Do you know someone who has gotten into legal trouble because of fighting? When people get into a fight, they don’t just get physically hurt by the brawl itself. Physical altercations between people can be even more of a problem if criminal charges are filed. Aside from being arrested and having to appear in court, there are other things to take into consideration when people are criminally charged with fighting or assault.
Take Classes
Quite commonly, a judge will order a defendant to participate in some type of education related to the offense in question. Usually this comes in the form of courses intended to educate people about the ways they can correct their behavior in the future. Participants can take online anger management courses instead of having to appear inside an in-person classroom. These courses can help people learn how to control their emotions and how to make more constructive choices the next time they find themselves in a situation. Learning how to deal with anger is an important skill that can help avoid trouble in the future.
Complete Community Service
As a usual part of a sentence for an assault conviction, the defendant may be ordered to finish a certain amount of hours of community service. A person will have to take time out of their day to work these hours until their sentence is completed. A judge could order 40 or 400 hours of service depending on the conviction. This is unpaid work intended to help a person repay their debt to society. Cleaning city parks, Picking up trash in public areas, and doing landscaping work are examples of things people do for court-ordered community service.
Acquire a Criminal Record
Even after you’ve completed all your classes, finished community service, and paid all your fines, being involved in an assault case may still reflect on your criminal record. If you’ve been convicted of an assault charge, this can follow you around for the rest of your life. Assault can be either a felony or a misdemeanor level charge, and this will show up when an employer or landlord runs a criminal background check.
So if you or someone you know has gotten in a physical fight, these are some of the things you can expect when you go through the court system. Fighting doesn’t just hurt the people physically involved. It can take many years to work through a sentence imposed by the court system.
