School Fights and Assaults: A Criminal Defense Attorney’s Perspective
Not long ago, disputes, fights and assaults in a high school or college were handled much differently than they are now. Liability, school policies, insurance policies, anti-bullying policies, risk management and the criminal court system are now major drivers of how school fights and assaults cases are handled. Though not all of these changes have been for the worse, when we are playing the roll of defense attorneys | lawyers, we now see more school fights and assaults being charged as crimes, parties seeking Civil Protection Orders and school sanctions becoming more liability-centric and less child-centric. As a result of this steady growth in litigation, parents are finding it more necessary to retain a lawyer to prosecute or a criminal defense lawyer | attorney early on to protect their children in criminal proceedings as well as in civil proceeding. Whether this produces fair results or will better prepare our children to be adults remains to be seen; but, at present, this is the reality.
As lawyers | attorneys who have prosecuted and defended clients in these kinds of situations, we have seen fighting and assaults happen for a whole host of reasons: jealously, competition, anger, frustration, bullying, home issues, substance use issues, genetics, mental illness, hormones, bullying or self-defense. As important as it is for your lawyer to vigorously fight in criminal and civil accusations, it is equally important that the underlying reasons leading to the confrontation be addressed to prevent a pattern from developing or to end one early on. Whether this is a relatively simple fix or one that requires professional intervention completely depends on the child, family and case. Our years of experience as private counsel in trial work have taught us to take the time to gauge cases and clients. By keeping an open mind, taking the time to listen, and choosing the appropriate approach to cases upfront, we find we are able to get better results for our clients.
If your child has been involved in a confrontation at school or on school grounds or at a school related activity, it is vital you speak with counsel as soon as possible. Read our section on criminal investigation and watch the associated video with this page. These cases have a lot of live issues. Clients hire us because they want reliable, loyal and effective counsel who will make sure their rights are protected. The lawyers/attorneys in our office have a unique blend of courtroom experience, skills, knowledge and temperament. Consultations are free but a poor choice in counsel is not. The first step is a phone call or appointment. Call us at 206-708-7852 for a free initial consultation.
