Assault

NERA, the No Early Release Act, is an effort on the part of the legislature to ensure that violent individuals stay behind bars once convicted.

If you are convicted of a crime and NERA applies, you will serve 85% of your sentence before you’re eligible for parole.

Aggravated assault is a charge that carries NERA’s parole ineligibility, meaning that even the lowest grade charge, Fourth Degree Aggravated Assault, can keep you in prison for more than 15 months of an 18 month maximum sentence.

Third Degree Aggravated Assaulted carries a maximum of five years in prison, and with NERA, you’ll have to spend 51 months – more than four years – in prison if convicted.

In the Second Degree, an Aggravated Assault conviction could keep you locked up for eight and a half years before a parole board will even take a look at your file.

Don’t take chances with charges like this.

Call attorney Matthew Reisig 732-625-9661 for experienced, aggressive criminal defense in New Jersey.

Physical menace in the context of an assault charge means an act or acts which are physically threatening to the victim.

Physical menace does not include words, even threats. It is a physical engagement in an altercation that would cause a reasonable person to experience fear of imminent injury or death.

Blocking a door might rise to level of physical menace, as would moving your coat to the side to reveal a weapon.

Physical menace isn’t a strictly defined element in New Jersey law, but rather a term that reflects the way a reasonable person would interpret a particular situation.

Juries evaluate the totality of the evidence to determine whether the actions alleged rise to the level of physical menace, thus meeting the definition, or whether the victim arrived at a conclusion that others would not.

Assault charges can be beaten in New Jersey.

Call attorney Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9661 and get help protecting yourself.

Yes, you can be charged with Assault if police and prosecutors believe you were a participant in a fight where someone was injured.

Because of the chaos that often surrounds a fight in a public setting, police often choose to shut the problem down by making arrests right away, then conducting interviews and learning the facts of the case.

The good news is that if witnesses or other evidence can confirm your story, you have a good chance of seeing charges reduced or dropped entirely.

The bad news is that some issues work their way into a prosecutor’s ear and aren’t told as clearly as they should be – which means you may still have to defend yourself in court.

Don’t fight the charge alone. Attorney Matthew Reisig can protect you from overzealous prosecutors and inappropriate charges.

Call 732-625-9661 today and talk to a New Jersey criminal defense attorney for free.

Yes, the charge of Assault by Auto in New Jersey does not require that the prosecution prove intent, only that a person sustained bodily injury (or serious bodily injury) through recklessness in operation of a vehicle.

Recklessness can be demonstrated by things like driving at excessive speeds, driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, or similar behaviors that indicate a carelessness to the potential for dangerous consequences.

Whether you intended to cause injury to a person or not, once someone is hurt, you are open to the charge. That doesn’t mean you’ll be convicted. With a criminal defense attorney who knows how to fight back, you have options.

From pleading down to lesser charges to fighting and winning in court, attorney Matthew Reisig can help you avoid serious criminal penalties and move on with your life.

Call today at 732-625-9661 for a free consultation.

From the perspective of someone who is charged with aggravated assault, the difference is enormous.

While a simple assault charge can net you up to six months in jail with a $1000 fine, aggravated assault can be charged at one of three levels, with penalties ranging from 18 months for a Fourth Degree charge to as long as ten years for a Second Degree charge.

If you have the option of pleading down an aggravated assault charge to a lesser violation like simple assault, you may be able to avoid significant penalties.

An experienced criminal defense attorney can help you achieve the best outcome possible in your case.

Attorney Matthew Reisig protects clients through negotiation, favorable plea agreements, and courtroom defense. Call 732-625-9661 today for a free consultation.

Yes, because the statute states that your awareness of a school zone or school crossing is immaterial to the charges.

The only thing that needs to be proven in an assault by auto case is that you were driving the vehicle, that you caused injury to another (bodily injury or serious bodily injury), and that your reckless operation of the vehicle was what caused the injury.

Violating New Jersey’s DWI statute is enough to prove reckless conduct, and there’s no defense in claiming you didn’t know where you were in relation to a school.

You’re facing an extremely serious charge that could put you away for up to a decade and force you to spend the rest of your life paying off a $150,000 fine, plus restitution and anything else the court decides you’re responsible for.

Get help fast. Call New Jersey attorney Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9661 today.