Assault

One of the most critical considerations of a domestic assault or general assault case is victim cooperation. Will the victim cooperate (i.e. testify trial) or is the victim expected to no-show. While being subpoenaed by a court requires the victim to…

A second degree assault in Minnesota requires the presence of a dangerous weapon. You would think that what counts as a second degree assault with a dangerous weapon would be self-explanatory. But, you may be surprised to learn that Minnesota courts…

The severity of your domestic assault charge will depend on the number of prior “qualified domestic violence-related offenses.” One would think that this list of prior domestic-related offenses would be limited to purely domestic-related…

There are two ways a person can be charged with domestic assault – actually causing bodily harm (i.e. punching someone) or by causing fear of immediate bodily harm. For the latter, the State must prove specific intent to cause fear of immediate…

The level of harm is often the distinction between whether an assault or obstruction of legal process charge is a felony or not. Central to this analysis is the term: “substantial bodily harm.” If the victim suffers substantial bodily har…

A fourth degree assault is charged when a person allegedly assaults a certain class of individuals – usually a police officer or paramedic, for example. Most assume that this is an automatic felony; and frankly, this is how it is charged out mo…

Self-defense in Minnesota is an affirmative defense against assault-based charges. Much of the analysis is tied to the reasonableness of the actions taken by the defendant and whether the defendant could have avoided the situation. But, if the defend…

An affirmative defense most people are familiar with is self-defense. But, few know what it means and how it’s applied in the law. Self-defense in Minnesota is a complete defense to a charge if raised successfully. Essentially, the defendant claims…