Physical altercations with other people can lead to assault charges. The state can bring criminal allegations against those accused of intimidating or harming others. Serious injury isn’t always necessary to justify prosecution. Additionally, the state can bring charges against a person who sustained injuries during an altercation. Some assault scenarios are one-sided incidents where an individual attacks or injures someone else. Other cases may involve a fight between the parties accused of breaking the law.
Can individuals facing assault charges in Missouri defend against these allegations by asserting that they agreed to fight?
The law does not allow for intentional altercations
Claims of mutual combat can serve to prevent assault charges in some jurisdictions or limit the severity of the charges and penalties in other locations. Some states allow adults to agree to physically fight one another to settle disputes without risking prosecution for standard assault charges.
Missouri does not reduce charges simply because the people involved in a violent confrontation agreed to fight one another. Claims of mutual combat do not eliminate the risk of assault charges. In cases where prosecutors allege intentional involvement in an unlawful combative fight, defendants might even face felony charges. In fact, the state prosecutes not just the people involved in the fight but anyone else who may have facilitated the violent interaction between the two people.
Thankfully, there are other defense strategies that can prove helpful to those accused of assault because of a physical fight. Discussing one’s situation with a criminal defense attorney could help a defendant explore their options for minimizing the consequences of a fight-related assault arrest.