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Home » Criminal Law » Criminal Offences » Assault

Assault Lawyers in Sydney

There are various types of assault related offences, all of which vary in seriousness typically depending on the degree of harm inflicted on the alleged victim.

Common Assault - Assault Lawyer Sydney

Common assault is an act where a person intentionally or recklessly causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence. Meaning the offence can still occur even if you haven’t physically contacted another person, if there is an alleged act causing someone else to fear your use of immediate and unlawful violence.

Common Assault is an offence under Section 61 of the Crimes Act 1900 which carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $5,500.

 

There are a range of penalties that a court can sentence you to if found guilty of common assault. These penalties include:

 

  • Section 10: no conviction is recorded, and the Court will conditionally discharge you;
  • Section 9: good behaviour bond that may include mandatory supervision by the Probation and Parole Service or other programs. Meaning you must not commit any further offences as long as the bond is in place;
  • Section 12 – Suspended sentence: suspended prison sentence based on a good behaviour bond; and
  • Prison sentence: under section 61 of the Crimes Act (NSW) 1900, you can face a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment. 

To be found guilty of common assault, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

 

To establish the offence, police must prove each of the following elements:

  1. That you caused another person to fear immediate and unlawful violence, or that you made physical contact with another person, and
  2. That the other person did not consent, and
  3. That your actions were intentional or reckless.

The most common defences for Common Assault are:

 

  • Self Defence;
  • Lawful Correction; and/or
  • Necessity.

Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm - Assault Lawyer Sydney

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm is an act whereby a person intentionally or recklessly causes the alleged victim a physical injury, although it can be minor. Examples of Actual Bodily Harm include:

 

  • a deep scratch or lasting bruises
  • a ‘black eye’
  • a psychiatric condition
  • bruises
  • small cuts

The type of penalty that you will receive may depend on the court that your matter is heard in and other factors such as circumstances and the degree of violence used –generally, your matter will be heard in the Local Court before a magistrate, where the maximum penalty is 2 years imprisonment, and/or a $5,500 fine.

 

However, the prosecution may ask for your matter to be heard in the District Court, where the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment.

 

It is important to remember that these are maximum penalties which are reserved for the most serious cases only.

To be convicted of this offence, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you assaulted a person and:

 

  • Actual bodily harm was caused, being an injury that need not be permanent, but must be more than “merely transient or trifling” recklessly; or
  • Grievous bodily harm was caused, being “really serious” injury, recklessly; or
  • Wounding was caused, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer of the skin, recklessly.

If the assault was physical, it must amount to some physical injury that is not short-lived or temporary, for example, bruises or scratches. Things which may not amount to assault occasioning actual bodily harm include swelling or small grazes which go away quickly; minor sprains which heal quickly, or loss of vision which you recover from quickly.

The most common defences for Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm are:

 

  • Self Defence;
  • Lawful Correction; and
  • Necessity. 

Assaulting a Police Officer

Whilst performing their duties, police officers are generally fair and reasonable; although there have been instances where they’ve used excessive force when dealing with members of the public. In said circumstances, you may react to defend yourself whereby the slightest contact with a police officer in the execution of their duty will result in you getting charged for assaulting police.

Assaulting a Police Officer is an offence under Section 60 of the Crimes Act 1900 which carrying a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.

An ‘assault’ is where:

  • You caused the officer to fear immediate and unlawful violence, or made unauthorised physical contact with the officer
  • The officer did not consent, and
  • Your actions were intentional or reckless

An act is considered to be against a police officer even though he or she is not on duty, if it is carried out due to:

  • Actions by the officer while executing their duty, or
  • The fact they’re a police officer.

The offence of Assaulting a police officer carries a maximum penalty of 2 years imprisonment in the Local Court and 5 years imprisonment in the District Court. If you had inflicted ‘actual bodily harm’, ‘grievous bodily harm’ or ‘very serious harm’ on the police officer then the maximum penalty significantly increases. These include, but aren’t limited to:

 

  • Any permanent or serious disfigurement
  • The destruction of a foetus, other than by a medical procedure, and
  • Any grievous bodily disease

 

Depending on the seriousness of the assault, Assaulting a police officer is an offence which may be dealt with pursuant to section 10 of the Crimes (Sentence Procedure) Act, whereby no conviction will be recorded, there is no other penalty and you will not have a criminal record.

