Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: assault with deadly weapon vs attempted murder

This is a complete myth. The charge will be filed based on what the prosecutor thinks your intent was when you pulled the trigger. I recently "won" an attempted murder case where my client shot the alleged victim in the midsection. My argument was that this was a scared 17 year old kid who was defending himself from a 34 year old gang banger. My client just pulled the gun and started shooting without taking time to form the intent to murder. The jury agreed my client was just shooting with no intent to kill, but didn't buy the self defense claim. They convicted my client of Assault 1. For my client it was a distinction with very little difference.