In the State of Indiana, battery occurs when someone is touched in a rude, insolent, or angry manner. Battery charges always start as a misdemeanor, but the consequences can get more serious depending on the damage done.
Felony Battery Resulting in Moderate Bodily Injury
All incidents of battery require a rude, insolent, or angry touching, but the misdemeanor charge can easily become a Level 6 felony if the touching results in moderate bodily injury. This is a step up from bodily injury, and it requires the alleged victim to have suffered substantial pain.
Examples of substantial pain might include things like a split lip or even a fractured rib. A Level 6 felony carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. On top of that, a felony conviction on your record can only cause problems in other areas of your life.
Felony Battery Against a Public Safety Official
You can also find yourself facing felony charges for battery on a public safety official, a term that refers to a list of 13 specific professions, including:
- police officers
- probation officers
- Department of Child Services employees
- bailiffs
- firefighters
- emergency medical services providers.
If you touch a public safety official in a rude, insolent, or angry manner while they’re in the process of doing their job, that’s an automatic Level 6 felony. It doesn’t matter if you caused any pain or injury—battery on a public safety official is a felony.
Battery as a Level 5 Felony
There are also a number of ways that battery charges can be upgraded to a Level 5 felony, which carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. This can happen if you commit battery with a deadly weapon—even if there is no resulting injury.
Battery can also be charged as a Level 5 felony if it results in serious bodily injury. According to statute, this means injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that causes:
- serious permanent disfigurement;
- unconsciousness;
- extreme pain;
- permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ; or
- loss of a fetus.
In many cases, if the State has enough to charge battery as a Level 5 felony, it also has enough to charge you with aggravated battery. This is much worse. Aggravated battery starts as Level 3 felony, which carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Make the Right Call
If you’re facing battery charges, you need an attorney who understands the difference between battery as Level 5 felony and aggravated battery as a Level 3 felony. If you have any questions, call the Marc Lopez Law Firm at 317-632-3642 and remember—always plead the 5th!
