Felonious Assault

What is Felonious Assault in Ohio?

• A person can be charged with felonious assault in Ohio if they do any of the following:
  • Knowingly cause serious physical harm to another or to another’s unborn
  • Knowingly cause or attempt to cause physical harm to another or to another’s unborn by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance.
  • Knowingly engage in sexual conduct with another without disclosing, before the sexual conduct, that they know they are a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
  • Knowingly engage in sexual conduct with a person whom the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe lacks the mental capacity to appreciate the significance of the knowledge that the person has tested positive as a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
  • Knowingly engage in sexual conduct with a person under 18 years of age who is not the spouse of the offender, without disclosing that they know they are a carrier of a virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

What can I be charged with for felonious assault in Ohio?

• In most cases, felonious assault in Ohio is a 2nd degree felony.
  • However, in some circumstances the offense can be a 1st degree felony or have other more severe consequences
    • If the violation is from number 1 above and the victim is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal investigation
      • 1st degree felony
    • If the person also pleads guilty or is convicted of a Known Pregnancy Specification
      • MANDATORY TIME
    • If the victim is a peace officer or an investigator of the bureau of criminal investigation and suffered serious physical harm
      • 1st degree felony. MANDATORY TIME.
    • If the person also pleads guilty or is convicted of a Use Of Accelerant Specification
      • MANDATORY TIME
    • If the person pleads guilty or is convicted of an Under 10 Year Old Permanent Disfigurement Specification
      • MANDATORY TIME

What is considered a deadly weapon in Ohio?

• Any instrument, device, or thing capable of inflicting death, and designed or specially adapted for use as a weapon, or possessed, carried, or used as a weapon.

What is considered a dangerous ordnance in Ohio?

• Any automatic or sawed-off firearm, zip-gun, or ballistic knife;
• Any explosive device or incendiary device;
• Nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, nitrostarch, PETN, cyclonite, TNT, picric acid, and other high explosives; amatol, tritonal, tetrytol, pentolite, pecretol, cyclotol, and other high explosive compositions; plastic explosives; dynamite, blasting gelatin, gelatin dynamite, sensitized ammonium nitrate, liquid-oxygen blasting explosives, blasting powder, and other blasting agents; and any other explosive substance having sufficient brisance or power to be particularly suitable for use as a military explosive, or for use in mining, quarrying, excavating, or demolitions;
• Any firearm, rocket launcher, mortar, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, torpedo, or similar weapon, designed and manufactured for military purposes, and the ammunition for that weapon;
• Any firearm muffler or suppressor;
• Any combination of parts that is intended by the owner for use in converting any firearm or other device into a dangerous ordnance.
  • Dangerous Ordnance does not include any of the following:
    • Any firearm, including a military weapon and the ammunition for that weapon, and regardless of its actual age, that employs a percussion cap or other obsolete ignition system, or that is designed and safe for use only with black powder;
    • Any pistol, rifle, or shotgun, designed or suitable for sporting purposes, including a military weapon as issued or as modified, and the ammunition for that weapon, unless the firearm is an automatic or sawed-off firearm;
    • Any cannon or other artillery piece that, regardless of its actual age, is of a type in accepted use prior to 1887, has no mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or other system for absorbing recoil and returning the tube into battery without displacing the carriage, and is designed and safe for use only with black powder;
    • Black powder, priming quills, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used to fire a cannon of a type defined in division (L)(3) of this section during displays, celebrations, organized matches or shoots, and target practice, and smokeless and black powder, primers, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used as a propellant or ignition device in small-arms or small-arms ammunition;
    • Dangerous ordnance that is inoperable or inert and cannot readily be rendered operable or activated, and that is kept as a trophy, souvenir, curio, or museum piece;
    • Any device that is expressly excepted from the definition of a destructive device pursuant to the “Gun Control Act of 1968,” 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4), as amended, and regulations issued under that act;
    • Any firearm with an overall length of at least twenty-six inches that is approved for sale by the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives under the “Gun Control Act of 1968,” 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3), but that is found by the bureau not to be regulated under the “National Firearms Act,” 68A Stat. 725 (1934), 26 U.S.C. 5845(a).

Can I expunge / seal a felonious assault conviction in Ohio?

• No. Felonious assault convictions cannot be expunged / sealed in Ohio.

Will I be able to own or purchase a firearm with a felonious assault conviction?

• No. You cannot possess or purchase a firearm if you have a felonious assault conviction.
• You may be able to have your firearm rights reinstated.

Can I be charged with felonious assault in Ohio if I shoot at someone but I miss?

• Yes. You can be charged with felonious assault in Ohio if you attempt to cause harm with a gun.
• The prosecutor will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were trying to shoot the person.
• Warning shots do not count as knowingly trying to cause harm.
  • However, there must be evidence that the person was firing warning shots.

What is the definition of serious physical harm in Ohio?

• Serious physical harm in Ohio is any of the following:
  • Any mental illness or condition of such gravity as would normally require hospitalization or prolonged psychiatric treatment
  • Any physical harm that carries a substantial risk of death
  • Any physical harm that involves some permanent incapacity, whether partial or total, or that involves some temporary, substantial incapacity
  • Any physical harm that involves some permanent disfigurement or that involves some temporary serious disfigurement
  • Any physical harm that involves acute pain of such duration as to result in substantial suffering or that involves any degree of prolonged or intractable pain
• Permanent disfigurements are very broad. A scar can potentially be considered a permanent disfigurement in Ohio.

Can I claim self defense for a felonious assault charge in Ohio?

• Yes. Self defense is a legal defense to a charge in Ohio.
• See self defense page.

What will happen if I’m charged with felonious assault in Ohio?

• These are very serious charges and all courts take these charges very seriously.
• If you are convicted of felonious assault in Ohio, it’s likely that you will get prison time.
• It is very important to contact an attorney and have them assess your case.