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A bar fight. A road rage moment. A misread interaction. One bad night should not end your career.
PC 240 — Simple Assault. An attempt to commit a violent injury on another person. No contact required. Misdemeanor. Up to six months county jail and a $1,000 fine.
PC 242 — Simple Battery. Any willful and unlawful touching. Doesn’t need to cause injury. Doesn’t need to leave a mark. Misdemeanor. Up to six months and $2,000.
PC 243(a) — Battery on a Non-Officer. The standard battery enhancement. Misdemeanor. Up to six months.
PC 243(b) — Battery on a Peace Officer. Brushing past an officer during an arrest. Pulling away from a grip. The contact bar is low and the charge stings. Misdemeanor. Up to one year.
PC 245(a)(4) — Assault with Force Likely to Produce Great Bodily Injury. The wobbler. Can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the prosecutor’s read of the facts. Misdemeanor exposure: up to one year. Felony exposure: up to four years state prison.
PC 245(a)(4) is a wobbler. That means the District Attorney looks at the same set of facts and decides — on their morning — whether to charge it as a misdemeanor or a felony. Same fight. Same alleged injury. Two very different futures.
The fight on a 245(a)(4) starts before the first word in court. Pre-filing letters. Mitigation packets. Direct negotiation with the filing deputy. The goal is to keep the case where it belongs — or get it knocked down to PC 240 or 242 — before charges are even filed.
If it gets filed as a felony, the next fight is the motion to reduce under PC 17(b). That motion can move the case to misdemeanor court and put diversion back on the table.
If you reasonably believed you were in danger, you had the right to defend yourself. The amount of force has to be proportional, but California law does not require you to retreat first. The prosecution has to prove the force was not justified — that is a heavy burden.
Stepping in to protect a friend, a stranger, or a family member is lawful. Bystanders often turn into defendants because they intervened in someone else’s fight. That intervention can be a defense, not a crime.
Two people who voluntarily fight each other — the “he started it” cases — raise complex prosecution problems. Witnesses contradict each other. Surveillance is partial. Mutual combat is not a clean acquittal, but it can collapse the prosecution’s narrative.
PC 242 requires a willful touching. Accidents are not battery. Stumbling into someone in a crowded bar is not battery. Reflex is not willful conduct.
Simple assault and battery cases — PC 240, 242, 243(a) — are strong candidates for judicial misdemeanor diversion under PC 1001.95. Complete the conditions the court tailors to the case — alternatives to incarceration the lawyer negotiates — and the case is dismissed. No guilty plea required.
Many assault and battery cases trace back to a mental health condition the system never diagnosed. Treatment-based diversion under PC 1001.36 ends in dismissal when a qualifying condition contributed to the offense.
Do not contact the alleged victim. Not in person. Not by text. Not through a friend. Witness tampering is its own charge, and an apology is an admission.
Photograph your injuries. If you were defending yourself, the marks on you are evidence. Date the photos. Save them.
Identify the witnesses. Names. Phone numbers. Anyone who saw what happened from the start. Memories fade fast.
Get a lawyer before the filing decision. A pre-filing letter on a 245(a)(4) is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony.
Pre-filing letters. Reduction motions. Diversion enrollment. Every court appearance, all the way through resolution. One fee.
Schedule Free Consultation(510) 545-6515 · ahmed@ashlegal.com
About the Author
Ahmed S. Hasan
San Francisco Criminal Defense Attorney · State Bar of California #364992
Ahmed S. Hasan is the founder of ASH Legal, a solo criminal defense practice based in San Francisco. The firm runs on flat-fee representation: one lawyer, one fee, from arraignment through resolution. No hourly billing. No surprise invoices.
Ahmed is a graduate of Emory University School of Law and a member in good standing of the State Bar of California (Bar #364992). His practice focuses on San Francisco misdemeanor defense — DUI, domestic violence, petty theft and shoplifting, drug possession, vandalism, trespassing, and assault and battery — with particular attention to diversion-track outcomes that end in dismissal under PC 1001.95, PC 1001.36 (Mental Health Diversion), PC 1001.80 (Military Diversion), and PC 1001.83 (Parental Caregiver Diversion).
Ahmed previously served as a post-bar clerk with the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, the city's largest indigent-defense practice. He is a member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley.
He represents clients at the San Francisco Hall of Justice (850 Bryant Street) and the Civic Center Courthouse. The ASH Legal office is at 15 Boardman Place, Suite 301, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Free 30-minute consultations are available by phone or Zoom. (510) 545-6515 · ahmed@ashlegal.com