Crimes Against the Person

Belleville attorney Lyndon P. Evanko represents individuals throughout southwestern Illinois who have been charged with crimes against the person, including all forms of assault and battery.

Battery is defined as knowingly or intentionally causing bodily harm to a person, or making physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature to a person, without legal justification.  Battery itself is a Class A misdemeanor, but there are many different forms of battery under the law, some of which are serious felonies:

• Aggravated battery
• Battery of an unborn child
• Aggravated battery of an unborn child
• Domestic battery
• Aggravated domestic battery
• Aggravated battery of a child
• Aggravated battery with a firearm
• Aggravated battery with a firearm equipped with a silencer
• Heinous battery

In order to be criminal, the battery must occur without legal justification.  There are many defenses available in which causing harm to another may be legally excused; self-defense is probably the most well-known example.  If you are defending yourself against an attack, you may use force to protect yourself, but there are limits to this defense.  For instance, your reaction in most cases cannot greatly exceed the amount of force being used against you. 

Aside from self-defense, defense of others is sometimes a legally justifiable use of force.  Consent (as in sports) or necessity (as in medical procedures) are other defenses available for otherwise harmful contact.  Whether a particular defense is successful in a given situation depends strongly on the facts of the situation and the skill of the attorney in presenting those facts to a judge or jury.

Attorney Lyndon P. Evanko has 15 years of experience defending people accused of assault, battery, reckless discharge of firearms, and other criminal behavior in southwestern Illinois.  If you have been charged with battery or another crime against the person in St. Clair, Madison, or Monroe County, contact Lyndon P. Evanko, P.C. today or call us at (618) 397-1997 for a free consultation.