Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Assault, Misdemeanor or Felony ?

What actions or physical harm determines whether an assault is a misdemeanor or felony?

After dying my ex-employer blue ( I actually turned him blue with food coloring ) for defrauding me out of $60,000.00. I then proceeded to punch him in the nose, which broke it and gave him a small fracture of the cheek bone. I'm now hearing I could possibly face felony assault charges. What kind of charges am I looking at really?


Asked on 4/26/04, 5:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elena Condes LAW OFFFICE OF ELENA CONDES

Re: Assault, Misdemeanor or Felony ?

Hi. For assualt the severity of the conduct determines whether the case is a felony or a misdemeanor. The District Attorney is the person who reads the police report and determines what the charges are going to be. There are serveral offenses you could be charged with, but given that your employer's cheek bone was broken you have a potential to be in felony territory. If the injuries are significant enough you could also be dealing with sentencing enhancements because of the severity of the injury. This is all not to scare you, but to let you know that it has the potential to be a rather serious case. You ought to seek representation as soon as possible. And, I belive, you should always have a lawyer with you if the police want to talk to you. Please note, you may also have some civil liability as well in this situation.

Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this case further.

Good luck,

Elena Condes

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Answered on 4/26/04, 5:59 pm


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