Simple assault is categorized as a class 1 misdemeanor in Fredericksburg, which means conviction carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and fine of $2,500. Normally, a no contact order is also seen as a penalty in simple assault cases. If a person gets convicted of these charges, the judge determines what the exact penalty will be depending on the circumstances of their case. If the judge deems a no contact order necessary, and if the person facing the no contact order breaks that order by making contact with the other party involved, there is a new additional charge of violating a no-contact order.
No contact orders and protective orders can have an impact on a person’s life for years to come, and Fredericksburg simple assault penalties can be harsh, so enlisting the help of a skilled Fredericksburg assault lawyer when building a defense in simple assault cases is imperative.
While misdemeanor assault charges may not carry the same daunting maximum penalties as felony charges, they still have very serious repercussions that can extend beyond the scope of the court ordered penalties. Whenever a person’s record is examined, regardless of what the purpose may be, having an assault conviction on record can carry the stigma that the person is a violent individual, even if the person’s assault case was relatively small.
The pertinent and specific facts of each case are not listed alongside the actual charge in a person’s criminal history, so on paper, there is nothing that makes one simple assault charge seem different from another. Incarceration and fines in misdemeanor assault cases can still be major burdens, despite being capped.
It is impossible to know how each judge is going to feel about the particular facts of each individual case, and because every misdemeanor assault charge carries the same maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500, each charge must be treated with the same importance by the defendant. If somebody has never been in jail before, being incarcerated for even 10 days is major, and many people do not have $2,500 available to pay off court costs or fines. On top of these issues, the subsequent no contact orders and a protective order have lasting backlash.
In addition to incurring new misdemeanor charges, violation of a no-contact order in a situation where a person has a suspended sentence from a previous assault will prompt the judge to put that person in jail for whatever that suspended time may be. If a person files for a protective order, they are asking the judge to other party involved to not have contact with them via the statute.
Violation of a protective order is considered a new class 1 misdemeanor, and on top of the potential Fredericksburg simple assault penalties associated with this new misdemeanor charge, a person that has violated a protective order should contact a Fredericksburg lawyer because they will face a mandatory minimum of a day in jail and loses their right to possess a firearm during the time the protective order is issued.
As far as a protective is concerned, somebody can ask the court, the judge, or the police to take out a protective order for them, then explain why they need the protective order and something called an EPO is placed and that is the Emergency Protective Order.
The Emergency Protective Order lasts only 72 hours, and within that time frame, there must be a hearing to determine the mandatory objective. A Protective Order is the one where they have to have a hearing; a protective order cannot be issued without a hearing.
Now if somebody is served with a protective order and told to come to court at a certain time, still they cannot issue their protective order without a hearing. A person has to have a hearing on the mandatory protective order while in an emergency order can be issued sua sponte ex parte; they just issue the order and then they are safe for the second. After that, that person has to continue to come to court to either try to get a mandatory protective order or to increase their time on the emergency order while they are trying to find somebody.
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
