Jacksonville Battery Lawyer

• You intentionally touched or struck the victim against his or her will, or
  

• you intentionally caused bodily harm to the victim.

Yes.  Technically, under the law, you could be convicted of battery for very minimal contact with the listed victim.  For example, a brother could be convicted of battery for giving his brother a noogie or wet willie.  The law is extremely broad and gives prosecutors great discretion over what conduct they will prosecute.  Of course, what the State can prosecute and what a jury would find a citizen guilty of are two different things.  If you have a Jacksonville Battery case, give our experienced criminal defense lawyers a call for a free consultation.  

If you are charged with intentionally causing bodily harm to someone, the State doesn't have to prove that it was against the listed victim's will.  If you are only charged with touching or striking someone, the State has to prove it was against their will.  Even if the listed victim now says that it wasn't against his or her will, a jury could still convict based on other evidence that it was against his or her will at the time of the battery.  For example,  if two friends get into an argument in front of eyewitnesses and one friend punches the other friend in the eye but later testifies at trial that it was just a fist fight and the battery wasn't against his will, the State could still obtain a conviction based on the eyewitness testimony, evidence of injury, and other circumstantial evidence.  

• You actually and intentionally touched or struck the victim against his or her will, and
  

• you caused the victim great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. 

Felony Battery is a Third Degree Felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

The most common defense to battery is self defense.  Usually, when two people are engaged in a disagreement and one is charged with battery, there will be a self defense argument, or alternatively known as "justifiable use of non-deadly force".  Another common defense is that the listed victim and/or witnesses is not telling the truth or they are embellishing.  Many battery cases involve no injury or very minor redness or scratches.   How those red marks or scratches got on the listed victim is often disputed.  Many times, alcohol is involved.  The listed victim usually has a reason to want the person to get into trouble.  It is rarely a one sided affair.  Give our experienced Jacksonville criminal defense attorney a call to discuss the individual facts and possible defenses that we would employ in your case.