A North Carolina woman has been charged with assault and possession of a weapon on school grounds after what she felt was an attempt to defend her son from bullying.

The woman, 32-year-old Olga Cortez, followed her son’s school bus into the middle school parking lot, where she allegedly confronted two teens, who she said had been bullying her son for months. One of the teens allegedly assaulted Cortez, and she reportedly took out a knife and began brandishing it in the air.

Ms. Cortez has been charged with three counts of assault [...]

In our state, we have three main types of assault offenses:

• Assault and battery: causing physical injury to another person
• Assault: attempting to commit an assault and battery, or showing force that implies an assault and battery is forthcoming
• Affray: a fight between two or more people that frightens others

While assault is generally a misdemeanor offense, there are certain factors – including the identity of the victim – that could elevate the offense to a more serious misdemeanor, or even a felony.

Let’s look at the different assault charges here in North [...]

So you’ve been charged with assault. The incident may have been the result of uncontrolled anger, a one-time offense, or a slip-up that calls for rehabilitation, but not punishment. Being punished is exactly what’s going to happen, though, unless you fight back, and you’re not going to like the penalties that the prosecutor tries to stick you with.

Want to give yourself the best chance at a positive outcome? In order to properly defend against assault charges, you have to understand how the law works in North Carolina.

Understanding Your Assault Charges

What [...]