Battery Crimes in Winter Park and Orange County, FL
Under Section 784.03, F.S., the offense of battery occurs when a person does the following:
- actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or
- intentionally causes bodily harm to another person.
As a general rule, battery is charged as a first degree misdemeanor, punishable by not more than a year in county jail and a fine not exceeding $1,000. Sections 775.082 and 775.083, F.S.
If the accused has a prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, or felony battery and commits any second or subsequent battery offense, the crime of battery can be charged with a third degree felony. Section 784.03(2), F.S.
Attorney for Crimes of Battery in Winter Park, FL
If you were accused of battery in Winter Park of the surrounding areas of Orange County, FL, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at Sammis Law Firm. Attorney Jocelyn Dopson-Rodriguez presents clients through Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in the heart of Central Florida throughout Orange and Osceola counties.
Ms. Jocelyn Dopson-Rodriguez focuses on fighting domestic violence cases in Orange County, FL. She is particularly familiar with the procedures used by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments whtn investigating crimes of battery including simple battery, domestic battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, felony battery, and aggravated battery.
Ms. Jocelyn Dopson-Rodriguez began her career as an Assistant Public Defender where she represented hundreds of clients charged with misdemeanor crimes, including domestic violence assault and battery cases.
She is experienced filing motions to lift a no contact provision, as well as dealing with related issues such as an injunction for protection or new charges for violation of pretrial release. That experience gives her a deep understanding of how Orange County courts handle these unique cases on a case by case basis.
If a petition for a civil injunction for protection against domestic violence or dating violence (restraining order) is filed against you in Orange County, FL, Jocelyn Dopson-Rodriguez can also represent you at the injunction hearing.
Call (407) 598-9011.
Intent Requirements for Battery under Florida Law
The intent required for battery under Florida law is established when a defendant either:
- purposefully touches or strikes another person; or
- engages in conduct knowing that such contact is substantially certain to occur.
Courts have clarified that this intent may be inferred from the circumstances surrounding the act rather than requiring direct evidence of purpose. For example, in Clark v. State, 783 So. 2d 967 (Fla. 2001), the Florida Supreme Court held that battery may occur through the intentional touching or striking of an object so intimately connected to the person that it is regarded as an extension of the person, such as clothing or items held in hand.
In Fey v. State, 125 So. 3d 828 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013), the court expanded the definition of intentional touching or striking to include situations where the defendant knows that contact is substantially certain to result from their actions.
In S.D. v. State, 882 So.2d 447 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004), the court emphasized that intent to commit battery must be determined by circumstances surrounding the touching or striking of the victim.
Florida Standard Jury Instruction 8.3 for Battery
The Florida Bar’s Florida Standard Criminal Jury Instructions for Battery provides an instruction that to prove the crime of Battery, the State must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt that:
- the Defendant actually and intentionally touched or struck the victim against his or her will; or
- the Defendant intentionally caused bodily harm to the victim.
Assault or Battery on a Law Enforcement Officers or Other Specified Professional
An offense for assault, aggravated assault, battery, and aggravated battery is reclassified when a person is charged with intentionally committing any of these offenses against an officer or employee who is engaged in engaged in the lawful performance of his or her duties. Section 784.07(2), F.S.
Law enforcement officers and specified personnel are currently identified as any of the following:
- A law enforcement officer.
- A firefighter.
- An emergency medical care provider. •
- A railroad special officer.
- A traffic accident investigation officer.
Domestic Violence Crimes in Winter Park, FL
When violent crimes involve intimate partners or close family members, the crime might be classified as domestic violence. Domestic violence accusations are common.
In January of 2022, the police chief for the Winter Park Police Department resigned, a week after he was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Prior to the resignation, the police chief was employed by the Winter Park Police Department since 2016. After the resignation, Division Chief Pam Marcum was appointed to lead the agency and its 75 law enforcement officers.
According to the criminal report affidavit, the three members of Deal’s family told deputies that Deal battered one of them during an argument that occurred on January 19, 2026. The allegation involving the former police chief grabbing his wife by the wrist and pushing her out of his way. The state attorney’s office later dropped the charges.
Read more about crimes of domestic violence battery in Orange County, FL.
Assault or Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer
Under Florida law, the following crimes are reclassified when a person is charged with intentionally committing any of these offenses against an officer or designated employee who is engaged in engaged in the lawful performance of his or her duties:
- assualt;
- aggravated assault;
- battery;
- aggravated battery.
