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Going to Court on Assault Charges - Jan 7th, 2010 - Need Advice

Joeybphs

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Hello Sosuave, I'm in great need of some advice from any of you that has any experience in this legal business.

I'm facing Assault Charges against a girl, I'm only 16 so its a misdemeanor, but I still don't want it on my record, because here's the issue - I didn't do it. I've already been expelled from the school I was attending out of district, and the only thing I can fight now is the assault charge.

The story goes like this!

I'd heard a rumor about a girl sleeping with one of my best friends, so around 4:45 after school last Thursday I went up to her and being the direct person I am, asked her if she was sleeping with him.

She said yes, and let me tell you, she seemed very proud of it.

Directly after this she said "Oh, so I heard your mom died Joey.." and I'm like "yes."
She asks me how, I say drugs, she looks me in the eye and says,

"Oh, well if I had a kid like you'd I'd probably kill myself too."

Not wanting to lose my temper and make this physical, I looked at her, called her a *****, and walked away..

about 10 seconds and 10 feet later, I hear the quick tap of shoes running across the floor behind me, and turn to find this little girl FLYING across the hallway at me, fists raised.

Now, I've received training - but no where during BJJ did I learn how to deal with a girl that I can't hit charging across the hallway at me. So I reacted to instinct, not wanting to put my hands on her, I covered my face/body, leaned back and STUPIDLY put my foot up. She ran into it, kept going, bending my leg, and hit me twice in the chest.

I laughed and walked away when it was over, thinking nothing of it.

The next day I'm called it, told that my language towards her was completely inappropriate and I was having my Open-Enrollment revoked. So basically I was expelled.
The cop came in and charged me with assault saying the parents wanted to press charges, and that I was "lucky I wasn't being charged with sexual harassment."
I asked "What about her?!" and he was like "there's nothing to charge her with! Now I don't know about you but in my house, NO ONE talks to girls that way! I don't know what could have possessed you to speak to a young lady like that."

According to the officer and principal, on the security camera she ran after me, and I turned, walked forward and knee'd her as she reached me. It did not show her hitting me in any way, and I was being charged for kicking her.

The officer warned me that if I pled innocent the whole court was going to hear what I had said to her (asking if she had slept with my friend, and calling her a *****), but even after I tried to tell the officer what she had said to me, they both had no interest.

So apparently I'm going to court with the camera against me, the police officer and principal against me with camera footage I wasn't allowed to see, and I'd like to know some of the do's and don'ts with being in court.
My issue here is that I tried to walk away, she ran after and ran into my foot. According to her she was trying to tell me to leave her alone, and now I don't know about you but I don't have to be within kicking range to tell someone to **** off, especially after they're already walking away.

I know my first mistake was talking with the officer present, as he can't be convinced of my innocence and it's not up to him. My second mistake was talking without waiting for my parents to get there first. So now, sosuave.net, I'm looking for some advice.

I tried to walk away, and keep it verbal. She made it physical and now I'm paying for it.
 
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BlakeW5

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Well this isn't fighttips.com lol (probably the wrong site to have ANY record of you asking for advice on this situation BTW) but you're in quite the pickle.

First, GET A GOOD LAWYER. I know the cost may be an issue, but you've got something invaluable on the line here.....your reputation.

Tell the court and your lawyer EXACTLY what you told us. A good lawyer can catch her in the lie. Secondly you have the right to see the video that's going to be used against you. It sounds like they're using the threat of it to get you to confess otherwise they'd have no problem showing it to you.

Whatever you do, keep your cool in court or ANY TIME you have to deal with or talk about this issue. If you flip out they'll just use it against you and say you've got a bad temper.

Plead innocent. Let the court hear what you said. Calling someone a wh*re isn't a crime. But make sure they hear what she said to you first. Asking a girl if she slept with someone doesn't justify her saying your mom should have died, that's beyond below the belt.

Honestly, if I was in your shoes I would have crippled her but then again I'm EXTREMELY protective of my family/friends.

But by all means FIGHT THIS. You may not win the case though. It sucks, but that's just honesty. If you do lose just know that you did everything you could and just lost because this sl*t has no morals and lied to the court
 

AAAgent

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im going to court for assualt as well but against another male. GL man get a good lawyer and don't say anything.
 

Prodigy746

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Honestly if you did exactly what you said you did than you have nothing to worry about. The video will show her charging at you and you covering yourself...and even if you hit her its called self defense.

What school do you go to? where do you get expelled for one small fight. I only fought once in school and i got suspended for 7 days. You barely fought and got expelled. Either the school you go to is really strict or you are not telling us the whole story.
 

