According to Illinois criminal law, an assault is the threat of physical harm or battery that puts a person in fear of harm or injury.
That action may be charged as an aggravated assault if you use, threaten to use, or brandish a weapon or firearm, or if the assault is on a selected class of person, such a public service employee, or elderly person.
Illinois Assault Charges can be classified as felony or misdemeanor charges depending on the seriousness and severity of the incident.
(See Illinois Assault laws 720 ILCS Sec. 12-1 and 12-2.)
Can I Fight an Assault Charge?
Yes. If you are charged with an assault, it is typically a situation where a disagreement got out of hand, and the police were called.
If the case involves a simple assault with no battery, then we can often argue that the alleged threat of violence or injury was overstated. If the victim’s fear of being hurt was not “reasonable”, then the case should be dismissed.
In other cases, we may be able to get the charge dropped in exchange for counseling or anger management classes, particularly if the victim is hesitant to fully pursue criminal charges.
These situations can vary considerably, so please contact us for a legal evaluation of your criminal assault charge, and we will let you know what we can do to help.
Assault Penalties in Illinois
A charge of assault is a Class C Misdemeanor Offense, which carries penalties of up to 30 days in jail and/or a $1500 fine. In addition, according to Illinois assault laws, you will also be sentenced to 30-120 hours of community service if you are convicted of the offense.
A charge of aggravated assault can be a Class A Misdemeanor, or a Class 4 Felony, depending on the situation.
Felony aggravated assault has a penalty of 1-3 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
Misdemeanor aggravated assault has a penalty of up to 1 year in jail, and a fine of up to $2500.
Battery Charges
Assault is often associated with charges of battery. Battery is the actual injury or physical contact, whereas an assault charge can result from the mere threat of harm. For more details, see our Illinois battery offense page.
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Please contact us for a free case evaluation for any assault, aggravated assault, battery, or any other criminal charge in Illinois.