Aggravated Battery v. Felony Battery

Aggravated Battery vs Felony Battery

Aggravated battery is always a felony, but felony battery is not always an aggravated battery. Simple battery can be charged as felony battery under certain circumstances.

Battery Basics

Criminal battery can be either a misdemeanor or a felony. So why would somebody get charged with misdemeanor battery as opposed to felony battery and vice versa? You will need to know some definitions and some statutes in order to make the determination. Those are all provided blow. However, this is how you will conduct the analysis: 1) is the battery simple or aggravated; 2) aggravated battery is always a felony; 3) if it is a simple battery, does the individual qualify for the felony enhancement due to his/her prior criminal record?; 4) if it is a simple battery, is the victim entitled to special protection by statute?

Battery Definition

Florida law separates the crime of battery into two categories. Simple battery is typically charged as a misdemeanor, but can be charged as a felony under certain circumstances. Aggravated battery is always charged as a felony.

Simple Battery Definition

Florida Statute 784.03 defines simple battery. The offense of battery occurs when a person:

1. Actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or

2. Intentionally causes bodily harm to another person.

Aggravated Battery Definition

Florida Statute 784.045 defines aggravated battery. A person commits aggravated battery who, in committing battery:

1. Intentionally or knowingly causes great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement; or

2. Uses a deadly weapon.

Florida has also added a third way to commit an aggravated battery.

3. A person commits aggravated battery if the person who was the victim of the battery was pregnant at the time of the offense and the offender knew or should have known that the victim was pregnant.

Felony Battery

Aggravated battery is always a felony. Aggravated battery is sometimes called “aggravated bat” or “agg bat” for short. Simple battery, as defined in Florida Statute 784.03, is typically charged as a misdemeanor, but can be charged as a felony. Simple battery can be charged as a felony if the defendant has a prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery or felony battery.

Simple battery can also be charged as a felony if the victim is in a certain class of individuals or the battery is particularly reprehensible. An example of a classification enhancement would be battery on a law enforcement officer a/k/a battery leo. An example of particularly reprehensible behavior would be throwing bodily fluids at a jail employee. Please note that enhancement, covered in Florida Statute 784.078, covers all employees and not just the guards.

Domestic Battery | Domestic Violence Cases

Domestic battery does not qualify for an automatic felony enhancement. Domestic battery is treated the same as any other battery although domestic cases are typically segregated into designated domestic violence courts for prosecution. All this means is that the potential consequences for a domestic battery are the same as if it were any other person. In reality, domestic battery, as well as all other domestic violence cases, are prosecuted much more harshly than other battery cases.

Felony Battery | Classifications

Simple battery can be charged as felony battery under certain circumstances. All of the circumstances are set forth in Florida Statutes Chapter 784 so I will not include a direct link to each statute, but rather the entire chapter.

Florida Statute 784.03 – a prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery or felony battery enhances a simple battery charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. It is important to note that a withheld adjudication counts as a prior conviction under this statute;

Florida Statute 784.07 – battery of law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical care providers, public transit employees or agents, or other specified officers;

Florida Statute 784.074 – battery on sexually violent predators detention or commitment facility staff;

Florida Statute 784.075 – battery on detention or commitment facility staff or a juvenile probation officer;

Florida Statute 784.076 – battery on health services personnel;

Florida Statute 784.078 – battery of facility employee by throwing, tossing, or expelling certain fluids or materials;

Florida Statute 784.08 – battery on persons 65 years of age or older;

Florida Statute 784.081 – battery on specified officials or employees(sports officials and education officials);

Florida Statute 784.082 – battery by a person who is being detained in a prison, jail, or other detention facility upon visitor or other detainee;

Florida Statute 784.083 – battery on code inspectors;

Florida Statute 784.084 – battery of child by throwing, tossing, projecting, or expelling certain fluids or materials.

Ft. Lauderdale criminal attorney, Michael Dye, has extensive experience handling aggravated battery, felony battery and domestic battery cases through trial. For more information concerning aggravated battery and other battery charges, please contact us at:

The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 1 East Broward Boulevard #700, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954)990-0525

Florida Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet

It’s like golf! Less Points = Better!