Joeybphs

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Prodigy746 said:
Honestly if you did exactly what you said you did than you have nothing to worry about. The video will show her charging at you and you covering yourself...and even if you hit her its called self defense.

What school do you go to? where do you get expelled for one small fight. I only fought once in school and i got suspended for 7 days. You barely fought and got expelled. Either the school you go to is really strict or you are not telling us the whole story.

I live in a city called La Porte, it's a small city outside of Houston. The school there is notorious for being a breeding ground for gangs, drugs, etc. so I obtained an Open Enrollment form saying I could go to school outside the district, so I went to a school 20 minutes away, ranked as one of the top schools in the state.

Unfortunately, the contract I signed allows them to revoke the open enrollment at any time.

They revoked me for discipline reasons because of the "assault," and the "profanity" I used while talking to the girl (asking her if she'd slept with him, and calling her a *****.)

Tell the court and your lawyer EXACTLY what you told us. A good lawyer can catch her in the lie. Secondly you have the right to see the video that's going to be used against you. It sounds like they're using the threat of it to get you to confess otherwise they'd have no problem showing it to you.

Whatever you do, keep your cool in court or ANY TIME you have to deal with or talk about this issue. If you flip out they'll just use it against you and say you've got a bad temper.

Plead innocent. Let the court hear what you said. Calling someone a wh*re isn't a crime. But make sure they hear what she said to you first. Asking a girl if she slept with someone doesn't justify her saying your mom should have died, that's beyond below the belt.
They wouldn't let me, nor my grandmother (legal guardian) see the video when she demanded. She was up the principals ass the whole time until we got outside the campus. She's on my side. He said that because the video has other kids in it, we can't see it unless we get a lawyer to (I don't remember the exact word he used, it started with an "L" I believe) -- whatever it from them.

I'm definitely going to fight this. I have no intention of pleading guilty to something I didn't do.

Also, I posted this in Fighttips.com too, before I even posted it here, lmao.
Funny that you'd mention it.

The reason I posted it here is that sosuave seems to have more mature, older members, and I thought many of them may have friends or family in a legal profession that may be able to offer advice. I just don't want the prosecutor to trick me into saying I did something when I didn't, or what rights I have in the courtroom.
 

Quiksilver

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You should have asked for a lawyer as soon as they said they'd press charges and take you to court.

I can't verify the truth of your story, but if it went down how you said it did then you should fight this case as hard as you can on basic principle. Yes that even means asking your parents to fork out a few thousand on a lawyer.

Also if you're in the USA, you have a RIGHT to see the video tape evidence under the 6th Amendment, get your lawyer on that and remind him that they denied you access to it, which you can use against them. They are violating your right to a fair and due process.

Your lawyer will lay everything out for you. You've probably dug yourself into a hole in the investigation by opening your mouth. See if you can't have your lawyer press assault charges against the girl. After all it was you who left the confrontation, then she followed with a physical attack.

good luck, if you actually are innocent :)
 

Joeybphs

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Quiksilver said:
You should have asked for a lawyer as soon as they said they'd press charges and take you to court.

I can't verify the truth of your story, but if it went down how you said it did then you should fight this case as hard as you can on basic principle. Yes that even means asking your parents to fork out a few thousand on a lawyer.

Also if you're in the USA, you have a RIGHT to see the video tape evidence under the 6th Amendment, get your lawyer on that and remind him that they denied you access to it, which you can use against them.

Your lawyer will lay everything out for you. You've probably dug yourself into a hole in the investigation by opening your mouth. See if you can't have your lawyer press assault charges against the girl. After all it was you who left the confrontation, then she followed with a physical attack.

good luck, if you actually are innocent :)
I'll get right on that, haha. thank you, that's some good advice.

AS far as following me on the physical attack, in her official statement she said she ran after me to tell me to leave her alone, and according to the camera she didn't hit me at all. So I guess thats out :/
 

fertileTurtle

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Cops are liars. Never believe what a cop tells you about a charge. They just want more arrests or whatever to look like heros. Get a lawyer and fight the hell out of this. I'm sure you can sue her and maybe the school even for being tools. They are lying to you about the camera too probably. And if they try any funny business with the tapes, like somehow losing them or whatever, he will probably win your case. A good lawyer should be able to beat this to fvcking pulp.
 

ENIGMA16

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Lawyer up. That's all you have to do. And in the future when there is even a hint at having charges being pressed against you for something you shut your mouth immediately, invoke your fifth amendment right and get a lawyer. DO NOT mess around with that stuff. You've dug yourself a much deeper hole by talking to the principal and the cop about this, and it could come back to bite you in the ass, but a good lawyer should be able to get this thrown out.

And don't worry about the b1tch; she was trying to provoke you so she could do just this, and because she wasn't able to (because you're a smart f*cking guy) she just straight up assaulted you. You let your instincts get the best of you, but otherwise you handled it really well.

NEVER hit girls; don't even try to defend yourself (obviously if you're in danger of dying or being hospitalized there's an exception) but in the future just take whatever they dish out and then sue the f*ck out of them and press charges.
 

Joeybphs

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thanks for the compliment man, I know I messed up by talking.

It's hard to convince my parents to shell out the money for the lawyer to get the tape (the principal said the only way we could get the tape is if we got a lawyer to sapeen? sepeen? supeen?) for us. Especially when the other option is pleading guilty and paying a much smaller amount of money ($335 fine, or 28 hours of community service.)
 

AAAgent

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subpoena i think is how its spelled. Trust me u don't want anything on your record. my friend and i were attacked by some drunk belligerent guy and i just defended myself. I tried to talk him out of fighting for 15 minutes, tried to walk away, etc. but nothing worked and then he attacked us. i went through the whole system with jail, court, more court, and now my official trial date is feb 22nd. hopefully mine goes well too.

I'm not sure if you're facing charges as an adult or not but as a minor, when u become an adult your slate gets wiped clean. Atleast that's what i heard and my friends juvy hall record was gone after hs so look into that.
 

Alle_Gory

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So you plead guilty and you have a bull**** charge on your record. Good luck with that in the future.

You want to be someone or are you planning on working minimum wage jobs for the rest of your life? If you do want to have a future, get some money and fight like hell. Don't cheap out and get a good lawyer. Hopefully someone who specializes in things like this.

Avoid any further contacts with the individuals you mentioned. The girl, her parents, the school, the cops.. etc. Only do so with a lawyer present. You've already dug yourself into a nice deep hole. Don't make it worse.
 

BlakeW5

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fertileTurtle said:
Cops are liars. Never believe what a cop tells you about a charge. They just want more arrests or whatever to look like heros. Get a lawyer and fight the hell out of this. I'm sure you can sue her and maybe the school even for being tools. They are lying to you about the camera too probably. And if they try any funny business with the tapes, like somehow losing them or whatever, he will probably win your case. A good lawyer should be able to beat this to fvcking pulp.
Exactly what I've been saying. Get a good lawyer, they'll walk all over this "case".

They're just trying to get you to confess something because they have no 'proof' just he-said-she-said. I know this has nothing to do with your situation, but never trust a cop, they'll lie to you quicker than anyone.

As far as the tapes, as said it's your RIGHT to see what's being used against you. If the tapes are just visual (w/o audio) it makes no legal difference if there are other kids in the video. It's only when voices are taped that legality becomes an issue. Even then if they're taking audio without consent they're breaking the law.

So she's saying she ran after you to tell you to leave her alone? That's lame, NO ONE and I mean NO ONE runs after a person they feel threatened by to tell them to leave them alone.

But fight this for sure. I know I'm not in your shoes, but money isn't the issue here, it's the principle of the matter.

From now on, NEVER tell cops anything. You have NOTHING to gain from it. If nothing else this situation should have taught you that.

And on a side note, if you ever get in a situation where you have to defend yourself again, do it knowing that you WILL get in trouble. Make it worth the trouble you'll get into :whistle: . Not "good advice" by any means but practical. Personally if I have to defend myself I'm going to put you in the f*cking hospital or a casket, I'm going to get sued/in legal trouble anyway so why not?
 

fertileTurtle

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If you don't have a lot of cash get a fvcking job and tell the lawyer you need to make payments. Even a cheap ass lawyer will do. Call around and find the cheapest ones that specialize in this sort of case. And continue to try to get your parents to put up the funds, as you can pay them back. You can also move the court dates back to have more time to make money.

If you do sue and win the case you can pay for everything.
 

Bible_Belt

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The lawyer way of fighting is to sue everybody. The girl got the state to press criminal charges against you, but you can still sue her for money in civil court. This does not have much to do with your criminal case, except as negotiating leverage to get her to drop her complaint. You would sue her for assault and battery. You could also name your school officials in the suit, and sue them for breach of duty. You won't get money from the school, but even if you don't win, it is all a big pain for them to go through.

All legal documents may be prepared without an attorney by simply doing the research yourself. Sometimes you have to file it two or three times to get it right, but that is often easier than dealing with a lawyer. btw, it's actually the lawyer's secretary who will write your subpoena, and she does that by simply erasing the last guys name from the document template and putting in your name. If you can use Microsoft Word, then you can write any legal document.

