[legal123]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Virginia
My fiance is being charged for malicious wounding he went to sign a paper at the home of the person who has his child and they got into a fight she was throwing things at him and he picked up a knife that was on a hot pan she went torwards him and she burned her hand, he left, she called the cops and now she regrets this and is paying for his attorney fees. What are the possible sentences he could receive and what is the possible bail amount he could get? since she wants to drop any charges said it was an accident as well.

[aardvarc]

It doesn't matter that she now wants to drop charges. Victims don't bring charges - instead, they make a statement of events as a witness, and formal charges are brought by the state on behalf of ALL of us. Since they have a child together, this case is going to be viewed and treated internally by the prosecution as a domestic violence case, (malicious wounding being one of the many possible charges that falls under DV), and prosecutors RARELY drop such cases if there is any hint of actual injury, or if a weapon was involved, regardless of whether or not injury ensued.

The possible penalties will depend on whether they charge him as a Class 2 felony (aggrevated malicious wounding, due to the knife), or as a Class 3 felony (simple malicious wounding), and could include:

For Class 2 felonies, imprisonment for life or for any term not less than 20 years and, subject to subdivision (g), a fine of not more than $100,000.

For Class 3 felonies, a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than 20 years and, subject to subdivision (g), a fine of not more than $100,000


See http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...00+cod+18.2-10

Most felonies in VA also come with an automatic $350 "fixed felony fee", to pay for things like court reporters, transcript costs, and to contribute to the Crime Victim Compensation Fund.

Bail will depend on many factors, including the court's judgement about how much of a flight risk he could be, any prior criminal history, etc. If he makes bail, he should also expect that a restraining order will be placed and he does NOT want to violate that order under any circumstances, lest he risk ADDITIONAL criminal charges.

[cyjeff]

There is more to this...

Anyway, I would plan on the charge sticking.

The judge will see that she got burned only because she didn't get stabbed or cut.

Picking up a knife in the middle of a domestic argument is incredibly stupid on SOOOOO many levels.