Assault Defense in Michigan: Protecting Your Future Against Violent Crime Charges.
When a disagreement turns into a criminal charge, the prosecution moves fast. We act even faster to protect your record, your rights, and your freedom.
Understanding Michigan Assault & Battery
Michigan distinguishes assault (placing someone in reasonable apprehension of imminent harm) from battery (actual physical contact). Both can be charged at the same time, and the severity escalates quickly based on injury, weapon use, and the identity of the alleged victim.
The prosecution must prove intent. If contact was accidental, if you acted in lawful self-defense, or if the alleged victim was the actual aggressor, those facts are your defense. We start by securing surveillance footage, phone records, and witness statements before they disappear.
Charges We Defend
- Simple assault / assault and battery
- Aggravated assault (serious injury)
- Felonious assault (assault with a weapon)
- Assault with intent to commit great bodily harm
- Assault with intent to murder
- Assault on a peace officer
What’s at Stake
- Simple Assault: Up to 93 days, misdemeanor
- Aggravated Assault: Up to 1 year, misdemeanor
- Felonious Assault: Up to 4 years, felony
- Assault Great Bodily Harm: Up to 10 years, felony
- Assault with Intent to Murder: Up to life imprisonment
Our Assault Defense Strategies
01. Self-Defense and Defense of Others
Michigan’s self-defense law allows the use of reasonable force to protect yourself or another. We establish who was the initial aggressor, whether the threat was imminent, and whether your response was proportional to the perceived danger.
02. Evidence and Witness Credibility
Witness accounts in assault cases are notoriously unreliable. We subpoena surveillance footage, examine prior inconsistent statements, and investigate the alleged victim’s own history to expose bias, exaggeration, or motive to fabricate.
03. Challenging Intent
Assault requires intentional conduct. We show that any contact was accidental, that you lacked the mental state required, or that the complainant misconstrued an innocent act as threatening. No intent means no crime.
04. Injury Causation
Aggravated assault charges depend on the severity of injury. We retain medical experts to challenge whether injuries are consistent with the alleged assault, pre-existing, or caused by something other than our client’s actions.
Assault Defense Attorney Questions Answered
Can assault charges be dropped if the victim doesn’t want to cooperate?
The victim does not "press charges" in Michigan — the prosecutor does. Once charges are filed, the complaining witness cannot simply drop them. However, a reluctant or recanting victim significantly weakens the prosecution’s case, and we use that to negotiate dismissals or charge reductions.
What is Michigan’s self-defense law?
Michigan is a stand-your-ground state. The Self-Defense Act (MCL 780.972) allows you to use force — including deadly force in some circumstances — without a duty to retreat, as long as you were not the initial aggressor, you had a lawful right to be where you were, and your belief that force was necessary was honest and reasonable.
Will I lose my right to own a firearm if convicted of assault?
A felony assault conviction results in the loss of your Second Amendment rights under both Michigan and federal law. Even some misdemeanor convictions involving domestic violence can trigger a federal firearms disability.
Speak With an Ann Arbor Defense Lawyer
A confidential conversation early on preserves every available option. Do not speak to investigators without counsel.