Battery Charges in Indiana
Unfortunately, there are times when a verbal conflict escalates and becomes an actual physical altercation. If you’ve been in such an event that results in serious bodily injury, you may face assault or battery charges in Indiana. Indiana battery charges can have serious consequences like jail time or even years in prison. Regardless of your circumstances, whether you were defending yourself, provoked in an angry manner, or wrongly accused, an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you fight assault and battery charges and obtain a fair outcome for your case in the criminal justice system.
What is the Difference Between Assault and Battery in Indiana?
The legal definitions vary widely from state to state, as do the penalties for assault and battery. Many states treat both as one crime combined into a single offense.
In Indiana, assault and battery are two separate crimes. The difference is that assault is when someone makes a victim believe they’re in danger of bodily harm. Therefore, police officers can arrest you if they think you were about to harm someone, and you can be guilty of assault even if there wasn’t any physical contact between you and your accuser. To commit battery, a person acts on the threat in an insolent or angry manner and causes bodily injury.
What Are Simple Battery Charges in Indiana?
Simple assault is the physical threat of violence towards another person but no actual injury. It is usually a class B misdemeanor in Indiana punishable by up to one year in jail and fines. Simple battery is when one person makes physical contact with another, but there is no intentional act. Simple battery, or third-degree battery, is also usually a misdemeanor battery charge in Indiana.
Class B Misdemeanor
It is a class B misdemeanor battery offense if the alleged victim does not sustain any actual physical harm. The class B misdemeanor incurs up to one year of jail time, $1,000 in fines, and other possible court-ordered penalties.
Class A Misdemeanor
In Indiana, first-time offenders of a class A misdemeanor often don’t do jail time beyond their initial arrest. Indiana battery penalties may include community service, fines, probation, or up to six months in jail.
What Are Aggravated Battery Charges in Indiana?
Aggravating factors refer to anything that increases the severity of crimes. They include the amount of harm to the victim and if the battery results in serious bodily injury.
Aggravated assault is a level 3 felony charge in Indiana. It involves offensive contact, serious bodily injury the alleged victim suffered, the intention to commit another serious crime in an insolent or angry manner, or the use of a deadly weapon. Penalties for an aggravated assault charge are three to six
Indiana aggravated battery is also a Level 3 felony offense. It is when someone intentionally injures someone severely enough to cause extreme pain, a substantial risk of death, serious permanent disfigurement, lasting impairment, or the loss of a fetus when a pregnant woman is involved. These instances of serious bodily harm can incur potential penalties of three to 16 years in prison.
In the case of an aggravated battery charge or aggravated assault committed by a person against a child under 16 years of age, endangered adult, or protected victim, as in the case of child abuse or domestic battery, the level of the felony and possible penalties increase significantly under Indiana law.
Who Are Considered Protected Victims in Indiana?
Felony assault and felony battery charges can also result if you assault a member of a protected class.
These “protected victims” include children, seniors over 65 years of age, patients in care facilities, and law enforcement officers or other public safety officials. For example, battery committed by a person against a standard civilian adult is a Class B misdemeanor while the same offense against a child or senior is a Level 6 felony.
Intentionally injuring a public safety official elevates simple offenses to felony charges automatically as well in Indiana. The legal rationale contends that exploiting defenseless victims such as an endangered adult, a pregnant woman, or a person with a mental or physical disability, or attacking protectors of society represents an egregious break from ethics warranting harsher punishment.
What Is Domestic Battery?
Domestic battery refers to a violent offense, harm, or unwanted physical contact that occurs between family members, partners, or others in a domestic relationship residing together. It typically involves current or former spouses, parents, children, or romantic partners but can include any family members cohabitating like siblings, cousins, etc. Domestic violence incidents often heighten in frequency or severity over time, making domestic battery a serious concern.
Penalties for Domestic Battery
With jail time ranging from months to years in prison for a felony conviction, Indiana courts penalize escalating patterns of violence within families or domestic units, especially when the battery offense included a protected victim. Protection of vulnerable victims trapped with abusers drives these harsher domestic battery statutes and aims to prevent recurring harm through deterrence.
Dangers In Foster Care
Sometimes children in a foster family home face harm from their foster parents or other people living in the foster home. This can include assault or aggravated battery.