To be convicted of this offence, the police must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

 

  • You assaulted, stalked, harassed or intimidated a police officer;
  • At the time the police officer was executing their duty.

 

If it is alleged that a particular type of harm was inflicted then the prosecution may also have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

 

  • Actual bodily harm was caused, being an injury that must be more than “merely transient or trifling” recklessly; or
  • Grievous bodily harm was caused, being “really serious” injury, recklessly; or
  • Wounding was caused, being an injury that pierces the inner and outer layer of the skin, recklessly.

The most common defences for Assaulting a Police Officer are:

 

  • Self Defence, and
  • Necessity

If you have been charged with assault, you should speak to assault defence lawyers at Lyons Law Group. 

If the police have charged you or a loved one, you must attend court. Appearing in court for a criminal charge is usually daunting. Let us help you make the process easier. Here are 10 reasons to choose our team of criminal lawyers from Lyons Law Group;

 

Result-focused criminal lawyers 

 

Our team will work to achieve the best result for you in the shortest time possible. However, we do aim to provide quality over quantity service to you. Our criminal lawyers appear in all criminal and traffic matters, including trials, sentencing, bail applications, and apprehended violence orders. We are a result-focused firm of lawyers.

At Lyons Law, we do not make any unrealistic promises for results. You will be advised on the most realistic results achievable in your case, including acquittals of all charges against you. Nevertheless, you can be sure that our team will work extremely hard to achieve the best possible outcome for you.

 

Proven Track Record

 

Our experienced defence lawyers are passionate about representing their clients and achieving the best outcome. Lyons Law is a team of solicitors who are dedicated, and with our support staff, you can be confident of the highest quality of legal representation. We have an exceptional track record of results. We provide our outstanding client service at an affordable rate for our clients.

 

Fixed Fees

 

We always let our clients know how much their cases will cost from the beginning. This makes it easier for them to decide whether or not they want to proceed with the case. Not only do we offer fixed fees for many types of criminal cases and services, but also free first phone consultations. In addition, our firm offers fixed fees applicable to a wide range of Local Court cases such as drink driving, fraud, drug possession, assault, and AVOs.

 

Free First Conference

 

For all of those individuals who are going to court, we offer a free first 15-minute phone conference with one of our senior criminal defence lawyer. It is best you email our office all your relevant documents before a conference so criminal lawyers can provide the best advice within that time frame.

 

Highly experienced criminal defence lawyer

 

Lyons Law Group is a highly experienced team of criminal lawyers. Our team is led by Mohammad Khan, who is one of the best criminal lawyers in Sydney. He has represented clients in some of Australia’s most high-profile cases and was under the direct tutelage of Australia’s leading criminal lawyer Adam Houda.

 

Moreover, our team has worked and successfully represented clients on highly complex trials and sentences in NSW.

 

Work closely with Australia’s leading criminal law barrister

 

We work closely with some of Australia’s leading criminal law barristers. Barristers are usually instructed in more serious matters, and their experience and input can be invaluable to your case. The barristers we regularly instruct range from Queen’s counsels, Senior counsels and highly experienced junior-senior counsels.

 

Specialist for District and Supreme Court trials

 

Our team of sydney criminal lawyers have worked on numerous District and Supreme Court trials in NSW. We have worked on extremely complex criminal law trials that require impeccable preparation and understanding of the law.

 

Specialist for bail applications in NSW

 

Lyons Law Group is a highly experienced team of bail lawyers. We have regularly obtained bail for clients for extremely serious charges that carry life sentences. For types of charges, bail is usually denied by a Court.

 

In house Experts

 

Our criminal lawyers have in-house investigators with decades of law enforcement experience and assist our team with process service, background checks, integrity testing, investigations, surveillance, and bug detection.

 

For the preparation of jury trials and defended hearings, these services can be utilised on behalf of our client to achieve the best result.

 

Appearance at all Courts in NSW

 

From Broken Hill to Waverly, our criminal lawyers appear in all courts throughout New South Wales.

 

If you wish to contact us or book your first free 15-minute phone conference, contact us on 0404479096 or send us an email at info@lyonslaw.com.au.

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