Québec City Assault Charges Lawyer

In 2022, almost 110,000 people were charged with aggravated assault in Québec. That year, there was a 13 percent increase in the number of aggravated assault charges filed by the Crown in Québec. Just 2 percent of those charges were deemed unfounded. Other cases were dismissed. Whether and when these assault charges are dismissed depends on the quality of your legal representation.

No one should face the authority of the Crown alone. If you are being investigated by the police or arrested on an assault charge, you should hire a skilled Québec City Assault Charges Lawyer immediately. Any criminal charge can have a lasting and devastating impact on you and your family: interfering with your ability to work, where you live, the availability of financial loans, your immigration status, and, of course, your liberty.

Although Canadian law has safeguards against abusive police investigatory tactics, your constitutional rights can best be fully protected with an experienced criminal defence lawyer by your side.

If you are under investigation by the police or arrested on an assault charge or any other criminal charge in Québec, you will find an experienced and savvy advocate in Patrick Jacques. He knows how to fight the Crown despite its resources and power. Patrick Jacques brings years of experience to each case that he handles. That experience, combined with his knowledge of the law and procedure, makes his representation strategic, compassionate, and fearless.

No one wants the stigma of a criminal conviction for assault. Protect yourself and your family with effective defence counsel early in the process.

What Is Assault?

Assault is the touching of another person without consent, the threat of touching without consent, the open carrying of a weapon, or something made to look like a weapon that is used to threaten or intimidate another.

Assault is categorized into three levels:

• Common assault
• Assault causing bodily harm or with a weapon
• Aggravated assault, wounding, scarring, maiming, disfiguring, or endangering life

This touching without consent can be a slap, kick, punch, or choking or the threat of these actions. This touching can be touching something personal without permission—a purse, a briefcase, an intimate object—that belongs to another. A mere gesture, with or without a weapon, can constitute an assault if the complaining witness reasonably believes that unconsented contact will occur. Assault takes on another whole dimension when it is sexual in nature.

What are the Consequences of an Assault Charge?

The penalties for assault charges depend upon the level of the charge, the circumstances of the crime, the injury to the victim, and the prior criminal record of the defendant.

Common Assault

• charged as a summary conviction: up to two years less a day in jail and/or a $5,000 fine
• charged as an indictment: up to five years in prison

Assault Causing Bodily Harm or With a Weapon

• serious bodily injury: up to ten years in prison
• maiming and disfigurement: up to twenty years in prison

Aggravated Assault

• up to fourteen years in prison

The Importance of Choosing a Skilled Québec City Assault Charges Lawyer

If you have been accused of assault, you can expect the full strength of the Crown to prosecute you. That means discovering and developing evidence, investigating you and your past, and subpoenaing and interrogating witnesses, When the Crown arrests and charges you with assault, only a skilled, experienced defence lawyer can help you.

Your lawyer should:

• Be familiar to and respected by the authorities involved in your case — police, judges and other forces of the Crown
• Have a comprehensive knowledge of the law and criminal procedure to make certain that all government activities occur within the strictures of our Constitution and Charter of Rights & Freedoms
• Combine extensive experience in assault cases with proven skills in areas such as negotiation and courtroom tactics
• Have a thorough understanding of police officers and their methods, of judges and their tendencies, and of locales and their customs

Québec criminal defence lawyer Patrick Jacques possesses all such experience and skills.

Mounting an excellent defence in your assault case will revolve around introducing reasonable doubt into the Crown’s version of events based on the implications of physical evidence and the credibility of witness testimony. Your defence lawyer will need to analyze the evidence, study the witness statements, and examine police activities, including the methods they used to assemble their evidence. Only then will your defence lawyer be able to posit a credible account that contradicts the Crown’s version of events sufficiently to create reasonable doubt.

The unique facts of each case dictate how a plausible defence will be built:

• What scientific evidence — such as forensics, DNA, and ballistics — will be presented in court? Precisely what does the witness testimony mean? What hard evidence, such as photos, texts, and other documents, will the Crown present?
• Did police at any time fail to follow Canadian and provincial law, including the Constitution and Charter of Rights & Freedoms, in their gathering of evidence, interrogations of witnesses, and other activities?
• Has the Crown provided all evidence in their possession in a timely manner to defence counsel?
• What contradictory new evidence can be discovered that will challenge the believability of any person(s) you are accused of assaulting, other witnesses, and the police?
• What important information can be revealed by probing witnesses’ backgrounds and circumstances? Could their testimony be invalidated because they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol? And what about the event itself? How reliable is their memory?
• Carefully organizing and using this information will enable your defence lawyer to develop a strategy and tactics that will create reasonable doubt.

Why Choose Patrick Jacques As Your Québec City Assault Charges Lawyer?

Through more than twenty years of experience handling cases like yours and possessing a detailed knowledge of the law, Patrick Jacques uses his skills and experience to represent his clients with commitment and care. A skilled negotiator, a dogged interrogator, and a confident defender, Patrick Jacques has earned his reputation as an intrepid and ethical defence lawyer for his clients.

If you have been accused of assault, choose Patrick Jacques to represent you by calling 418-880-0694 or emailing today to schedule a free consultation.

If you are the subject of a police investigation or have been arrested on an assault charge, call or email today to arrange for a free consultation with Québec City Criminal Defence Lawyer Patrick Jacques.