Source: https://criminaldefense.1800nynylaw.com/westchester-county-domestic-violence-and-assault-with-a-knife-la.html
Timestamp: 2018-02-19 11:40:19
Document Index: 670320423

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 120', 'in fine', '§ 120', '§ 530', '§ 530', '§ 10', '§ 35', '§ 70']

Westchester County Domestic Violence and Assault with a Knife | Westchester Assault with a Knife Attorney Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC
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Westchester County Domestic Violence and Assault with a Knife
N.Y. Pen. Law § 120.00, 120.05 & 120.10
There are several different crimes that are commonly associated with domestic violence. Assault is one of the most common. Assault involves intentionally or recklessly injuring another person. If a knife is used during the attack, the possibility that the victim will suffer a painful, serious injury increases dramatically. Whether you intend to seriously hurt the victim or not, a knife could easily damage a vital organ, cause the victim to lose a great deal of blood, cause permanent disfiguration or even lead to death. Because of the gravity of assaulting someone with a knife, prosecutors will work hard to make sure that you are convicted and receive a harsh punishment. You could end up spending years in prison and be required to pay thousands of dollars in fines, fees and restitution. Thus, if you have been charged with assaulting someone with a knife during a domestic dispute it is important that you immediately contact an experienced Westchester County Domestic Violence and Assault with a Knife Lawyer who understands both the intricacies of domestic relationships as well as the nuances of New York assault law, and who will aggressively defend you until your case is resolved.
If you use a knife during the commission of an assault you will be charged with either assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, or assault in the third degree. There are several different types of knives specifically mentioned in the criminal statute including a switchblade knife, gravity knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, box cutter and dagger. If you use any type of knife while assaulting someone and you injure that person, the assault is likely to result in a serious charge as using a knife will show your intent to cause injury. In addition, the use of knife is more likely to cause the victim serious injuries and permanent disfiguration.
Assault in the first degree. You will face a change of assault in the first degree if with intent to cause serious physical injury if you seriously injure another person, including someone with whom you have a domestic relationship, or a third person with a deadly weapon. A knife is classified as a deadly weapon. N.Y. Pen. Law § 120.10. As it is one of the most serious assault offenses, assault in the first degree is a Class B felony.
Being charged with a crime in New York can be scary and overwhelming. If the police suspect that you have assaulted someone with a knife you will be arrested and taken to the local police precinct. At the local precinct your personal information will be taken and you will be fingerprinted. Then you will be taken to Central Booking where you will remain until your arraignment. Within approximately 24 hours of your arrest you will be arraigned. At your arraignment you will learn the exact charges against you. In some cases the charges will be different from what you expected. Based on a review of the evidence, the assistant district attorney assigned to your case may decide to raise or lower the charge, or to add additional charges. At your arraignment you will also learn whether or not bail will be required.
At some point your case may be resolved through plea-bargaining. You and the prosecutor may arrive at a mutually satisfactory compromise that would require you to plead guilty to a lesser crime that would result in a lighter than if you were found guilty of assault with a knife after a trial. Any agreement that you come to with the prosecutor is subject to the approval of the judge.
If you are charged with domestic violence assault with a knife there is a good chance that the court may issue an Order of Protection against you placing restrictions on your interactions with the victim. An Order of Protection, commonly referred to as a restraining order, is a legally enforceable court order that is designed to protect someone against the violent or threatening acts of another person.
An Order of Protection can be full, limited or combination of both. A full Order of Protection will require you to stay away from the victim. The judge will be very specific as to what you can and cannot do. For example, the Order of Protection may require that you stay away from the home, school, business or place of employment of the victims. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 530.13(1)(a). A full order of Protection is also called a "stay away" Order. A limited Order of Protection requires you to stop certain types of behavior including harassing, intimidating, threatening, or otherwise interfering behavior directed toward the victim or family members of the victim. It may also direct you to refrain from injuring or killing a pet of the victim. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 530.13(1)(b). This type of Order is also called a "refrain from" Order.
At the beginning of the proceeding the judge may issue a temporary Order of Protection at the request of the prosecutor. At the end of the criminal case, if you are convicted the judge may make the Order of Protection permanent. Even though such an order is called "permanent" the maximum duration of a permanent Criminal Court Order of Protection is 8 years for a felony conviction, 5 years for a Class A misdemeanor conviction or 2 years for a Class B misdemeanor conviction.
Extent of Injury. To sustain any domestic violence assault with a knife charge, at a minimum the victim must experience a "physical injury." As a physical injury is defined by New York Penal law as an impairment of physical condition or substantial pain, most knife wounds would likely qualify. At a minimum a knife wound would be enough for an assault in the third degree. Other assault crimes such as assault in the first or second degree require that the victim sustain a serious physical injury. This means that the prosecutor's evidence must clearly show that the victim suffered more than a slight prick with the knife or a flesh wound. The injury must be so severe that the there was a good possibility that the victim could have died or suffered an extended physical impairment. N.Y. Pen. Law § 10.00(10). While a knife could cause deep lacerations, permanent disfiguration or injury to vital organs, if you can show that the victim's injuries were actually not that severe, then you may have a valid defense to assault in the first or second degree charges.
