on Purpose or Willfully
You may fight charges for assault of a public official by pointing out that you did not act willfully or on purpose. You cannot be guilty of assaulting an official unless you acted on purpose, and you were aware of your actions at the time of committing the offense. You may assert that your actions were intentional. You may also state that it was a case of misunderstanding, and you did not know that the victim was a public official. At times, the said victim may have misinterpreted your actions. If this is the case, you deserve to prove your innocence in court with the help of an attorney. Your attorney can reveal the whole story to the jury and the prosecutor.
False Accusation
You may fight charges for assault on a public official by pointing out that you are a victim of false accusations. According to California law, a victim of assault does not need to suffer physical injury to prove that you assaulted him/her. For this reason, it is common for people to accuse others of assaulting them falsely. The same case applies to public officials, and an official may accuse you of harming him/ her falsely. The main motives of false accusations include jealousy, anger, and revenge. An experienced personal injury attorney can prove that you did not commit the offense and plead for your freedom.
Related Offenses
Several offenses are related to the crime of assault on a public official in California. The court may charge you with the related crimes alongside assault on a public official or charge you with the offenses as a plea bargain. Some of the associated crimes include:
Disturbing the Peace
According to California PC 415, you may face charges for disturbing the peace if you unlawfully engage in a fight in a public place. You may face similar charges if you challenge another person to participate in a fight in a public place. It is also against the law to willfully and maliciously disturb another individual using loud or unreasonable noise. You may be guilty of disturbing the peace if you use offensive words in a public place. The offensive words should have a likelihood of provoking an immediate violent reaction.
A violation under PC 415 may be an infraction or a misdemeanor depending on your past criminal record and the circumstances of your case. If the court charges the offense as an infraction, you may have to pay a fine that does not exceed $250. For a misdemeanor conviction, the fines may rise to $400. For a misdemeanor charge, you may have to serve jail time for up to three months.
If you commit the crime of disturbing the peace on school grounds, you may face charges under PC 415.5. It is against the law to disturb the peace on school grounds, including any community college, school of any level, or university. If you commit this offense and you are not a student or an employee at the school, you will face misdemeanor charges. The penalties will include serving jail time not exceeding 90 days and paying a fine not exceeding $400.
Assault with a Deadly Weapon
You may face charges under California PC 245 (a) (1) if you assault another person with a deadly weapon other than a firearm. You may also face similar charges if you assault another person using a force that is likely to produce significant bodily injury. According to California law, assault with a deadly weapon is a wobbler. The prosecutor has the discretion to charge the offense as a felony or misdemeanor. For a misdemeanor charge, penalties include serving jail time of up to one year in a county jail in California. The court may require you to pay a fine not exceeding $1,000. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you pay the fine and serve jail time.
If the prosecutor charges the crime of assault with a deadly weapon as a felony, the penalties include imprisonment in a state prison in California. The imprisonment period is four years. The court may impose a fine not exceeding $10,000 or both the fine and imprisonment.
When fighting charges for assault with a deadly weapon, you may point out that you did not use a deadly weapon. You may also assert that you did not use force likely to produce significant bodily injury. You may point out that you did not act willfully — another possible defense for attack with a deadly weapon in self-defense or defense of another person.
Simple Assault
It is common for prosecutors to charge defendants with simple assault instead of an assault on a public official. This mainly happens if the defendant asserts that he/she was not aware that the defendant was a public official. The charges may also apply if the public official was not involved in the commission of his/her official duties at the time of the attack.
You may face simple assault charges in California if you do something that may result in the application of force to another person. The crime of simple assault is a misdemeanor, according to California law. The penalties include jail time of up to six months in a county jail in California. You may also have to pay a fine that does not exceed $10,000. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may serve jail time and still pay the fine.
For the prosecutor to accuse you of simple assault, it must be evident that you did something that would result in the application of force on another person. You have acted willfully or intentionally. You should have been aware that your actions would lead to the application of force. You must have had the present ability to apply force at the time of the offense.
Find a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney near Me
If you are facing charges for assaulting a public official in California, you risk jail time and payment of hefty fines. The Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney can help you come up with a proper defense to fight the charges. Contact us at 310-564-2605 and speak to one of our experienced attorneys.
