Updated October 2026 | The Bulldog Law | California Assault Defense

Felonious assault is an assault charged as a felony. The phrase is a formal charge name in Michigan, where it means assault with a dangerous weapon, and in Ohio, where it means knowingly causing serious physical harm or using a deadly weapon to cause or attempt harm, and it is used informally in several other states. California does not use the term. Here, assault is a misdemeanor under Penal Code 240 unless an aggravating fact raises it, and the felony statutes are Penal Code 245 (assault with a deadly weapon, with force likely to produce great bodily injury, or with a firearm), Penal Code 243(d) (battery causing serious bodily injury), Penal Code 244 (assault with caustic chemicals), and Penal Code 220 (assault with intent to commit a serious felony). Most of them are wobblers that can be charged or reduced as misdemeanors, and several of them are strikes when charged as felonies.

The Bulldog Law's attorneys defend assault cases across California, from bar fights charged as misdemeanors to assault with a firearm charged as a strike, and the question that decides most of them is not whether something happened but which statute and which subdivision the facts actually support. What follows is the meaning of felonious assault, the California statutes that correspond to it, the definitions of deadly weapon and force likely to produce great bodily injury, the battery counterpart, the enhancements and strike rules, and the defenses. Call (888) 928-1609 or message our team.

The term and where it comes from

Michigan Compiled Laws 750.82 defines felonious assault as an assault with a gun, revolver, pistol, knife, iron bar, club, brass knuckles, or other dangerous weapon without intending to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm, punishable by up to four years. Ohio Revised Code 2903.11 defines it as knowingly causing serious physical harm to another, or causing or attempting to cause physical harm by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance, a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years. Both states grade the offense by the weapon or the harm, which is the same approach California takes under different names. A person who searches for felonious assault after a California arrest is almost always looking at a charge under Penal Code 245 or 243(d), and the rest of what follows concerns those statutes. Cornell's Legal Information Institute explains the general-law definition of assault; our 2023 discussion of the difference between assault and battery covers how California separates the two.

Assault in California: the baseline

Penal Code 240 defines assault as an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another. Three points follow from that definition. No contact is required: a swing that misses, a thrown object that lands short, and a lunge that is stopped are all assaults. Present ability is required: a threat from across a locked gate or with an unloaded gun the defendant knew was unloaded is not an assault, though it may be another crime. And the mental state is a willful act that would directly and probably result in force being applied, with awareness of the facts that make it so; a specific intent to injure is not required, and neither is an intent to frighten. Simple assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine, and our discussion of bar fights charged as simple assault covers the typical case. Battery under Penal Code 242 is the completed act, any willful and unlawful use of force or violence on another, and even spitting on someone qualifies. The assault and battery hub covers the misdemeanor charges in depth.

The felony assault statutes

The table lists every California statute that corresponds to felonious assault, with the range for each. A wobbler is an offense the prosecutor can file as a felony or a misdemeanor and the judge can reduce.

Deadly weapon and force likely to produce great bodily injury

Penal Code 245 turns on two definitions. A deadly weapon is any object, instrument, or weapon that is inherently deadly or that is used in a way capable of causing and likely to cause death or great bodily injury. Knives and loaded firearms are inherently deadly; a bottle, a car, a baseball bat, a dog, a pen, or a shoe becomes a deadly weapon by the way it is used, and the jury decides that question from the manner of use, the force, and the part of the body targeted. Force likely to produce great bodily injury under 245(a)(4) requires no weapon at all and asks whether the force used was of a kind likely to cause significant or substantial injury; actual injury is not required, and a single punch can qualify if it was delivered in a way likely to cause serious harm, though a single punch frequently does not. Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury, more than minor or moderate harm, and the question of whether an injury meets it is decided case by case. Our page on assault with a deadly weapon under Penal Code 245 covers the subdivisions, the firearm provisions, and the defenses in depth. The battery counterpart, Penal Code 243(d), requires that the battery actually caused serious bodily injury, defined as a serious impairment of physical condition including loss of consciousness, concussion, bone fracture, a wound requiring extensive suturing, or serious disfigurement; the definition overlaps with great bodily injury but is not identical, and a prosecutor who cannot prove great bodily injury for an enhancement may still prove serious bodily injury for the 243(d) charge.

Enhancements and strikes

The felony assault statutes carry consequences beyond the base term. Penal Code 12022.7 adds three years to any felony in which the defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury, five years if the victim was 70 or older or under five, and up to six years in a domestic violence case; the enhancement cannot be added to a 243(d) charge where the injury is already an element, but it is added to 245 charges routinely. Personal use of a firearm adds three, four, or ten years under Penal Code 12022.5, and a firearm used in a 245(a)(2) assault supports that enhancement on top of the base term. Under the Three Strikes law, a felony conviction under 245(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (b), (c), or (d), 244, or 220 is a serious felony and a strike, which doubles the sentence on any later felony and exposes the person to 25 years to life on a third strike. A conviction under 245(a)(4) or 243(d) is a strike only if the prosecution pleads and proves that the defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury or personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon, which is why the choice between (a)(1) and (a)(4), and the presence or absence of an injury finding, is often the most important issue in the case. Our attorneys negotiate for the non-strike subdivision in many 245 cases where the facts support it, and a plea to (a)(4) without an injury finding is not a strike.