Self-Defense. New York has a "justification" statute that allows you to use physical force against another person to protect yourself from imminent harm. N.Y. Pen. Law § 35.15. This type of defense is commonly referred to as self-defense and is often used in domestic violence assault cases. If the reason that you used a knife to injure the other person is because you were protecting yourself or a third party such as a child, then you may have a valid defense to an assault charge with a knife. However, to use the justification defense the other person had to have initiated the violence and not you. In addition, you cannot use more force than is reasonably necessary to protect yourself. For example, if your much smaller girlfriend shoved you, it would not be appropriate to defend yourself by stabbing her with a knife. Furthermore, if you had the opportunity to retreat but instead you used a knife, the court may not be swayed by the justification defense.
Whether you go to jail or prison for an assault with a knife conviction depends on the specific charge of which you are convicted. A conviction for misdemeanor third degree assault with a knife will result in a far less severe sentence than a conviction for felony first degree assault with a knife. While if you are convicted of third degree assault with a knife you may avoid prison, in most cases for a conviction of assault with a knife you will end up going to prison for at least 2 years. The actual length of your prison sentence will depend on factors such as your prior criminal record. If you have been convicted of a non-violent felony with the past 10 years, you will be classified as a non-violent predicate. If you have been convicted of a violent felony with the past 10 years, you will be classified as a violent predicate. If you have been convicted of 2 more felonies, you will be classified as a persistent felony offender.
In People v. Taylor, 986 N.Y.S.2d 711 (2014), upon being convicted of second degree assault with knife, the defendant was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
No prior convictions: Minimum 5 years in prison
Non-violent predicate: Minimum 8 years in prison
Violent predicate: Minimum 10 years in prison
Persistent felony offender: Minimum 20-15 years in prison; maximum life
For example, in People v. Abdul-Khaliq, after being convicted of first degree assault with a knife, because the defendant was a second time felony offender, the court sentenced him to 15 years prison.
If convicted of a felony assault offense based on using a knife, because such an offense is a also a violent felony part of your sentence will include a term of post-release supervision of 1.5-3 years for a Class D felony and 2.5-5 years for a Class B felony. N.Y. Pen. Law § 70.45(2)(e). For example, in People v. Taylor, in addition to be sentenced to 7 years in prison, the defendant was also sentenced to 3 years of post-release supervision.
There will be several rules that you must follow while you are on post-release supervision, called the conditions of post-release supervision. While certain rules will apply to all on post-release supervision, there may be specific rules applied to your post-release supervision to help ensure a smooth, crime-free transition from prison back into the community. The general conditions are:
As part of the criminal process, in cases of domestic violence assault the prosecutor almost always requests and the judge grants an Order of Protection in favor of the victim. It is also possible that the person accusing of sexual assault will go to Family Court and petition that the Family Court judge issue an Order of Protection.
The Order of Protection may be a full order or a limited order. If the Order of Protection is a full Order, it will require you to stay away from the victim. This means that you are not permitted to go to the person's home or job, that you are not permitted to communicate with that person in any way including via mail, email, text, phone, or fax, that you are not permitted to communicate with that person through a third party, and that you are not send that person flowers or gifts.
If there is a full Order of Protection, then you are prohibited from doing specified acts such as harassing, intimidating, or threatening the victim. While a criminal court Order of Protection that is issued at the beginning of a criminal case is generally temporary, depending on the outcome of the case, a temporary Order of Protection may become final-- meaning that it will remain in effect for up to 8 years. It the court concludes that there is no basis for the Order of Protection, it will be dismissed. If you believe that there is no basis for the order, you can fight it.
However, if an Order of Protection is in place and you violate it, there will be serious consequences. For example, with a criminal court Order, if you are out on bail and you violate the Order of Protection, your bail may be revoked and you may be sent to jail. If you are on probation, violating an Order of Protection will be a violation of the terms of your probation. You will likely be sent to prison.
For example, in People v. Lawing, 975 N.Y.S.2d 778 (2013) defendant Jermel Lawing violated a stay away Order of Protection on 3 occasions. Lawing was charged with two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree and one count of criminal contempt in the second degree. Upon conviction, Lawing was sentenced to 1 year in prison for the second degree charge and consecutive prison terms of 1 1/3 to 4 years for the two counts of first degree criminal contempt.
Facing the challenge of fighting an assault charge related to domestic violence may seem like a daunting, uphill battle. However, there may be defenses and other strategies that an experienced attorney can use to help you aggressively fight the charges. If you have been arrested for domestic violence involving assault with a knife, contact Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC. The staff at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC has years of experience successfully defending clients in New York criminal courts who have been charged with assault with a knife, as well as clients charged with other crimes related to domestic violence such as menacing, reckless endangerment, stalking, sexual assault, and child endangerment. Contact us at 1.800.NY.NY.LAW (1.800.696.9529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We serve those accused of domestic violence in the following locations: