Assault and Battery Defense Attorney in Van Nuys
You’re looking at a notice from the Los Angeles County Superior Court telling you to appear at Van Nuys Courthouse West at 14400 Erwin Street Mall. The notice lists California Penal Code Section 240 or 242—assault or battery—along with an arraignment date and a warning that failure to appear will result in a warrant. You don’t know which charge you’re facing. You’re terrified.
Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second generation law firm with over 50 years of combined experience. Our managing partner, Todd Spodek, has many, many, years of experience defending clients in both California state court and federal court. Todd has represented clients in high-profile cases covered by NY Post, Newsweek, and other national outlets – including Anna Delvey and juror misconduct allegations in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial. What determines assault vs. battery charges, what happens at Van Nuys Courthouse, what defenses actually work, and what to do RIGHT NOW if you’re facing these charges.
Assault vs. Battery
Assault? Battery? Same thing to you. The practical difference between assault and battery matters more to you than the academic legal distinction. Assault means you tried to hurt someone but didn’t make physical contact. Battery means you made physical contact. Think of it this way: you swing at someone and miss, that’s assault under California Penal Code Section 240. You make contact with that punch, that’s battery under Penal Code Section 242. You can be charged with both offenses for the same incident—the attempted injury plus the completed injury.
What the prosecutor has to prove depends on which charge you’re facing. For assault, they must show an unlawful attempt with present ability to commit violent injury. For battery, they must prove willful use of force upon another person. “Willful” means you acted on purpose, not by accident. The contact doesn’t have to cause injury—even a shove qualifies as battery if done intentionally.
Six months jail. Maybe more. Misdemeanor assault carries up to 6 months in county jail and up to $1,000 in fines. Misdemeanor battery carries the same maximum penalty. However, assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code Section 245) is a felony carrying 2 to 4 years in state prison. Battery causing serious bodily injury (Penal Code Section 243(d)) is also a felony with the same prison range. Battery conviction = criminal record. Forever. First-time offenders often receive probation instead of jail time with skilled defense counsel.
Los Angeles saw a 14% reduction in homicides in 2024 compared to 2023, reflecting improving trends across violent crime categories including aggravated assault. Yet prosecutors remain under institutional pressure to maintain conviction rates even as crime drops—which means they sometimes overcharge cases or resist reasonable plea negotiations.
Van Nuys Courthouse Process
The Van Nuys Courthouse West is located at 14400 Erwin Street Mall, Van Nuys, CA 91401. It’s part of the California Courts system—specifically the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Northwest District—and it handles criminal cases from Van Nuys, Panorama City, North Hills, and surrounding San Fernando Valley areas. If you need to contact the criminal clerk’s office on the 2nd floor, call (818) 989-6900.
Your arraignment is your first court appearance where the judge formally reads the charges, asks how you plead (guilty, not guilty, or no contest), and addresses whether you’ll wait for trial in custody or at home. You need a lawyer. You need a lawyer at arraignment. You need a lawyer NOW. If you’re already out, the judge sets conditions: stay away from the alleged victim, don’t possess weapons, appear at all future court dates. If you’re in custody, the judge decides bail—thousands or tens of thousands of dollars depending on the severity of charges and your criminal history.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office handles prosecution at Van Nuys Courthouse West. A deputy district attorney assigned to that courthouse makes plea offers, argues bail motions, and decides whether to take your case to trial. These prosecutors see hundreds of assault and battery cases—domestic violence incidents, bar fights, road rage confrontations, neighbor disputes—and they develop patterns in how they evaluate cases and what deals they offer.
The victim wants to drop charges? Doesn’t matter. One critical misunderstanding trips up many defendants: the alleged victim cannot drop the charges. Only the District Attorney decides whether to prosecute. Even if the person who called the police now says it was a misunderstanding, the DA can still proceed with the case. In domestic violence cases, prosecutors often move forward without the victim’s cooperation, using 911 recordings, police body camera footage, and witness statements. An experienced defense attorney can present the victim’s wishes persuasively to the prosecutor and argue for dismissal, but you remain at risk of conviction until the case is formally dismissed.
Defenses That Work
Self-defense and defense of others are the most common defenses to assault and battery charges. Self-defense? Prove it. If you acted to protect yourself from imminent harm, you have a valid defense. The law doesn’t require you to retreat—you can stand your ground if you reasonably believe you’re facing an immediate threat. However, the force you use must be proportional to the threat. Once you raise self-defense, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you didn’t act in self-defense.
Lack of intent and accidental contact are powerful defenses because both charges require willful action. If you bumped into someone in a crowded Van Nuys nightclub and they fell, that’s not battery—there’s no willful use of force. If you were gesturing while talking and accidentally struck someone, that’s not assault. Prosecutors must prove you acted intentionally. False accusation? Common. False accusations are disturbingly common in assault and battery cases. Approximately 33% of women and 25% of men in California experienced domestic assault by the end of 2023—but not every accusation is true. Divorce and custody disputes, retaliation for ending a relationship, and simple misunderstandings all generate false reports. Defense attorneys investigate the accuser’s credibility, motive to lie, prior false accusations, and inconsistent statements. Witness credibility becomes the central issue in these cases.
Mutual combat is a valid defense when both parties agreed to fight. If both people wanted to fight and both participated willingly, you can argue mutual combat. This defense doesn’t work if one person was the clear aggressor, but in cases where both participants bear responsibility, mutual combat can result in reduced charges or dismissal. Can a verbal threat alone be charged as assault? No. The answer is no. Words alone, no matter how provocative, aren’t sufficient for assault under California law. Prosecutors must prove an act—not just words—that would likely result in force. However, threats can be charged as criminal threats under Penal Code Section 422, a separate offense.
Your Questions
Can you be charged with both assault and battery? Yes—if you attempted to hurt someone (assault) and then made contact (battery), prosecutors often charge both.
What is the difference between assault and battery in California? Assault is an attempted injury—you tried to hurt someone but didn’t make contact. Battery is actual contact—you made physical contact using force or violence. Legally they’re separate crimes under different Penal Code sections (240 and 242), but they often occur together. Think of assault as the attempt and battery as the completion.
How much jail time can you get for assault or battery in California? Misdemeanor assault or battery carries up to 6 months in county jail and up to $1,000 in fines.
Do I need a lawyer if the alleged victim wants to drop charges? Yes, absolutely. In California, the alleged victim doesn’t decide whether charges get dropped—the District Attorney does. The DA can proceed with prosecution even if the victim doesn’t want to, and they frequently do in domestic violence cases. An experienced defense attorney can present the victim’s wishes to the prosecutor, argue that the case lacks merit without cooperation, and challenge inadmissible evidence. You remain at risk of conviction until the case is formally dismissed. Don’t make statements. Don’t make statements to police. Don’t make statements to prosecutors. Don’t make statements.
Unlike other law firms who are more focused on their relationship with prosecutors and judges, Spodek Law Group protects YOUR Constitutional rights. We challenge illegal searches, suppress statements taken without proper warnings, force prosecutors to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt. We are available 24/7 for a risk-free consultation. Call us. 212-300-5196.