In North Carolina a person who commits simple assault can be convicted of a  Class 2  misdemeanor. As with other types of crimes a District Attorney can elevate the seriousness of the charge to a Class1, Class A1, and numerous types of felony assaults.

Those charges may be called:

• Assault on a Female
• Assault Inflicting Serious Injury
• Assault with a Deadly Weapon
• Assault on a Government Official
• Assault to Kill or Inflict Serious Injury

There are also multiple ways to allege an assault occurred. The first is by an intentional movement designed to make contact and making contact with another person. The second way is to act in a manner so as to make another person believe that an unwanted touching is about to occur.

Additionally, Federal law makes it illegal for a person to possess a gun after having been “convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.” 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). A “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is a misdemeanor that “has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by” a person with one of several specified relationships to the victim. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33). Probably the most common misdemeanor charges used in domestic violence cases are simple assault and assault on a female. This means your case could cause you to lose the right to own or possess a firearm.

If you are faced with any type of assault charge your first response should be to contact a knowledgeable attorney to help protect your rights and liberties.