How to Beat an Assault Charge in Canada?

In Canada, if you intentionally assault someone with due evidence, you will be penalized.

But if someone has done it unintentionally or just to protect themselves from getting assaulted, they can defend themselves. So if you have been charged with an assault and it’s not your fault, you can take steps to save yourself from getting convicted. There are numerous defence strategies that can be applied in assault cases and getting legal representation from highly experienced criminal defence lawyers.

This blog will outline how to beat an assault charge in Canada. Go over all the details to prepare for the case.

Assaults are treated in two specific ways, such as:

• Summary offence (Less serious, lower punishment)
• Indictable offence (More serious, severe punishment)

Note that if it’s clearly an aggravated assault, for instance, maiming, disfiguring, wounding, or endangering a victim’s life is automatically an indictable crime.

To prove the offence’s severity, the prosecutor must convince the judge with plenty of evidence. As an accuser and defender, you will be allowed to explain yourself.

And you can defend yourself by putting forward one of the 4 explanations—

• It’s a self-defence
• The action took place consensually
• It was rather a reflex, therefore, unintentional
• It was a correction action

Learn more about the defences from the following sections.

Section 34 of the Canadian Criminal Code provides directions to fight a self-defence assault charge.

With the help of a lawyer, you must prove that—

• The force or a threat is directed toward you or someone else
• The force was used to prevent a person from harming you or another
• The action was reasonable for the circumstance

To determine if your action was reasonable, the judge would closely look at a few factors—

• What was the nature of the threat or force?
• Was the action necessary?
• What exactly was your role in an incident?
• Did anybody use a weapon?
• What are the sizes, ages, and genders of the involved parties?
• What are the relationship’s nature, history, and duration with the involved parties?

Explaining the action as self-defence is simple. But a lawyer can help you to develop a convincing and precise argument for the judge.

Some incidents involving injuries happened with consent. For instance, fish fighting in a bar or being injured from boxing are common examples of accepting the risk of bodily harm.

However, the law won’t understand that so easily. Thus if your prosecutor wants to sue you, they must prove that they didn’t consent to do it.

Additionally, the law doesn’t simply accept that you did it because the other party was aware of the risk. Therefore, you must appear in court with enough evidence and witness to confirm that you are innocent.

The intent is a major factor in terms of assaults. Considering that, you didn’t actually want to harm. Simply, you were trying to save yourself or another party. So, it will be considered a reflex.

And a reflex is never the intention. As a result, you can use this ground as a defence.

Some forces are considered corrective actions. For instance, a teacher, parent, or guardian can use some reasonable force. Let’s say you, as a parent, can spank your child.

Since it is purely a correction measure, you can justify it. But keep in mind, if a weapon is involved, the other party can prove you are guilty.

The accuser will have the burden of proof. They must explain their grounds and be beyond a reasonable doubt. It depends on them to prove you guilty. However, you will need to prepare for facing the court if you want to prove innocent.

Surely a lawyer can assist you in the process. But knowing how the process goes, you will be better prepared to fight for your case.

So, here is how you are supposed to act to beat an assault charge.

The elements of charges are different in every jurisdiction. Therefore, in assault cases, your charge will be defined differently, too. So, you need to be aware of what prosecution you will face.

For instance, you might have expressed how you will hit them to hurt them. Apparently, it looks like an attempt, but it is a crime itself. On the other hand, you could be involved in a fight. In such a case, you will be accused of assault and battery.

The complainant must prove why you wanted to hurt them in all jurisdictions.

It’s an important part of the process to find witnesses and talk about the incident as soon as possible. You might have a friend with you, and you ask them to explain what they actually saw.

If you didn’t know anyone in the incident, you can visit the spot again and talk to people to confirm if they remember anything.

This step helps you figure out why the other party has brought the charge against you. You can talk to a friend or a family member to do it. This way, you can identify the intent of pressing the charge.

In a case like an assault, you must talk to a lawyer. Share everything only with your lawyer.

If you can’t afford to hire a lawyer, the court can provide you with one once you are officially charged with an assault. Nevertheless, the court will assess your financial condition. If they see you can hire a lawyer, you are not getting one from the court.

Whether you get a lawyer from a court or not, you should talk to a lawyer to prepare your defence if you don’t want to face any criminal charges. The lawyer will get the statements and necessary documents from the complainant. They will also analyze all the evidence and help identify areas with reasonable doubts.

Assault itself is a broad term. So it includes serious and minor crimes related to the assault. Therefore, the first thing one should do is talk to a lawyer. Only the lawyer can help you prove that you are innocent.

How do you get assault charges dropped in Canada?

You can drop assault charges in Canada by proving that it was unintentional. That includes grounds like–consensual executive, self-defence, reflex, and correction acts.

If it’s a simple assault and you did it for the first time, you get a jail sentence. But if you are guilty of causing severe bodily harm to someone, you might be imprisoned for 5 years or so. A first-time assault charge in Canada can send you to jail or not, depending on the severity of the assault.

If you cause severe bodily harm, it will be an aggravated crime. In such cases, you may get a sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment.

Yes, but a victim can’t do it. Hence, they must try to convince the prosecutor or the court. If the court deems it’s not public interest or reasonable, a common assault charge can be dropped.