In Minnesota, domestic assault is defined as an act of assault against a family or household member. At its lowest level, it is a misdemeanor — but it can be charged as a gross misdemeanor or a felony depending on the circumstances.
If you’ve been charged with domestic assault, the first step in your defense is understanding the charges against you. In this article, we’ll cover the aggravating factors for domestic assault in Minnesota, and explain how it differs from other types of assault.
What is assault in Minnesota?
In Minnesota, there are two types of assault:
- Assault-fear: the act of intentionally putting someone in fear of bodily harm. It requires the state to prove you did something to cause another to fear imminent bodily harm.
- Assault-harm: intentional physical contact that results in bodily harm or injury.
There are five degrees of assault in Minnesota that vary depending on whether or not there are aggravating factors involved.
Possible aggravating factors include:
- Assault against a public servant, police officer, school official, or medical staff
- Discriminatory assault
- Assault that results in substantial bodily harm
- Assault on a minor
- Assault involving a firearm or any item capable of causing serious bodily harm or death
What is battery?
Assault and battery are generally interchangeable terms today. Historically, battery and assault were considered separate crimes, with battery requiring that the aggressor physically strike or offensively touch the victim. In that way, a battery was a "completed" assault. But most modern statutes don't bother to distinguish between the two crimes, and statutes often refer to crimes of actual physical violence as assaults.
What is domestic assault in Minnesota?
In Minnesota, domestic assault is a specific type of assault, defined as an act of assault against a family or household member.
Household members, in this case, could be partners, children, parents, former partners, siblings, or roommates.
It’s important to remember that you do not have to actually physically harm someone to be charged with assault — attempting to cause harm or even threatening to cause harm are also considered assault in Minnesota.
Aggravating factors for domestic assault
In Minnesota, there are five degrees of assault ranging from misdemeanor to felony levels. These apply to domestic assault as well.
If you have any prior domestic violence convictions within the past ten years on your criminal record, these are considered aggravating factors and will result in you being charged with a higher level crime. One prior conviction enhances the offense to a gross misdemeanor, and two or more prior convictions enhances the offense to a felony charge.
However, if the assault involved choking another person (or any act of blocking blood flow or breathing by applying pressure on someone’s neck or throat), the assault is automatically considered a felony, even without prior convictions. This is a specific type of domestic assault called domestic assault by strangulation.
If the assault resulted in injury to the other party, this can be an additional aggravating factor.
Penalties for domestic assault in Minnesota
There are different levels of domestic assault in Minnesota:
- Misdemeanor domestic assault charges carry a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.
- Gross misdemeanor domestic assault charges carry a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail.
- Felony charges can mean a year in prison or more, depending on the consequences of the assault and whether aggravating factors were present.
If you are convicted of domestic assault, you could face a permanent criminal record that prevents you from participating in activities with your children, securing housing or employment, and volunteering.
In addition, there are important considerations stemming from federal law relative to domestic assault. For example, individuals convicted of a crime of violence, like domestic assault, are barred from possessing a firearm, even those used for hunting.
Individuals convicted of domestic assault can also be subject to adverse employment consequences, or even prevented from renting an apartment.
No contact orders
If you have been charged with domestic assault, a judge can issue a no contact order (often called a domestic abuse no contact order, or DANCO) preventing you from having contact with the other party. This means that your house, your partner, your kids may all be off-limits following a domestic assault allegation.
While this no contact order is in place, your partner may try to call you to see how you are doing. Your kids may want to see you. If you respond or return home at any point, then you risk going to jail. You cannot have any contact — even if the other party initiates it.
The conditions of a DANCO are typically as follows:
- No stalking, harassing, or threatening the protected person
- No contact of any form
- No contact through others
- No going to the house of the protected person
A good defense attorney can help to modify the terms of a DANCO, or have it dropped altogether.
What happens if I violate my no contact order?
Violating a DANCO is a separate crime and can result in additional charges, jail time, and fines.
Ex parte orders
Temporary protective orders that are issued by a judge are called “ex parte” orders, or orders for protection.
In Minnesota, people claiming to be victims of assault may request to have a temporary order for protection placed against you in their favor.
This will likely require you to avoid any contact with the person who is requesting the order and stay away from their:
- home
- children, and
- place of employment.
If you are found guilty of the assault charges against you, the order of protection can be made permanent and last several years.
Do I need a lawyer for domestic assault?
When you’re facing criminal charges, you have three options. You can represent yourself, ask for a public defender, or hire a private lawyer.
If you choose to represent yourself, you must know all the procedural rules and relevant laws; you won’t be cut any slack because you aren’t a lawyer.
What most people don’t realize is that even if you commit a crime and plan to plead guilty, an experienced attorney can still find ways to lower your charges or even have them outright dismissed. The dedication to leave no stone unturned — that’s what a great lawyer can do for you.
You must ask yourself, can you afford not to hire the best lawyer you can? The stakes are high in a criminal case. Beyond just facing jail time or steep fines, the consequences of living with a criminal record are not to be ignored. It can make it more difficult for you to obtain employment, get custody of your children, or rent an apartment or home. And if you’ve been convicted of a felony-level crime, you will be stripped of the right to vote or bear arms.
Ultimately, if you want the best possible defense, you need to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney with a track record of winning. The long-term costs of being convicted of a crime far outweigh the near-term costs of hiring an experienced attorney to defend you.
Defenses to a domestic assault charge
There are several viable defenses to an assault charge, including self-defense. Minnesota law does give citizens the right to defend against imminent threats of danger or assault. However, you must meet the burden of proof, which stipulates certain conditions that must occur for the act to be considered self-defense.
Your attorney can help you build a case to prove that you acted in self-defense, rather than assault on the other party.
If you’ve been charged with assault, we’re here to help
All assault charges are crimes, and having a criminal record of any kind can severely limit your future.
In fact, assault charges are particularly damaging as they are considered “crimes of violence” under both federal and state law. Being convicted of a crime of violence can greatly affect your ability to work, rent an apartment, possess firearms, or participate in activities with children.
This is why, whenever you can, it’s important to fight for the complete dismissal of your charges.