Arizona Assault and Battery Laws

Criminal assault and battery are also different from the torts of “assault and battery.” The elements are similar, but a tort is a civil wrong, and the victim can receive monetary compensation from the tortfeasor. A criminal charge of assault is a statutory offense, with penalties of fines and possible imprisonment. Like some other states, Arizona has dropped “battery” as a criminal charge and now categorizes all types of harmful contact as “assault.”

Arizona Assault Laws

In Arizona, simple assault is a misdemeanor. Aggravated assault is a felony. The degree of the offense depends on the type of contact and other factors, such as whether a weapon was involved. Let’s take a closer look at what makes them different.

Assault

Assault, or simple assault, does not require physical contact. Misdemeanor assault includes any of these actions:

• Intentionally causing physical injury to another person
• Intentionally placing another person “in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury” (meaning they fear harm)
• Touching another person with the intention of injuring, insulting, or provoking them

Assault does not require you to hit or hurt the person yourself. If you push a flowerpot off a balcony with the intent to hit someone below and are successful, you have committed assault. If you poke them in the nose over and over again until they punch you, you began the fight by assaulting them. This type of assault does not require physical harm to be a criminal offense.

Aggravated Assault

In Arizona, aggravated assault is the legal term for what other states call “battery.” Aggravated assault requires some type of physical contact. It also covers the use of a deadly weapon or “dangerous instrument.”

You can face felony charges for aggravated assault if you:

• Cause serious physical injury or disfigurement to a person
• Use a deadly weapon to place someone in “imminent fear of serious physical injury”
• Commit an assault on a minor
• Commit an assault on someone restrained or otherwise unable to resist
• Commit an assault on a public servant, police officer, teacher, or firefighter
• Commit assault by strangulation

Assault and aggravated assault are often charged as lesser-included offenses with other crimes. They share many elements with robbery, burglary, and sexual assault. Part of a criminal defense lawyer’s strategy may include accepting a lesser plea to an assault charge to avoid more serious violent crime charges.

Potential Penalties for Assault in Arizona

Simple assault is a misdemeanor offense. Depending on how the defendant acted towards the victim, there are three classes, or degrees, of culpability in the offense:

• Class-3 misdemeanor assault, the least serious assault charge, involves knowingly and/or intentionally putting a person in imminent fear of injury or touching another person with the intent to injure, insult, or provoke. It can result in a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and fines of not more than $500.
• Class-2 misdemeanor assault is recklessly causing any physical injury to another person. It carries up to four months in jail and a fine of up to $750.
• Class-1 misdemeanor assault involves intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing any physical injury to another person. It has penalties of up to six months in jail and fines of up to $2,500.

Aggravated assault charges are all felonies. The class of felony depends on the circumstances of the offense and, in some cases, the nature of the alleged victim. Some classes have mandatory minimum sentences.

• Class 2 felonies: Up to five years’ imprisonment
• Class 3 felonies: 3.5 years’ imprisonment
• Class 4 felonies: 2.5 years’ imprisonment
• Class 5 felonies: 1.5 years’ imprisonment
• Class 6 felonies: One year imprisonment, or prosecutors may request a misdemeanor charge instead of a felony

Class 1 felony charges are only filed in first- and second-degree murder cases.

Possible Defenses in an Assault Case

Any criminal prosecution must prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. There are ways someone facing an assault charge in Arizona might challenge the prosecution’s case. These include:

• Self-defense/defense of others: Arizona’s self-defense law does not require you to retreat before using reasonable force to protect yourself or others. However, the force used must be proportional to the force used against you. You cannot use this defense if you were the initial aggressor.
• Lack of intent: Assault requires an intent to cause harm or fear of harm. If you can demonstrate a lack of intent (such as carelessness or recklessness), you may avoid criminal assault charges, although not civil liability.
• Consent: This defense has limits, but in some mutual combat situations, it is useful. Bar fights and other situations in which two people fight sometimes end with this defense. Arizona law generally does not allow consent as a defense to assault causing serious physical injury.

Domestic violence cases are complicated assault matters, since the more seriously injured party may sometimes be the initial aggressor. Defense strategies in these cases are best left to an attorney.

Get Legal Advice From an Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney

An assault conviction could result in jail time, fines, and a criminal record that will follow you, even if this is your first offense. If you are facing an Arizona assault charge, contact an Arizona criminal defense attorney in your area as soon as possible.