Columbia · Boone County
Assault Lawyer in Columbia & Boone County
An assault charge can come from a few seconds that nobody saw in full: a fight at a party, a shove outside a bar, an argument that got out of hand. In Missouri, the degree of the charge decides whether you are facing a fine or years in prison. We defend assault charges in Columbia and across Boone County.
The four degrees
What is the difference between 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree assault in Missouri?
The degree turns on the injury alleged, whether a weapon was involved, and your state of mind. The same incident can be charged at very different levels.
First degree
Attempting to kill, or knowingly causing or attempting to cause serious physical injury. A class B felony, 5 to 15 years, or a class A felony, 10 to 30 years or life, if serious physical injury results or the victim is a special victim.
Second degree
Causing or attempting physical injury with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, recklessly causing serious physical injury, recklessly injuring someone by firing a gun, or a serious assault under sudden passion. A class D felony, up to 7 years.
Third degree
Knowingly causing physical injury to another person. A class E felony, up to 4 years in prison.
Fourth degree
The lowest level, including attempting to cause or recklessly causing injury or pain, placing someone in fear of immediate injury, or offensive contact. Usually a class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail.
The lowest level
How serious is assault in the 4th degree?
It depends on how it was committed. Fourth-degree assault is generally a class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail. But when the charge is only that you placed someone in fear of immediate injury, or made offensive or provocative contact, it is a class C misdemeanor, up to 15 days, unless the other person is a special victim.
A misdemeanor is still a criminal record. Prior assault history also matters: a person found to be a prior or persistent assault offender cannot receive a suspended imposition of sentence and must serve at least six months before probation or parole.
When the charge goes up
Who is a “special victim” in Missouri?
Assault against a special victim is charged one level higher, or more. In Columbia, with its hospitals and university, that list matters.
- Law enforcement officers, including university police, and jailers and corrections officers, on duty or because of their duties.
- Emergency personnel: firefighters, EMTs, and emergency room, hospital, and trauma center staff.
- Probation and parole officers.
- Elderly people, people with a disability, and vulnerable persons.
- Highway workers in a work zone, utility and cable workers on the job, and mass transit employees.
Whether the person actually fits the definition, and whether they were acting in their official duties at the time, is often worth contesting.
Where your case is heard
Where will my Columbia assault case be heard?
Boone County Courthouse
State assault charges in Boone County, including every felony, are heard in the 13th Judicial Circuit at the Boone County Courthouse, 705 East Walnut Street in downtown Columbia.
Columbia Municipal Court
A lower-level assault charged under a City of Columbia ordinance is heard in the Columbia Municipal Court at 600 East Broadway, a division of the 13th Circuit. Municipal charges move differently, and the resolution options differ too.
The defense
How do you defend an assault charge in Boone County?
Most assault cases come down to who started it, what actually happened, and how badly anyone was hurt. Each of those can be tested.
Self-defense
Missouri law lets you defend yourself or another person, and there is no duty to retreat from a place you have a right to be. Once self-defense is raised, the State must disprove it. It is generally not available to the initial aggressor unless they withdrew and made that clear.
The injury
The degree of the charge often depends on whether the injury was “physical” or “serious physical” injury. Medical records frequently tell a different story than the report.
The evidence
Phone videos, security cameras, and body cameras often show more than the witnesses remember. We get them early, before they are overwritten.
The witnesses
Accounts from people who were drinking, upset, or loyal to one side change between the scene and the courtroom. Those changes matter.
If the other person is a family or household member or a current or former partner, the case is charged as domestic assault, with different consequences. See our domestic assault page.
Answers
Columbia assault questions we hear
Can you go to jail for third degree assault in Missouri?
Yes. Third-degree assault, knowingly causing physical injury, is a class E felony punishable by up to four years in prison, or a class D felony, up to seven years, if the victim is a special victim.
What is the lowest assault charge in Missouri?
Fourth-degree assault based only on placing someone in fear of immediate injury or on offensive contact, which is a class C misdemeanor punishable by up to 15 days, unless the victim is a special victim.
Which is worse, 1st degree assault or 4th degree assault?
First degree is the most serious: a class B felony, or a class A felony if serious physical injury results or the victim is a special victim. Fourth degree is the least serious, usually a misdemeanor.
Can an assault charge be expunged in Missouri?
A misdemeanor assault that is not domestic assault can generally be expunged after the waiting period. Felony assault and any domestic assault, misdemeanor or felony, cannot. See our Missouri expungement page.
Do you represent University of Missouri students charged with assault?
Yes. We represent students charged in Columbia and Boone County, and we weigh the university discipline, licensing, and immigration consequences alongside the criminal case.
A college student or young adult? See student and young adult defense in Columbia, including Columbia Municipal Court and the University of Missouri conduct process.
How serious is each degree of assault? See Is assault a felony in Missouri?
Facing a different charge in Boone County? See our Columbia criminal defense, Columbia DWI, or Columbia drug crime pages. For Missouri assault law generally, see assault defense. Already convicted? See appeals and post-conviction in Boone County.
Talk to us
Get the video before it disappears.
If you have been charged with assault in Columbia or anywhere in Boone County, or police want to talk to you about an incident, call before you give a statement.
Attorney advertising. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. It reflects Missouri law as of September 2026. Contacting Vindex Law, PC does not create an attorney-client relationship.
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