If you are facing assault charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Calgary to look at your case as soon as possible.

In Canada, the charge of assault (commonly known as simple assault) is the most basic form of criminal assault charge. It means applying force to someone without their consent or threatening to do so.

Assault can be prosecuted as either a summary offence or an indictable offence. If treated as a summary offence, it carries up to 6 months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. As an indictable offence, it can result in up to 5 years in prison.

The Criminal Code of Canada defines several other types of assault offences.

  • Assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm is more serious. This hybrid offence carries up to 10 years’ imprisonment if prosecuted by indictment, or up to 18 months if proceeded as a summary offence.
  • Aggravated assault, which causes severe wounding or disfigurement, is strictly an indictable offence with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Calgary, with over 500 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of assault beat the charge.

The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact a Calgary assault lawyer today by calling (403) 719-6410.

Key Takeaways

  • Assault is intentionally applying force to someone without their consent, or threatening to do so
  • There are different kinds of assault charges: assault with a weapon, simple assault, assault causing bodily harm, and aggravated assault
  • Simple assault is less serious (up to 5 years in prison), while aggravated assault is the most serious (up to 14 years).
  • If someone is charged with simple assault for the first time, they might be able to get probation instead of jail time.
  • Conditions of bail often include not being around the victim, not having weapons, and checking in with the police on a regular basis.
  • With the right legal help from our lawyers, many charges can be successfully fought
  • Some possible defences are self-defence, not having the intent, or identity issues.

How Our Lawyers Help With an Assault Charge

A Strategic Criminal Defence lawyer can make a huge difference in your case. 

  • Before charges are even filed, they can give you important legal advice about what to say and what not to say. They protect you from providing unhelpful information and help you talk to police without making mistakes.
  • We will gather evidence that supports your side of the story, like security camera footage or medical records. Sometimes, we bring in expert witnesses like doctors who can explain injuries in a way that helps your defence.
  • The criminal justice system is complicated, but the assault lawyers on our team know all the steps and deadlines. We can file important documents and speak for you in court. If your file must go to trial, we will present your case, question witnesses, and make strong arguments to the judge and/or jury.

With the right Strategic Criminal Defence lawyer, you have a much better chance of beating assault charges.

Examples of Assault Charges

In Calgary, you can be charged with assault in the following situations: 

  • Assault is when someone threatens, tries to, or actually uses force against someone else without their permission. This could mean hitting, pushing, or slapping someone.
  • Assault with a Weapon: This is when someone attacks someone else and uses or threatens to use a weapon. For example, threatening someone with a kitchen knife or hitting them with a baseball bat.
  • Assault Causing Bodily Harm: This charge applies when an assault causes injuries that seriously hurt the victim, such as, broken bones, or cuts that need stitches.

Consequences of an Assault Charge

Getting charged with assault in Calgary comes with serious consequences that vary depending on the type of assault. 

  • Simple assault, can be treated as less serious (summary) or more serious (indictable) offence: This is because it is a hybrid offence. For summary conviction, you could face up to 6 months in jail and fines up to $5,000. If prosecuted as an indictable offence, the maximum jail time increases to 5 years with no minimum sentence required. There is also no minimum fine amount set by law.
  • Assault with a Weapon is also a hybrid offence: If treated as a summary offence, you could face up to 18 months in jail. As an indictable offence, you could face up to 10 years in prison. There is no minimum jail sentence in either case. Fines vary depending on the circumstances, with no set minimum.
  • Assault Causing Bodily Harm, again a hybrid offence: This means summary conviction can result in up to 18 months in jail. If prosecuted as indictable, you could face up to 10 years in prison. There is no minimum sentence requirement.
  • Aggravated Assault is strictly an indictable offence due to its seriousness: It carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison with no minimum sentence requirement.

Assault Charge Defences

If someone is accused of assault, they have the right to defend themselves in court. There are a number of legal defences that could help lower the charge or even get it thrown out altogether.  At Strategic Criminal Defence, we can help you learn about the defences that might be available to you from the very beginning.