Defenses

Self-defense and defense of others are the most common defenses to a felony assault charge, and California's rules are favorable: a person who reasonably believes they or another person are in imminent danger of being touched unlawfully or injured may use the force reasonably necessary to prevent it, with no duty to retreat, and the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. Our page on self-defense, stand your ground, and the castle doctrine covers the rules. The weapon and force elements are contested in nearly every case: whether the object was used in a manner likely to cause great bodily injury, whether the force was of that kind, and whether the injury meets the statutory definitions are jury questions on which the defense presents medical and use-of-force evidence. Lack of present ability, accident, lack of willfulness, mistaken identity in a group fight, and the unreliability of the complaining witness's account are each defenses in the right case. A domestic violence assault carries its own additional consequences and its own defense considerations, and an assault with a weapon in which the evidence suggests an intent to kill may be charged as attempted murder instead, which is a different and far more serious case. For a non-citizen, a felony 245 conviction is an aggravated felony crime of violence if the sentence is a year or more and a crime involving moral turpitude in most circumstances, and our immigration attorneys review every assault plea before it is entered; a misdemeanor simple assault or a battery plea structured to avoid those categories is often the negotiated outcome. A felony reduced under Penal Code 17(b) and later expunged still counts for immigration purposes, so the structure of the plea matters more than the later cleanup. Assaults on federal officers or on federal property are charged under federal law, which our page on federal versus state charges covers.

Frequently asked questions

What is felonious assault?

Felonious assault is an assault serious enough to be charged as a felony rather than a misdemeanor. The phrase is a formal charge name in Michigan, where it means an assault with a dangerous weapon, and in Ohio, where it means knowingly causing serious physical harm or causing or attempting harm with a deadly weapon. California does not use the term. The California felonies that correspond to it are assault with a deadly weapon or by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury under Penal Code 245, battery causing serious bodily injury under Penal Code 243(d), and assault with caustic chemicals under Penal Code 244.

What is felony assault in California?

Assault in California is a misdemeanor under Penal Code 240 unless an aggravating fact raises it. The main felony assault statute is Penal Code 245: assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, assault with a firearm, and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, machine gun, or assault weapon, each with its own range. Assault on a peace officer or firefighter under Penal Code 245(c) and (d), assault with intent to commit a felony under Penal Code 220, and assault with caustic chemicals under Penal Code 244 are also felonies. Battery that causes serious bodily injury is a felony under Penal Code 243(d).

What is the sentence for felony assault in California?

Assault with a deadly weapon or with force likely to produce great bodily injury under Penal Code 245(a)(1) and (a)(4) is a wobbler punishable by up to one year in county jail as a misdemeanor or two, three, or four years as a felony. Assault with a firearm under 245(a)(2) is two, three, or four years, with a six-month minimum even as a misdemeanor. Assault with a semiautomatic firearm is three, six, or nine years; with a machine gun or assault weapon, four, eight, or twelve years. If the victim actually suffered great bodily injury, Penal Code 12022.7 adds three to six years, and a felony 245 conviction with a weapon or great bodily injury is a strike.

Is felony assault a strike in California?

Often. Assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a firearm are serious felonies under Penal Code 1192.7(c), so a felony conviction under Penal Code 245(a)(1), (a)(2), or (a)(3) is a strike. Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury under 245(a)(4) is a strike only if the prosecution proves that the defendant personally inflicted great bodily injury or personally used a dangerous weapon. Battery with serious bodily injury under 243(d) is a strike on the same conditions. The strike consequence is the reason our attorneys fight hardest over which subdivision is charged and whether an injury enhancement is proved.

What is the difference between assault and battery?

Assault is an attempt to use force on another person with the present ability to do it; no contact is required. Battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence on another person; contact is required, but injury is not. Every battery includes an assault, but a swing that misses is an assault alone. In California, assault is Penal Code 240 and battery is Penal Code 242, and each has felony versions: Penal Code 245 for assault and Penal Code 243(d) for battery causing serious bodily injury.

Can felony assault be reduced to a misdemeanor?

Yes, in most cases. Penal Code 245(a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(4) and 243(d) are wobblers, so the prosecutor can file them as misdemeanors, the judge can reduce them at sentencing or on a later motion under Penal Code 17(b), and a plea negotiation frequently results in a misdemeanor assault or battery. A felony that is reduced to a misdemeanor under 17(b) is a misdemeanor for all purposes, including the strike law and most firearm consequences, which is why the reduction is a central goal of the defense.

Related reading from our attorneys

• Assault with a deadly weapon under Penal Code 245
• Assault and battery defense in California
• California self-defense laws

Charged with felony assault? The subdivision and the injury finding decide the sentence

The Bulldog Law's criminal defense attorneys defend Penal Code 245, 243(d), and 244 cases across California, with the strike consequences and the immigration consequences handled from the first appearance. Call (888) 928-1609 or reach us online.