Assaults Causing Bodily Harm – Aggravated Assault Lawyer Vancouver
Our aggravated assault lawyer in Vancouver at Butler & Company has acted as counsel in thousands of assaults causing bodily harm cases all over British Columbia from Vancouver to smaller towns like Kitimat and Cranbrook and as far North as Dease Lake. He can help you every step of the way in your assault, sexual assault, threatening or stalking case whether it is to obtain a plea negotiation (often involving no further license prohibition) or as competent and diligent counsel at trial.
The Criminal Code of Canada defines the charge this way:
Assault
265. (1) A person commits an assault when
(a) without the consent of another person, he applies force intentionally to that other person, directly or indirectly;
(b) he attempts or threatens, by an act or a gesture, to apply force to another person, if he has, or causes that other person to believe on reasonable grounds that he has, present ability to effect his purpose; or
(c) while openly wearing or carrying a weapon or an imitation thereof, he accosts or impedes another person or begs.
The offence of assault is thus one that involves the intentional application of force and might even be made out in situations where no actual force is applied. For instance if a person merely threatens to apply force to another person (ie. says “I am going to kick your butt”) and thereafter makes a gesture towards that other person (ie. shakes a fist at them or advances towards them) and that other person reasonably believes that the person will harm him, then the offence can be made out.
The defences to an assault charge often involve the defence of “self defence” or the defence of “consent”. Self defence allows one to apply reasonable force to another if certain circumstances are found to exist. The proof of “consent” involves the invocation of the right to touch (or even strike) someone when one has the explicit or implicit permission to do so. Situations involving domestic assault cases are also handled by Jamie Butler.
There are several defences to assault charges and they will all depend upon the unique facts and circumstances surrounding the altercation.
Assault causing bodily harm / aggravated assault:
Sometimes the degree of the assault is more serious that a run of the mill assault. When there are injuries that are deemed by the Crown to be “more than trifling” (ie. cuts or broken bones) then the Crown might charge a person with “assault causing bodily harm”, and that’s especially you need the services of a good assault case lawyer. Where the circumstances of the assault cause even more damage to the victim (ie. wounds him or leaves him/her disfigured or in a position that endangers his life) then the charges might be elevated to an allegation of “aggravated assault”.
The degree of seriousness of the charges as they relate the injuries imposed on the victims is also reflected in the increases in sentences for those who commit them. Under the Criminal Code for instance the maximum sentence for assault causing bodily harm (at 10 years) and aggravated assault (at 14 years) means that the Courts have a broader range of sentence options available at their disposal when sentencing offenders under these types of charges if same are convicted or plead guilty.