Children in a foster family home are already vulnerable and at substantial risk. Taking them from a family member and placing them with strangers is traumatic. When foster parents are rude insolent or angry, it betrays the trust and care they deserve. All children have a right to feel safe, especially foster youth under state protection.
Indiana law specially protects foster kids and other child victims. Hurting or endangering them brings harsher penalties than for battery involving others. An official’s official duty is to deter abuse and protect the vulnerable.
The trauma of battery in a foster family can scar the same victim forever. This rude insolent or angry treatment may cause lasting health issues, like depression or addiction. Indiana must prioritize preventing, catching, and punishing assault and battery to prevent serious injury. More accountability and consciousness of this crisis are needed to drive change when others have recklessly failed.
Battery and Self-Defense in Indiana
Self-defense can be a valid defense to a criminal battery charge in Indiana if you demonstrate that you had reasonable fear you were an imminent danger and used force that results in bodily injury to protect yourself from a threat or violence. An example of justifiable force would be if someone runs at you in an angry manner with a baseball bat, and you punch them in the gut before they can hit you.
The Use of Bodily Fluid or Waste as a Deadly Weapon
Sometimes attackers use bodily fluid or waste to hurt victims in horrible ways. This “gutter fighting” uses things like blood, urine, feces, or saliva to scare and humiliate people.
In Indiana, purposely exposing someone to bodily waste is felony aggravated battery. Police and prosecutors take any battery using bodily fluids or waste very seriously. These acts dangerously spread disease and traumatize victims. The sentences aim to punish offenders and stop similar attacks.
When Battery Leads to Serious Bodily Injury
A battery that results in bodily injury in Indiana leads to very serious legal consequences. A serious injury involves extreme physical pain, permanent or protracted loss, impairment of bodily function, or professional medical intervention to stabilize the victim. Because this level of harm is considered
In addition to years behind bars, a battery conviction can also yield fines over $10,000 along with court fees. The convicted individual will also have a permanent criminal record that carries many personal and professional implications long after serving the sentence. Causing serious bodily injury during felony battery carries some of the most severe criminal penalties possible.
What Is a Moderate Bodily Injury?
A moderate bodily injury in an assault or battery case falls between minor scrapes and scratches and serious injuries that cause lasting impairment or substantial pain. Examples could include a broken nose, a sprained wrist, cracked ribs, or a concussion. Under Indiana criminal statutes, causing this degree of physical injury could lead to Class A misdemeanor charges which are more severe than minor offenses but not as drastic as felony assault or battery.
Class A misdemeanor convictions can incur up to 1 year in jail or fines not exceeding $5,000 based on the judge’s discretion. So while moderate trauma from assault or battery in Indiana does not carry the stiffest penalties, it is still against the law and taken seriously by Indiana courts. The victim may also file a civil personal injury lawsuit to recover financial damages like medical expenses.
Consequences of Indiana Battery Convictions
The consequences of a battery conviction depend greatly on the exact circumstances and severity of the offense. First-time offenders may escape jail time, while felony battery convictions can incur years behind bars. Other possible battery penalties according to Indiana code include:
- Fines: Up to $10,000 for felony battery
- Probation
- Anger management counseling for rude insolent or angry behavior
- Restitution to the victim
- Permanent criminal record
- Loss of civil rights like voting and gun ownership
A skilled criminal defense lawyer can use legal defenses to negotiate reduced charges or alternative sentencing to minimize the damaging consequences of a conviction.
Seeking an Experienced Defense Attorney
If you’ve been accused of committing battery in Indiana, are facing battery charges, or even grappling with a civil battery lawsuit for damages, the skilled
Our attorneys have successfully defended countless clients against complex assault and battery allegations in Indiana. We will thoroughly examine the specifics of your case, consider whether your charges from the alleged victim are misdemeanor battery, felony battery, or another classification, and advise on the best defense strategies according to our legal obligation.
Our approach is attentive, personalized, and compassionate. We will work tirelessly to advocate for you in and out of court and earn your trust. Contact us today for a free consultation with an experienced Indiana criminal defense attorney. Let us help you achieve the most favorable outcome possible when someone’s angry manner places you in a difficult situation: 317-220-6056.