Kicking a person in the head almost always results in a felony assault charge. The specific charge depends on how badly the victim was hurt, what the attacker appeared to intend, and whether the foot was bare or wearing a shoe heavy enough for a court to treat as a dangerous weapon. In the most extreme cases, prosecutors can go as high as attempted murder. A misdemeanor outcome is possible but uncommon, because targeting the head is itself treated as evidence of intent to cause serious harm.
The Felony Charges That Usually Apply
Three felony charges account for most head-kick prosecutions. Which one a prosecutor files depends mainly on the injury and the circumstances of the attack.
Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault covers attacks that involve circumstances making them more dangerous than ordinary physical contact. Under federal sentencing guidelines, an assault qualifies as aggravated when it involves a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily injury, results in serious bodily harm, or is committed with intent to commit another felony.1United States Sentencing Commission. Amendment 614 A kick to the head typically meets at least one of those conditions, and often more than one.
Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury
When the kick produces significant harm, prosecutors can charge assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Federal law defines serious bodily injury as harm involving a substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, obvious and lasting disfigurement, or extended loss of function in any body part or organ.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1365 – Section: Definitions Concussions, skull fractures, traumatic brain injuries, loss of consciousness, and permanent scarring all clear that bar. State laws use similar definitions, sometimes labeled “great bodily injury” or “grievous bodily harm.”
Traumatic brain injury is the signature harm of a head kick, and it is harder to prove than a broken bone. A fracture shows up on an X-ray; a brain injury often does not appear on standard imaging. Prosecutors generally rely on expert medical testimony, neuropsychological evaluations, and documented changes in the victim’s cognitive function. When they establish the injury, both the charge and the sentence escalate significantly.
Assault With a Deadly Weapon
A foot inside a shoe, legally called a “shod foot,” can be treated as a dangerous weapon when used to kick someone in the head. The First Circuit’s pattern jury instructions note that a foot wearing footwear capable of inflicting greater injury than a bare foot qualifies as a dangerous weapon, depending on the force used and the injuries sustained.3United States Courts, First Circuit. 6300 Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon Courts have not required steel-toed boots. Running shoes, sneakers, and ordinary dress shoes have all been found sufficient when the kick was forceful enough to cause injury. A prosecutor does not have to prove the exact brand or style, only that the attacker was wearing shoes and delivered a kick that produced injury.
Federal sentencing guidelines define “dangerous weapon” broadly to include any instrument not ordinarily used as a weapon when it is involved in the offense with intent to cause bodily injury, listing examples like cars, chairs, and ice picks.1United States Sentencing Commission. Amendment 614 A shod foot fits that definition.
When the Charge Can Reach Attempted Murder
In the most extreme cases, kicking someone in the head leads to an attempted murder charge. Prosecutors have to prove a specific intent to kill, not just to injure. That intent is usually established through circumstantial evidence: repeated stomps to the head of someone already unconscious, kicks delivered with maximum force, or continued blows after the victim stopped moving. A single kick in a chaotic fight rarely supports this charge. Four or five deliberate stomps to the skull of a defenseless person on the ground is a different matter.
Under federal law, assault with intent to commit murder is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction State attempted murder statutes often go higher.
Misdemeanor Outcomes Are Rare
A head kick can occasionally result in a misdemeanor simple assault charge, but it takes a combination of mitigating facts: no visible injury, minimal force, and circumstances suggesting recklessness rather than a deliberate attempt to hurt someone. Under federal law, simple assault carries a maximum of six months in jail, rising to one year if the victim is under 16. Assault by striking, beating, or wounding without a weapon also caps at one year under the same statute.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction Most prosecutors treat a kick aimed at the head as inherently dangerous, and the choice to target the head itself suggests intent to cause serious harm, so keeping the case at the misdemeanor level is difficult even when the victim walks away without major injury.
What Determines Which Charge Gets Filed
Prosecutors weigh several concrete factors, and the same conduct can land in very different places on the severity scale depending on how they stack up.
Injury Severity
Injury is the single biggest factor. A skull fracture, brain bleed, or loss of consciousness almost guarantees a felony. Federal law draws a clear line: assault resulting in serious bodily injury carries up to ten years, while simple assault without significant injury carries at most six months.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction That gap reflects how heavily the law weights the outcome.
The Attacker’s Intent
Prosecutors look at what the attacker appeared to be trying to do. Kicking someone already on the ground and defenseless tells a different story than an accidental connection during a struggle. Intent is inferred from the number of kicks, the force used, whether the victim could defend themselves, and whether the attacker stopped voluntarily or had to be pulled away.
