First, what is simple assault?
Under Mississippi law, a simple assault happens when a person:
- attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;
- negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm; or
- attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm.
In regular terms, that means it is simple assault to:
- Injure a person on purpose or try to injure them;
- Accidentally hurt a person using a deadly weapon;
- Intentionally scare someone into thinking they're going to be really hurt (for example, pointing a gun at them).
Usually we think of a fistfight when we think about simple assault. There is sometimes confusion about what assault means, because there are two ways we use that word in Mississippi law. There's the criminal definition of assault I've set out above, and then there is the civil type of assault, which doesn't require touching or injury at all. The civil type of assault is something you can sue somebody for; it's not what they get arrested for.
When does it become a felony?
In Mississippi, regular simple assault (NOT domestic violence simple assault, that is a subject for another blog post) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and a jail sentence of up to 6 months. But there IS a way that a regular old simple assault can become a felony.
If a person commits a simple assault against a person listed below, it is handled as a felony that is punishable by up to 5 years in the state penitentiary. This list is current as of February 2025, but be aware that the Legislature tends to add to it pretty frequently:
- A person over the age of 65
- A person classified as a vulnerable adult because of mental or other handicap
- A statewide elected official
- A law enforcement officer
- A fireman
- An EMT
- A health care provider (doctor, nurse, etc.)
- An employee of a health care provider or facility
- A social worker
- A DPS family protection worker or specialist
- A Division of Youth Services worker
- A jail officer
- A school superintendent
- A school principal
- A school teacher
- A school attendance officer
- A school bus driver
- A member of the US Armed Forces
- A member of the Mississippi National Guard
- A judge from any court
- A Mississippi Supreme Court justice
- A prosecutor
- A court reporter working for a court
- A court clerk
- A public defender
- A utility worker
For all of these other than the first two, the person who is the victim of the assault must be working in their job as one of those things when the assault happens for it to be a felony.
In conclusion, it is important to realize that prosecutors sometimes overlook the requirement of bodily injury. Sometimes behavior that is just rude or impolite gets charged as simple assault, and we've successfully defended cases just like that.
If you or someone you care about is facing a simple assault charge of any sort in Mississippi, please don't hesitate to call us. We're here to help.