Charges for Assault in NZ

If you’re dealing with NZ assault charges, it’s important for you to know that you have options. The law in NZ for violence-related offending covers a variety of cases, ranging from murder, to robbery, to injuring or assault with intent to injure to relatively minor offences like common assault or property offences. Most assault charges fall under the Crimes Act 1961. Charges under the Crimes Act are not taken lightly by Judges, so it’s vital to have a lawyer who can help you either defend your case at trial or mitigate the allegations against you to avoid a more serious sentence.

I’m an experienced lawyer for assault charges. I can represent you no matter what the charge is, be it kidnapping, breach of protection order, family/domestic assault, or even low-level charges such as intimidation or threatening behaviour. Having a good lawyer will improve your chances of defending the charge or minimising the sentencing outcome in all these cases.

Read on to find out more about assault charges in NZ or contact me now with the form at the bottom of this page to discuss your case.

NZ’s approach to family/domestic violence

NZ courts take family/domestic assaults very seriously, and the laws surrounding it are some of the strictest in our legal system. This includes obtaining bail, which means there can be fewer opportunities for those charged to explain themselves than in other areas of law. The law on assault is drafted to protect the largest number of victims possible. This means that a defendant’s rights can be overlooked. Here at MutchLaw, we specialise in making sure that your side of the story is heard, and if there are aspects of culpability, the charge doesn’t exceed the offence. This aids in avoiding a sentence that is out of proportion to the true nature and scale of the offending.

My areas of expertise in family/domestic violence

ASSAULT ON PERSON IN FAMILY RELATIONSHIP

Parliament has broadened the definition of what is deemed a “family relationship”. The legislation states that person (A) is considered to be in a family relationship with person (B) if:
A is a spouse of B, or
A is a family member of B, or
A ordinarily shares a household with B, or
A has a close personal relationship with B.

This has led to a large increase of charges of assault on person in family relationship pursuant to section 194A of the Crimes Act 1961. If this charge is proved, the penalty under section 194A(1) of the Act is imprisonment for a maximum term of 2 years.

PROTECTION ORDER

The Family Violence Act 2018 sets out the ingredients for contravening a protection order against protected persons. Section 90 of the Act prohibits the recipient of the order from contacting a protected person and can extend to other protected members of the applicant, most commonly, children.

If a protection order is contravened, the penalty under section 112(3) of the Act is imprisonment for a maximum term of 3 years. The statutory defence to a charge of this nature is expressly stated under section 112(2) of the Act. It requires the recipient to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for breaching the order.

I can assess the options available to clients under the circumstances of an alleged breach. The burden is on the prosecuting agency to prove the ingredients of the charge to the criminal standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt.