I got charged with2 counts of aggravated assault, will the judge be lenient on me because it is my first assault offense?
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I got charged with2 counts of aggravated assault, will the judge be lenient on me because it is my first assault offense?
I was arrested for spitting on a nurse and kicking a doctor while I was lying in a hospital bed. I don’t remember doing this because I was really intoxicated, but now I am facing 2 counts of aggravated assault and I am really worried about getting charged with these felonies. Since this is my first assault offense what are some of the plea bargains that the court may offer me?
Asked on July 28, 2011 Arizona
Answers:
G.J., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Generally speaking, judges will be more lenient on someone with a clean record, and the fact that you have no prior assault charges should be something in your favor. However, it is usually the prosecutor who offers the plea bargains, not the judge. The judge then chooses whether or not to accept and go along with the prosecutor's recommended plea bargain.
The possible plea bargains may vary greatly, depending on whether or not the doctor was seriously injured, your level of intoxication, and the specific facts involved. The prosecutor may want you to plea to one felony in exchange for dropping the other charge. He or she could also give you a suspended sentence (where you would be placed on probation and would not serve any time unless you violated the conditions of that probation), which would likely involve you enrolling in and completing anger management courses, alcohol treatments, and/or community service. If you enroll yourself in some sort of alcohol awareness course before you are required to, you can show the prosecutor and the judge that this was something you have taken very seriously and are working to change.
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