Criminal Defense Lawyer for Assault on Authority in Madrid
A scuffle at a checkpoint, an incident with the police or at a hospital: if you are under investigation for assault on authority (physically attacking or seriously intimidating an officer, public official or healthcare worker), you face up to four years in prison, six if weapons are involved, and a criminal record for something that happened in seconds. Do not give a statement without a lawyer by your side. We’ll take the call for you. 24-hour line: 681 256 507.
Criminal defense lawyer for assault on authority in Madrid, available 24 hours
In an assault on authority case, almost everything hinges on the legal classification: the line between assault, serious resistance, non-serious resistance and disobedience is very thin, and moving from one to another completely changes the sentence. We are criminal defense lawyers in Madrid and we defend individuals accused of assault on officers of the authority and public officials in police interventions, demonstrations, checkpoints and hospitals. We handle your case from start to finish, without passing you from one lawyer to another.
Offenses against authority and public order in which we defend you in Madrid
These are the offenses against authority and public order in which we take on your defense in Madrid, from physically attacking an officer to an altercation at a demonstration. We handle assault and resistance against authority offenses as a single front. Each one has its own page and its own strategy.
Physical Attack or Assault
Physical assault, attack or serious intimidation against an officer of the authority or a public official in the exercise of their duties (art. 550 CP). This is the core of the offense of assault on authority.
Aggravated Assault on Authority
When an aggravating circumstance is present, such as the use of weapons or dangerous objects, or a specially protected victim. The sentence increases, and challenging that aggravating factor is the first line of defense.
When what occurred was only non-serious physical opposition or disobedience, without any attack or serious intimidation. This is the level below assault on authority, carrying a much lower sentence.
When the events occur at a demonstration or gathering and are combined with a collective disturbance of public order.
When to Call a Criminal Defense Lawyer Specializing in Assault on Authority
In an assault on authority case, almost everything is decided in the first few hours. Call us if:
- You have just been arrested following a police intervention.
- You have been summoned to give a statement as a suspect over events at a checkpoint or an identity check.
- There was an incident with healthcare staff or security personnel at a hospital.
- You have been identified at a demonstration or gathering and later receive a summons.
- There is police footage or camera video that you have not yet been able to see.
- You are also accused of damage, injuries, drugs or unlawful possession.
- You are a minor or a minor is involved in the events.
- Your court-appointed lawyer is not responding and you need a criminal defense lawyer who will pick up the phone.
Criminal defense lawyers specializing in assault on authority in Madrid
In a case of assault on authority, almost everything is decided at the stage of legal classification and evidence. Here is what we do differently:
We request the recordings from day one
We request the officers’ body cameras and surrounding CCTV footage as soon as possible: the video often contradicts the police report and can allow the offence to be reclassified or the case to be dismissed.
We fight for reclassification: from assault to resistance
We work to have an assault charge reduced to resistance or disobedience, where the penalty is much lower and suspension of sentence is more accessible.
One lawyer, from start to finish
The person who answers your call is the same person who represents you at the hearing. We never pass you from one lawyer to another.
Medical expert evidence and mitigating factors that reduce the sentence
The injury report and medical expert evidence can prove a disproportionate police response; proven reparation of harm or intoxication can reduce the sentence.
What we do if you are arrested or summoned for an offence against authority
These cases are often processed as fast-track trials, so deadlines are short and the defense starts the very same day. Whether you have been arrested or summoned, this is what we do with you from the moment you call:
We answer your call.
We identify the court, the contents of the police report and your procedural situation, and we activate your defense from that moment.
We give you initial guidance.
You have the right to remain silent and not to testify without your lawyer present. We explain what is in your best interest before the hearing.
We go to the duty court.
A lawyer from the firm travels to the duty court, whether in Madrid city or the Henares Corridor, and attends your first statement.
We request the recordings.
We request the officers’ body camera footage and surrounding CCTV recordings as soon as possible: what is seen does not always match the police report.
We prepare the fast-track trial.
We prepare the defense within a few days: video evidence, medical expert evidence and witness testimony, and decide together with you whether it is best to accept a plea deal or go to trial.
We handle this assistance ourselves, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Madrid city, the Henares Corridor and throughout Spain.
What you are accused of in an offence of assault on authority
The offence of assault on authority (art. 550 CP) punishes seriously assaulting or intimidating someone exercising a public function. It is committed when there is:
- Assault or aggression: lunging at or using physical violence against the officer.
- Serious intimidation or serious active resistance: a serious form of opposition, beyond mere scuffling.
It protects agents of authority and public officials, as well as specially protected groups such as the Security Forces and Corps, healthcare staff, private security personnel and teachers in the exercise of their duties. If there was no assault or serious intimidation, it is not an assault on authority: it is resistance or disobedience, which carries a much lower penalty.
Assault, serious resistance or disobedience: how offences against authority are classified
The same facts against authority can be classified in several ways, and almost the entire sentence depends on that:
- Assault on authority: physical attack, aggression or serious intimidation towards an officer. The most serious classification.
- Serious resistance: genuine physical opposition but falling short of an attack.
- Non-serious resistance or disobedience: minor scuffling or refusal to comply with an order, carrying a lower sentence.
