A Georgia assault charge could result in major consequences if the accused pleads guilty or gets convicted after a criminal trial. Depending on the circumstances, a judge can sentence someone to incarceration, financial penalties or probation. An offender will also have a violent criminal offense on their criminal record that will turn up whenever they undergo a background check.
Those accused of assault often benefit from defending against those charges, especially when they truly didn’t intend to cause injury to others. Some people might assert that they did not assault someone else but rather acted in self-defense. Could that be a viable defense strategy against assault charges?
Georgia has robust self-defense rules
If one person attacks another with the intent to harm them, that is a violation of the law. Assault charges are possible in many scenarios involving interpersonal violence. However, sometimes one person has a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they used physical force against someone else. Self-defense is one of the few legal justifications that can protect someone from prosecution after a violent encounter with another person.
If someone in Georgia acted to defend themselves against what they perceived as an immediate threat to their physical well-being, they may have grounds to raise a claim of self-defense in response to pending assault charges. Acting to defend another person or even to defend one’s property, such as seeking to repel someone attempting a burglary at a home, could also constitute self-defense.
Unless someone instigated an incident or broke the law, a self-defense claim could potentially be a viable option for them when responding to a Georgia assault charge. Seeking legal guidance and learning more about Georgia’s unique criminal statutes can help people plan the best defense strategy possible when facing allegations of wrongdoing.