Am I Going to Prison?

Every criminal defense attorney gets asked this question. From DUI cases to murder cases, every defendant is concerned with their exposure to a prison sentence. In felony cases, if you are found guilty, the length of your prison sentence is typically determined by a simple mathematical calculation. I will use algebra to explain thereby making this unnecessarily complicated and creating job security. P = Total Sentence Points. If P > or = 44 then your recommended prison sentence is calculated as follows, .75(P – 28) .

Florida Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet

The form for the Florida Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet is found in Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.992. The assistant state attorney handling the prosecution of a felony matter is required to complete a Florida Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet. The Florida Criminal Punishment Code Scoresheet is also known as the sentencing scoresheet. The purpose of the criminal punishment code scoresheet is to provide the court with a “recommended” sentence.

How is it Scored?

Think of sentencing points like a golf score. The less points you have, the better off you will be. The sentencing scoresheet assigns a point value to all criminal offenses currently before the court. All felonies are divided into various “offense levels.” The various offense levels can be found in Florida Statute 921.0022. Section 1 is called the primary offense. The primary offense carries the most sentence points out of all charges on the scoresheet. I use a felony DUI in the example below. A fourth(4th) DUI conviction, and all subsequent DUI convictions, are 3rd degree felonies pursuant to Florida Law. Looking at section 1, you can see that a fifth(5th) DUI conviction is a third-degree felony, the statute is 316.193 and the offense level is six. A level VI primary offense earns 36 sentence points. However, a level VI additional offense is only 18 points.

Additional points are added for certain aggravating factors and prior convictions. The assistant state attorney will calculate the total amount of sentence points. However, the defense attorney needs to check to make sure it is correct. If the total amount of sentence points is less than 44, the lowest permissible sense is a non-state prison sanction. A non-state prison sanction can include some jail time, probation, community control or a combination of all of the above. When you want your own business website, visit web design palm beach.

Calculating a Hypothetical Scoresheet

Primary and Additional Offenses: In the example that I use below, John Smith has been arrested for a fifth DUI and possession of cocaine. Both crimes are felonies. The fifth DUI is the primary offense because it is a level VI offense. The possession of cocaine is an additional offense because it is a level III offense. Accordingly, Mr. Smith is assessed 36 sentence points for the DUI and 2.4 sentence points for the possession of cocaine.

Victim Injury: Section 3 deals with victim injury. This area of the scoresheet is a bit more subjective and there is room for a criminal defense attorney to attempt to get less sentencing points. In this example, there was a victim injury and the injury was described as moderate. An additional 18 sentence points are added due to the degree of the injury of the victim.

Prior Criminal Record: Section 4 assigns points based on the defendant’s prior criminal record. In this section, you will find yourself going back to Florida statute 921.0022 in order to find the offense levels for any prior convictions. In the example below I simply put four prior DUIs for the sake of simplicity.

Legal Status: Section 5 assigns points for legal status violations. A legal status is when an individual can be classified as an escapee, and absconder or, amongst others, already incarcerated. Section 6 assigns points for violating terms of pretrial release or probation.

Community Sanction Violation: Section 6 is used quite often because of high recidivism levels. So if an individual is on probation when he or she gets convicted for a new charge, it will enhance the length of the sentence for the new charge.

Sections 7, 8 and 9 are fairly self explanatory. These sections are not used as often because they typically apply to much more serious criminal offenses.

If the total sentencing points is greater than 44, you subtract 44 from the total score and multiply times .75 which gives you the minimum amount of prison time. A judge is authorized to sentence a defendant to consecutive maximum terms of imprisonment. The guidelines are merely suggestions. A Judge may be required to provide a written explanation concerning a deviation from the guidelines under certain circumstances In the example below, the maximum sentence would be 10 years. However, the recommended sentence would be 29.55 months. When you are not a criminal and want a human resource manager for your business, pick Salopek consulting Ottawa. They can help you out so visit them now.

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For more information, please contact us at:

The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 1 East Broward Boulevard #700, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (954)990-0525 or
The Law Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA, 2 S Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33131 (305)459-3286

Aggravated Battery | Felony Battery