Who the Victim Was
Kicking certain protected people in the head triggers automatic enhancements. If the victim is a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical worker, or similar official performing their duties, both the charge and sentence jump. Assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon or in a way that causes bodily injury is punishable by up to 20 years, compared to a standard maximum of 8 years for physical assault of a federal officer without those factors.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 111 – Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers or Employees State laws extend similar protections to children, elderly individuals, school employees, judges, and corrections officers.
Context of the Incident
An unprovoked attack on a stranger is charged more aggressively than an injury during a mutual fight. The distinction has limits, though. Kicking a downed opponent in the head during what started as a consensual scuffle is a severe escalation, and any argument that both parties agreed to fight loses its force, because nobody consents to potentially fatal blows while on the ground.
Penalties on Conviction
The gap between misdemeanor and felony penalties is wide, and head-kick cases overwhelmingly fall on the felony side.
Prison Time
Federal law gives a useful frame. Simple assault carries up to six months. Assault by striking or wounding carries up to one year. Assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily harm carries up to ten years. Assault resulting in serious bodily injury also carries up to ten years. Assault with intent to commit murder carries up to 20 years.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 113 – Assaults Within Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction State ranges vary but follow the same escalation. A kick that causes a brain injury or involves a shod foot classified as a dangerous weapon typically lands in the multi-year range.
Mandatory Restitution
For any crime of violence that causes physical injury, federal law requires the court to order restitution covering the victim’s medical bills, rehabilitation costs, physical and occupational therapy, psychiatric care, and lost income.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3663A – Mandatory Restitution to Victims of Certain Crimes It is not discretionary. Head injuries often require extensive and expensive treatment, so restitution in these cases can run into tens of thousands of dollars on top of fines or prison time.
Loss of Firearm Rights
A felony conviction permanently bars you from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal law. The prohibition applies to anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Since most head-kick convictions are felonies, this hits almost every defendant found guilty.
Voting Rights
A felony conviction affects voting rights, but how much depends on where you live. Rules range from no loss of rights at all to indefinite loss requiring a governor’s pardon, with most states falling somewhere in between.8National Conference of State Legislatures. Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons A felony record also creates lasting barriers to employment, professional licensing, and housing.
Defenses That Realistically Apply
A charge is not a conviction, and several defenses can apply to head-kick cases. The strongest ones reframe either the intent behind the kick or the circumstances that led to it.
Self-Defense
Self-defense is the defense most often raised, and it faces a steep hill here. You must have reasonably believed you faced an immediate threat of harm, and the force you used must have been proportional to that threat. At least 31 states plus Puerto Rico have eliminated the duty to retreat when you are in a place you have a legal right to be.9National Conference of State Legislatures. Self-Defense and Stand Your Ground Proportionality is where head-kick self-defense claims usually collapse. Kicking someone in the head while they are on the ground is hard to frame as proportionate unless the defender was facing a deadly threat with no other option. A jury hearing the other person had a weapon or was attempting to kill the defendant is far more likely to accept the kick than a jury hearing it was a bar fight that got out of hand.
Lack of Specific Intent
For charges that require specific intent, such as assault with intent to commit murder, the defense can argue the defendant did not intend the level of harm prosecutors allege. A single kick during a chaotic altercation looks different from repeated deliberate stomps. This will not eliminate all liability, but it can reduce the charge from attempted murder to aggravated assault, which dramatically changes the sentencing range.
Mutual Combat
In some jurisdictions, the fact that both parties voluntarily agreed to fight serves as a defense to certain assault charges. Conditions are strict: both parties must have genuinely consented, the force must have been roughly equal, and no one was seriously injured. A head kick to a downed opponent effectively destroys the defense, because it is an escalation far beyond what either party consented to.
Civil Liability on Top of the Criminal Case
Criminal prosecution is only half the picture. The victim can also file a civil lawsuit for battery, and many do. The important difference is the burden of proof. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt; a civil case requires only a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the jury finds it more likely than not that you committed the act. Defendants acquitted of criminal charges have been held liable in civil suits over the same incident.
Civil damages in a battery case can include medical expenses, lost wages, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. If the jury finds the attacker acted with malice, which is straightforward to establish when someone deliberately kicks another person in the head, punitive damages can be added. Many jurisdictions impose no cap on punitive damages, and they exist to punish rather than compensate. A criminal restitution order and a civil judgment can both apply to the same defendant, and the civil judgment is typically much larger because it includes non-economic damages that restitution does not cover.