If you think back to the incident that led to your arrest, there may be various things you wish you would have done or said differently. You may even regret some of the choices you made that day, such as allowing yourself to be drawn into the altercation that took place. Regardless of the details of your particular situation, if it landed you behind bars in a Tennessee jail, things may get a whole lot worse before they get better.
If a police officer charged you with assault, you’ll definitely have your work cut out for you to avoid conviction. This is because it’s often difficult to combat various tactics and strategies employed by prosecutors in such situations. For instance, you may assert that you were merely defending yourself when a particular disruption took place; however, if the prosecution convinces the court otherwise, the outcome may not be in your favor.
What constitutes assault?
Just because someone accuses you of assault doesn’t necessarily mean you are guilty. In order to fight against assault charges in court, it often helps to seek clarification of the legal definition of the term in order to determine how best to proceed to counteract the charges against you. The following list provides pertinent information regarding assault charges:
- Words alone do not constitute assault. Even if you shout at someone in anger, if you do not physically act in such a way to cause a threat of imminent harm, you are likely not committing assault.
- For an assault charge to stick, there typically needs to be two issues at hand: You must be proved to have intended to cause apprehension or fear of harm, and you must successfully carry out the threat, meaning you actually cause harm in connection with the threat.
- If you tell someone you want to kill them, it is not necessarily an assault; however, if you happen to be pointing a gun in their direction when you say it, that’s another story altogether. Presenting yourself physically in such a way that leads another person to believe that you intend to carry out a threat is considered assault under state law.
Is it possible to stay on the outside of a Tennessee jail cell when a police officer tells the court you committed assault? In some cases, it definitely is, depending on various factors. Many people who have fought against such charges in the past were successful because they reached out for support from others who were well-versed in criminal defense law and were able to provide aggressive representation.
If you hope to get your life back on track and avoid long-term negative consequences in relation to the current charges against you, you can research the types of helpful resources that are available in your area and access them as needed.