Assault crimes cover a wide range of offenses in New Jersey and are prosecuted harshly, particularly in Hunterdon and Somerset County. These charges can carry serious ramifications including state prison time. It is important to hire Jenna Casper Bloom who has handled a variety of these charges and obtained dismissals for her clients.
What are the different types of Assault and Threat Crimes in the state of New Jersey?
- Aggravated Assault
- Simple Assault
- Resisting Arrest
- Assault by Auto
Depending on the crime you are charged with and how badly the victim is injured, your case will be handled in either municipal court or Superior Court. Both of these carry a variety of penalties if you are convicted of the crime you are charged with.
What are the penalties for assault crimes?
Second Degree Offenses
- Up to 10 years state prison
- Fine up to $150,000.00
Third Degree Offenses
- Up to 5 years state prison
- Fine up to $15,000.00
Fourth Degree Offenses
- Up to 18 months state prison
- Fine of $10,0000
Disorderly Person Offenses
- Up to 6 months incarceration
- Fine of up to $1,000
Petty Disorderly Person Offenses
- Up to 30 days incarceration
- Fine of up to $500
If you are found guilty of an Aggravated Assault Charge, you will be sentenced to state prison under the No Early Release Act under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2. Under NERA (No Early Release Act) in New Jersey, you will be required to serve eighty-five percent of your state prison sentence before you are eligible for parole. Normally, if you were sentenced to five years state prison, you would have to serve one year before you are eligible for parole. Under NERA, if you were sentenced to a five year state prison sentence, you would have to serve over four years before you would be eligible for parole. As you can see, it is very important to get your case out of the NERA sentencing guidelines. Jenna Casper Bloom has handled many assault cases and has successfully gotten them dismissed or reduced to a lesser charge.
What constitutes a Simple Assault in New Jersey?
Simple assault is a misdemeanor in New Jersey. A person commits this crime when they:
- Attempt to cause or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly cause bodily injury to another.
- Negligently cause bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon.
- Attempt by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.
Unwanted physical contact like slapping, pushing, shoving, tripping, and hitting can constitute assault, as well as throwing items at someone or causing an object to fall on or hit them. If the injury is severe, even if the actor did not intend to cause harm, the state may bring more serious assault charges. A person may also be guilty of simple assault if they merely threaten to injure another person.
Simple assault is punishable by up to six months in the county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. If the actions are part of a mutually consensual fight (an altercation in which all parties voluntarily participate), the charges may be reduced to a lesser disorderly persons offense with a maximum punishment of 30 days in jail a
Find out more about Simple Assault charges.
What constitutes an Aggravated Assault in New Jersey?
- Causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury on another on purpose, knowingly, or under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life
- Knowingly, Purposely, or Recklessly causing or attempting to cause serious bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon
- Knowingly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life points a firearm, in the direction of another, whether or not the individual believes the weapon is loaded
- Causes bodily injury while attempting to elude officers
- Committing Simple Assault against a Law Enforcement Officer, firefighter, school employee, EMT, or hospital worker
- Aggravated Assault can be a second, third, or fourth degree offenses depending on the circumstances
Find out more about aggravated assault charges.
What constitutes Resisting Arrest in New Jersey?
- Purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
- By flight, purposely prevents or attempts to prevent a law enforcement officer from effecting an arrest.
- Uses or threatens to use physical force or violence against the law enforcement officer or another;
- Uses any other means to create a substantial risk of causing physical injury to the public servant or another.
- Resisting arrest can be a disorderly persons offense, a fourth degree offense, or a third degree offense in New Jersey.
Find more out about resisting arrest.
What constitutes assault by auto in New Jersey?
- The defendant was driving a vehicle or vessel;
- The defendant caused bodily or serious bodily injury to the victim;
- The defendant caused such injury by driving the vehicle or vessel recklessly.
- Depending on the injuries of the victim and whether the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol determines what degree of offense the defendant is charged with.
Find out more about assault by auto.
Additionally, the resolution of assault charges can depend heavily on the involvement of the victim. Jenna Casper Bloom has handled many cases involving victim and the delicate manner in which these must be handled. She knows how to balance the need for getting the best result for her client without violating court orders for contacting the victim. It is imperative that you work with an attorney like Jenna Casper Bloom who has years of experience dealing with these situations.
Jenna Casper Bloom has over fourteen years experience handling all criminal matters including thefts, drug offenses, weapons offenses, sexual assault, aggravated assault, domestic violence, Megan’s Law offenses, Graves Act, DWI/DUI, traffic tickets, Pre-trial intervention, gun cases, marijuana charges, and expungements. She has handled cases from all stages and hearings including motions to suppress, Miranda hearings and has extensive trial experience. She provides an aggressive defense for any crime that one is charged with which results in her clients receiving favorable outcomes. Additionally, many times Jenna Casper Bloom gets cases dismissed for her client or plead guilty to a lesser offense. She has also argued probation and parole violation hearings which resulted in her clients being able to stay on probation or parole and not return to prison. She especially has experience with detention hearings, allowing her clients to be released pending their trial instead of languishing in jail. If you can be charged with the crime, Jenna Casper Bloom has experience in defending it. She practices in Mercer County, Hunterdon County, Warren County, and Somerset County as well as in the towns of Trenton, Flemington, Clinton, Raritan, Annandale, Union, Pennington, East Amwell, West Amwell, Lawrenceville, Ewing, and Princeton.
Jenna Casper Bloom will treat you as the person you are, not the crime you have been charged with. Contact her today for a free consultation.
