Assault and battery
Assault and battery charges
A night out, a parking lot, an argument at work. In a few seconds the story became the other person's, written in a police report.
Celestina defends people charged with simple and aggravated assault and battery, including cases where they were defending themselves or someone else.
These cases often turn on what a camera caught, who saw it and what was said afterwards. Videos from businesses and phones are erased within days, so we ask for them right away.
The first weeks
What we do while the evidence still exists
Speed matters more here than almost anywhere else.
- 01
Step 1: Bond and release conditions
We ask for a bond you can meet and for conditions that let you work and live at home.
- 02
Step 2: Video and witnesses
We ask businesses for their footage, find the people who saw it and take their statements early.
- 03
Step 3: Your side, in order
We write down what happened with you while you still remember it clearly, including injuries and photos of your own.
- 04
Step 4: Deciding together
With the evidence in hand, we decide together whether to ask for a dismissal, negotiate or go to trial.
Sample matters
Assault and battery matters
Not guilty
Battery at a restaurant
A jury accepted self-defense after the restaurant's video was shown in full.
2024
Dismissed
Aggravated assault
Witness statements we took the first week contradicted the report; the charge was dropped.
2023
Reduced
Felony battery
Reduced to a misdemeanor with no jail time, protecting a client's work visa.
2022
Sample matters, for illustration. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results don't promise a similar outcome in yours.
When the other person called the police first
He swung first. Why did the police take me?
Officers often arrest whoever seems to be the aggressor in the first few minutes. Self-defense is a legal defense we raise in court, with the evidence to support it.
The other person wants to drop it. Is the case over?
Not by itself. The prosecutor decides whether to go on. What the other person wants still matters, and we make sure the prosecutor hears it the right way.
Can I contact the other person to sort it out?
Not until you've spoken with your lawyer. Contact can break a release condition or be heard as pressure. Let us handle it.
Tell me what happened, in your words.
Call or write while the videos and the memories are still there.