When the victim is a law enforcement officer, the reclassification of the degree of the offense is as follows:
- assault is enhanced from a second degree misdemeanor to a first degree misdemeanor;
- battery, from a first degree misdemeanor to a third degree felony;
- aggravated assault, from a third degree felony to a second degree felony.
- aggravated battery, from a second degree felony to a first degree felony.
A person who commits battery on a law enforcement officer is guilty of a third-degree felony. The offense is ranked as a Level 4 offense on the Criminal Punishment Code Offense Severity Ranking Chart. A third degree felony is punishable by up to five years in state prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine.
Additionally, and person convicted of aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer is subject to a mandatory three-year minimum term of imprisonment.
Under Section 784.07(2)(a)-(d), F.S., any person convicted of aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer is subject to a mandatory five-year minimum term of imprisonment.
Under Section 784.07(3)(a) and (b), F.S., a person is subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, if during the commission of a battery of an officer, the person possessed:
- A firearm or destructive device, the person is subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of three years; or
- A semiautomatic firearm and its high-capacity detachable box magazine or a machine gun, the person is subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of eight (8) years.
Additionally, adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld, and the defendant is not eligible for statutory gain-time or any form of discretionary early release, other than pardon or executive clemency, or conditional medical release, prior to serving the minimum sentence. Section 784.07(3), F.S.
Under Section 784.07, F.S., law enforcement officers and specified personnel are currently identified include:
- A law enforcement officer
- A firefighter
- An emergency medical care provider
- A railroad special officer
- A traffic accident investigation officer
- correctional officer
- correctional probation officer
- auxiliary law enforcement officer
- Members of the Florida Commission on Offender Review or any administrative aide or supervisor employed by the commission
- Parole and probation supervisors
- County probation officers
- Personnel or representatives of the Department of Law Enforcement.
- Other person legally authorized to execute process in the execution of legal process or in the lawful execution of any legal duty.
- A nonsworn law enforcement agency employee who is certified as an agency inspector, a blood alcohol analyst, or a breath test operator while such employee is in uniform and
engaged in processing, testing, evaluating, analyzing, or transporting a person who is detained or under arrest for DUI. - A law enforcement explorer.
- A traffic infraction enforcement officer.
- A parking enforcement specialist.
- A person licensed as a security officer and wearing a uniform bearing at least one patch or emblem that is visible at all times and clearly identifies the person’s employing agency and that the person is a licensed security officer.
- A security officer employed by the board of trustees of a community college.
- A public transit employee or agent.
- A utility worker is engaged in the lawful performance of his or her duties.
The Florida Bar’s Florida Standard Criminal Jury Instructions for the crime of Resisting Officer with Violence, require the State to prove all of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The defendant knowingly and willfully resisted, obstructed or opposed the victim by offering to do violence or doing violence to the victim.
- At the time, the victim was engaged in the execution of legal process or lawful execution of a legal duty.
- At the time, the victim was an officer or a person legally authorized to execute process.
- At the time, the defendant knew the victim was an officer or a person legally authorized to execute process.
Under Florida law, the term “offering” means to do violence means threatening to do violence.
Florida courts have clarified the scope of intent in resisting and battery-related offenses through several decisions. These recent cases show that intent is determined by both the defendant’s ability to act and the surrounding circumstances, rather than requiring proof of a specific purpose.
In Kirkland v. State, 647 So. 2d.142 (Fla. 1994), the court held that verbal threats alone do not constitute “resisting with violence” when the defendant lacks the ability to carry out those threats. One example given was when the defendant was hogtied and physically incapable of acting on them.
The Kirkland case demonstrates that intent to commit the crime of resisting with violence requires more than words, it must be coupled with the capacity to act.
In Frey v. State, 708 So.2d 918 (Fla. 1998), the Florida Supreme Court determined that resisting arrest with violence is not a specific intent crime, meaning the defense of voluntary intoxication does not apply. Instead, the offense of resisting with violence only requires a general intent to resist, not a heightened mental state.
Likewise, in Wright v. State, 705 So.2d 102 (Fla. 1998), the court acknowledged that a person charged with attempted battery on a law enforcement officer was entitled to a jury instruction on the justifiable use of non-deadly force, reinforcing that intent must be evaluated in light of the circumstances and available defenses.
This article was last updated on Friday, September 25, 2026.
