Travis J. Tormey Gets Florham Park Aggravated Assault Charges Dismissed

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Assault

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Travis J. Tormey recently represented a client who had been charged with third degree aggravated assault with a weapon arising out of an alleged domestic violence incident in Florham Park, NJ.

What are the Penalties for 3rd Degree Assault?

Since aggravated assault is typically an indictable, felony-level offense in New Jersey, the case was transferred from Florham Park Municipal Court to Morris County Superior Court in Morristown, NJ. The case was scheduled to be heard by the Superior Court Judge and, if convicted, the client faced severe penalties that included a sentence of 3-5 years in New Jersey State Prison. Moreover, the client was subject to a mandatory minimum term of incarceration of 85 percent of any sentence before becoming eligible for parole because the No Early Release Act (NERA) applies to violent crimes in New Jersey.

Our client was a 70-year-old woman with no prior criminal history. She had been happily married to her husband for more than forty years and the couple had two adult children. She was arrested after a minor argument escalated into a physical altercation. The couple was at home when the client’s husband started calling her names, prompting her to bop him on the forehead with the butt end of a kitchen knife. The client had the knife because she was cooking at the time.

As soon as the client was placed under arrest and charged with aggravated assault, Travis Tormey got to work defending her against the very serious criminal charges. Mr. Tormey convinced the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office that the charges were incorrectly elevated from a disorderly persons offense to a felony. This was not an aggravated assault with a knife, explained Mr. Tormey, but rather a woman acting more like a caring grandmother who bops her grandchild on the head with a wooden spoon for misbehaving. As a result of Mr. Tormey’s reasoned arguments, the prosecutor agreed to downgrade the charge to simple assault and remand the case back to the Florham Park Municipal Court for resolution.

Whats the difference between 3rd Degree Aggravated Assault and Simple Assault?

There are a number of major differences between 3rd degree aggravated assault and simple assault including the following:

• Fines: On a 3rd degree felony in New Jersey, a defendant is facing a $15,000 fine. On a simple assault, the maximum fine is $1,000.
• Record: If convicted, a third degree assault is a felony on the defendant’s record. A simple assault, on the other hand, is a disorderly persons offense (misdemeanor).

Prior to adjudication in municipal court, the client’s husband told the prosecutor that he wanted the charges dropped entirely. He said that he was not willing to testify against his wife. With no other witnesses in the case, the Florham Park prosecutor had no choice but to dismiss the complaint against our client. The prosecutor also realized that this was the right thing to do – especially considering that the client was a woman who had lived a law-abiding life.

The case was dismissed, does the client have any record?

No, the client has no criminal record from the incident. In addition, the arrest record (fingerprints, mugshot), can also be automatically expunged so that also will not show up on a background check for work, school, professional licenses.

Free Consultation with Experienced Morris County Assault Lawyers

Thanks to Travis J. Tormey, the client avoided a criminal conviction and kept her record clean. This was an extremely satisfying result for our client and a major victory for the Tormey Law Firm.