You are in Harris County, Texas, right? Here is the link to your local court and the blank forms you would need:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Common/Forms/forms.aspx

Here is the subpoena form:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Comm..._Deposition_Subpoena_Subpoena_Duces_Tecum.pdf
 

Joeybphs

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Bible_Belt said:
The lawyer way of fighting is to sue everybody. The girl got the state to press criminal charges against you, but you can still sue her for money in civil court. This does not have much to do with your criminal case, except as negotiating leverage to get her to drop her complaint. You would sue her for assault and battery. You could also name your school officials in the suit, and sue them for breach of duty. You won't get money from the school, but even if you don't win, it is all a big pain for them to go through.

All legal documents may be prepared without an attorney by simply doing the research yourself. Sometimes you have to file it two or three times to get it right, but that is often easier than dealing with a lawyer. btw, it's actually the lawyer's secretary who will write your subpoena, and she does that by simply erasing the last guys name from the document template and putting in your name. If you can use Microsoft Word, then you can write any legal document.

You are in Harris County, Texas, right? Here is the link to your local court and the blank forms you would need:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Common/Forms/forms.aspx

Here is the subpoena form:

http://www.hcdistrictclerk.com/Comm..._Deposition_Subpoena_Subpoena_Duces_Tecum.pdf
I can't sue her for assault and battery, according to the tape I wasn't allowed to see, she doesn't hit me, only runs at me and hits my raised foot.

That whole filing the stuff myself business looks difficult, but I'll look into it when I get home.
I'm headed to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program I'm forced to go to because of the ticket. The school has to assign it to me if I'm charged. The sad part is that it's 30 days, and by the time I get the ticket sorted out and win and it's known that I'm innocent, the punishment will have already been over, and I'll already have had my expulsion from my old school thanks to the assault charge.
 

Joeybphs

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I posted my story on another site and on a free legal advice forum, and I'm getting the same answers as far as the tape goes. I have a right to view it. So why did the principal and officer refuse to show it to me? Is there anything I can do to punish him for that?
 

Bible_Belt

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I can't sue her for assault and battery, according to the tape I wasn't allowed to see, she doesn't hit me, only runs at me and hits my raised foot.

The running at you is the assault, and the touching your foot is the battery.


http://www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/study/outlines/html/torts/index.asp

§ 1.02 Battery [7-10]
[A] Overview and Definition
Battery occurs when the defendant’s acts intentionally cause harmful or offensive contact with the victim’s person. [See Restatement §§ 13, 16, 18.] Accidental contact, by contrast, must be analyzed under negligence or strict liability.

Intent Requirement
While battery requires intent, the prevailing tort definition does not require an intent to harm. It is only necessary that the defendant intend to cause either harmful or offensive contact. [See, e.g., Vosburg v. Putney, 50 N.W. 403 (Wis. 1891).] The transferred intent doctrine is applicable to battery. [See § 1.01 , supra.]

[C] Harmful or Offensive Contact
Battery encompasses either harmful or offensive contact. Even trivial offensive contact can constitute a battery.

[D] Causation
The defendant's voluntary action must be the direct or indirect legal cause of the harmful or offensive contact. However, defendant need not herself actually contact the victim.


§ 1.03 Assault [10-15]

[A] Overview
The ancient tort of assault represents the still controversial recognition that pure psychological injury should be compensable. [See I de S et Ux v. W de S, Y.B. Lib.Ass., fol. 99, pl. 60 (1348).]

Definition
Assault occurs when the defendant's acts intentionally cause the victim's reasonable apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive contact. The Restatement, unlike many courts, deletes the requirement that apprehension be “reasonable”. [See Restatement §§ 21, 27. See also, e.g., Castro v. Loral 1199, National Health & Human Service Employees Union, 964 F. Supp. 719 (1997).]

[1] Intent Requirement
Assault is an intentional tort. The defendant must desire or be substantially certain that her action will cause the apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive contact. The transferred intent doctrine is applicable to assault. [See § 1.01 , supra.]

[2] Apprehension
The victim must perceive that harmful or offensive contact is about to happen to him. [See, e.g., Western Union Telegraph Co. v. Hill, 150 So. 709 (Ala. Ct. App. 1933).]

[3] Imminent Harmful or Offensive Contact
For assault to be actionable the victim's apprehension must be of imminent harmful or offensive contact. [See, e.g., Stump v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 942 F. Supp. 347 (E.D. Ky. 1996).]

[4] Fear versus Apprehension
The Restatement and several court decisions distinguish between "fear” and “apprehension.” The requisite apprehension of imminent contact need not produce fear in the victim. [See Restatement § 24 cmt. b.]
 
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