Bar brawls may seem very okay when you are high, and some random dude "wants" to pick a fight with you. However, by the time you have the handcuffs on or face assault charges, you will be feeling different. Fortunately, getting arrested or charged isn't synonymous with a guilty sentence. The following defenses can come to your rescue:
Defense
Hitting someone may not be considered an assault if you were defending yourself or your property. The most accepted form of defense is self-defense. You can win on the defense of self-defense if you can prove that you had a real fear that the other party would harm you physically, you didn't provoke them, and you couldn't retreat. For example, if you were in the cloakroom and a person raised their arm to strike you, you could defend yourself by striking their arm back.
When it comes to the defense of property, you need to prove that there was no dispute as to the property's ownership. For example, you can shove a pickpocket to the ground and successfully argue self-defense. However, if you suspect another person of stealing your money, you can't hit the other person and use self-defense as your excuse.
Lack of Intent
You can also defend yourself by proving that you did not intend to assault the plaintiff. This may not get you completely off the hook (depending on the other party's injuries), but it may lessen the severity of your charges and sentencing. Consider an example where there is a scramble for free drinks in a bar, someone falls, and you accidentally step on their wrist. In this case, you may be able to defend yourself by claiming that it wasn't your intention to step on the plaintiff or harm them in any way.
Provocation
Lastly, you can also try the provocation defense. Again, this may not get you off the hook completely, but it may help reduce the severity of your charges and punishment. By raising this defense, you are claiming that the plaintiff did something that induced anger or rage in you, causing you to hit them. Assume you go to a bar to drink in honor of a dead loved one's memory, and someone starts talking trash and degrading the deceased's memory. In this case, if you punch the abuser with your fist in rage, you may be able to use provocation to lessen your charges.
Of course, it is not what you claim but what you can prove that will set you free or mitigate your sentence. Therefore, get someone to help you with the defense, someone who has defended criminal cases before—a criminal defense lawyer, like one from Alexander & Associates, P.C.