- Administrative offence: a lack of respect punished under the Public Safety Law, without a criminal record.
Getting the offence reduced to resistance is, in many cases, the difference between prison and a sentence that can be suspended.
How we build your defense against a charge of assault on authority
When you are charged with assault on authority, the defense is won by challenging the classification and the proportionality. We work on several lines at once:
- Challenging the classification. Often what the police report calls assault is in fact non-serious resistance, carrying a much lower sentence. The key lies in whether there was a genuine attack or merely defensive opposition.
- Requesting the recordings. Officers’ body cameras, surrounding CCTV and witness videos, which often contradict the police report.
- Challenging the police report. Contradictions between the officers’ statements and what the recordings show are grounds for the defense.
- The legitimate exercise of duties. For there to be assault on authority, the officer’s action must be legitimate; if the stop or arrest was irregular, the classification collapses.
- Medical expert evidence and mitigating factors. The client’s injury report can prove a disproportionate police response; reparation of the harm or intoxication, when properly evidenced, reduce the sentence.
24-hour assistance if you are reported for assault on authority
Tel. 681 256 507 · [email protected]
Prison sentences for assault on authority and the effect on your criminal record
Here is what is at stake, depending on the classification:
- Assault on authority: imprisonment from one to four years plus a fine, and up to six years in aggravated cases (use of weapons or a specially protected victim). Below two years and without previous convictions, suspension is possible.
- Resistance or disobedience: imprisonment from three months to one year, or a fine of six months upwards, with suspension more readily available.
- Administrative offence: only a fine, without a criminal record.
Beyond the sentence, the criminal record is the most lasting harm: any conviction, even if suspended, is recorded and can shut you out of public examinations, professional licences (private security, driving, healthcare) and immigration procedures. Added to this is civil liability for injuries to officers or damage to equipment, and the file opened under the Public Safety Law when the same facts are also punished administratively: the principle of non bis in idem prevents double punishment, and we coordinate both proceedings.
Defense in assault on authority cases throughout the Community of Madrid
Cases for assaulting a public authority in Madrid are investigated at the Plaza de Castilla Examining Courts and tried at the Madrid Criminal Courts, often through a fast-track trial, with a right of appeal before the Provincial Court and, where applicable, cassation before the Supreme Court. We also handle proceedings in the Henares Corridor (Alcalá de Henares, Arganda del Rey, Coslada) and throughout the Community of Madrid, and we travel to the duty court to assist detainees. Our office at Goya 20 is just steps away from the main judicial bodies.
Your lawyer for assault on a public authority, privately retained rather than court-appointed
In a case that is usually resolved in a fast-track trial with extremely short deadlines, a court-appointed lawyer covers the formalities but rarely has time to request the recordings and prepare expert evidence. With a specialist lawyer for assault on a public authority privately retained, the same firm that studies your case is the one who answers your calls and goes with you to the hearing, from start to finish.
Frequently asked questions about assault on a public authority
I argued with a police officer during an ID check: is that assault on a public authority?
Not always. A verbal argument or a lack of cooperation is not assault on a public authority: the offence (article 550 of the Criminal Code) requires an assault, aggression or serious intimidation. Anything below that is resistance or disobedience, which carry much lighter penalties.
Will I go to prison for assault on a public authority?
Without prior convictions and with a sentence of under two years, a suspended sentence is normally available. In aggravated cases (weapons or a specially protected victim) the sentence can reach six years, which is why contesting the classification of the offence is decisive.
There's a video of the incident: does it help or hurt my case?
Any video helps your defense, including police footage. We formally and promptly request recordings from body cameras, surrounding cameras and witnesses: they often contradict the police report and allow the charge to be reclassified as resistance or dismissed altogether.
Will I have a criminal record if convicted of assault on a public authority?
Yes. Any conviction results in a criminal record, even if the sentence is suspended, and this can rule out public exams, professional licences (private security, driving) and immigration procedures. This is why it is worth contesting the classification of the offence or seeking acquittal whenever there is room to do so.
I was arrested at a demonstration: is that the same as an assault at a checkpoint?
It’s usually different: at a demonstration the offence overlaps with public disorder offences and the Citizen Security Law may also apply through administrative channels. Both avenues need to be handled together so that fines do not undermine the criminal defense.
Our office at Goya 20, Madrid
Estudio Jurídico Cervantes & Gª-Escribano
Book an initial consultation or call us directly. We meet clients at Goya 20, by phone and by video call, with the confidentiality inherent to professional practice.
- Calle Goya 20, 1st Floor Left · 28001 Madrid
- 681 256 507 · 24 hours, every day
- [email protected]
- Monday to Friday · 9:00 am – 7:00 pm (assistance to detainees 24/7)
Call a lawyer for assault on an authority figure in Madrid
A case for assault on an authority figure is won or lost in the first few hours: the classification under discussion, the recordings that are requested and the version set out in the first statement. And since these cases often proceed by fast-track trial, the deadlines are very tight. The sooner you call a lawyer specialising in assault on an authority figure, the more room we have to act. We assist clients in Madrid and throughout Spain. Call us on 681 256 507.