Here are some ways you might be able to defend yourself against assault charges:

  • Self-Defence: This is when someone uses reasonable force to keep themselves safe from harm. The accused must prove that they were really in danger of violence and used the right amount of force to protect themselves or someone else. If someone tried to hit you and you pushed them away to stop them, that could be self-defence. But, the amount of force used must be right for the threat. For instance, hitting someone over and over again after they only pushed you would probably be too much for a claim of self defence.
  • Defending Others: This defence applies when someone uses force to keep someone else from getting hurt. To use this defence, you have to show that you had good reason to think that someone else was in danger and that you needed to step in. If you saw someone about to hit a child and stopped them, you could say you were defending others. Just like in self-defence, the amount of force used must match the threat.
  • Consent means that the other person agreed to the touch. This defence works best when people agree to do something that involves physical contact, like sports or medical procedures. Hockey players, for instance, agree to some level of physical contact during a game. But there are limits to consent. Legally, a person cannot agree to serious bodily harm. The defence has to show that the person clearly agreed to the contact and that it didn’t go beyond what they agreed to.
  • Accident: To use this defence, the person being accused must prove that they did not mean to touch the other person. For example, if you accidentally bumped into someone in a crowded place and they fell, people might think of this as an accident instead of an attack. This defence works best when there was no intent to hurt and no careless actions.
  • Mistaken Identity: This defence says that the person who was accused of the crime is not the one who did it. For instance, if security camera footage shows that the person who is being accused was somewhere else when the attack happened, this could help prove that they were not the right person.

Assault Charge Investigation

When the Calgary police get a call about an assault, they begin to look into it very carefully.

  • The officers first talk to the person who said they were attacked, asking a lot of questions about what happened, when it happened, where it happened, and who was there.
  • The police also look for any visible injuries and may take pictures of them for evidence.
  • The next step is for the police to find and talk to any witnesses who may have seen, or heard, what happened.
  • Police also collect physical proof from the scene of the crime, such as, weapons, broken property, or things with DNA on them, such as, blood, or skin cells.
  • Video from security cameras is very important in some cases of assault. Police will check nearby buildings, businesses, or traffic cameras to see if they caught the event on video. It’s also very important to have medical records. These records help show how bad the injuries were if someone went to the hospital after getting hurt.
  • The police decide whether or not to press charges after getting all this information.

Bail Conditions for Assault Charges

People who are charged with assault usually have to follow a number of important bail conditions. 

  • First, they usually have to stay away from the person they are accused of assaulting. This means they can’t talk to this person, send them a text, call them, or email them. They also can’t get close to the person’s home, school, or work.
  • Second, a lot of people who are charged with assault can’t have guns while they’re out on bail. The court might tell them to turn over all of their guns to the police within a certain amount of time.
  • Third, the court might make the person who is accused check in with a bail officer on a regular basis. These check-ins could happen once a week or once a month, depending on the case. At these meetings, the person must prove that they are following all of the bail conditions.
  • Fourth, some people who have been accused of assault have to stay inside at night. The police may come to their house to make sure they are following this rule.

These rules stay in effect until the trial or sentencing hearing is over, or the court makes changes to them. If you break any of these rules, you could get arrested again and have your bail taken away. If bail is taken away, the person will have to stay in jail until their trial or sentencing.

For more information, visit our page on The Bail Hearing Process in Calgary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Assault is when you hurt someone on purpose or make them afraid of getting hurt right away. If someone is scared enough, even threatening gestures can be considered assault. The law recognizes different kinds of assault, such as simple assault (like pushing someone) and aggravated assault (causing serious injury or using a weapon). You don’t have to touch someone to be charged with assault. A charge can be made if someone has a good reason to be afraid of harm.

Depending on the severity of the crime and your criminal record, the penalties for assault are different. If you are found guilty of simple assault, you could spend up to a year in jail, be put on probation, and have to pay fines of $500 to $2,000. More serious assaults can lead to longer sentences.

Yes, there are a number of legal defences that can be used against assault charges. Self-defence is a common one. If you had a good reason to think you were in danger and used reasonable force to protect yourself, this could be a valid defence. If you were protecting someone else, the same rules apply to defence of others. Some other possible defences are that you didn’t mean to do it (it was an accident), that you gave your permission (like in sports), that you weren’t there, or that you were mistaken for someone else.

Even if you aren’t convicted, an assault charge can affect many parts of your life. If you work with vulnerable groups, you could face immediate consequences like being suspended from school or having to leave your job. If you are found guilty, you could have long-term problems like trouble finding work (especially in fields that require background checks), trouble renting a place to live, losing your professional licenses, and not being able to own guns. Non-citizens’ immigration status could also be affected.