What Is Assault 4 in Oregon? Felony Triggers and Defenses

Assault in the fourth degree, commonly called Assault 4, is Oregon’s most frequently charged assault offense. It covers causing physical injury to another person and is normally a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $6,250 fine.¹ Specific circumstances push the same conduct into Class C felony territory, where the ceiling is five years in prison and a $125,000 fine.

The Three Ways You Can Be Charged

Oregon law defines Assault 4 in three separate ways, each with its own mental state:¹

Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing physical injury to another person. This is the usual version. A bar fight, a shove that sends someone to the ground, a slap hard enough to leave lingering pain.
Negligently causing physical injury with a deadly weapon. No intent to hurt anyone is required; careless handling of a firearm that injures a bystander fits here.
Negligently causing serious physical injury to a vulnerable road user, such as a pedestrian or cyclist, with a motor vehicle.

All three carry the same base charge, but only the first two can be elevated to a felony.

What Counts as Physical Injury

Oregon defines “physical injury” as an impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.² The injury doesn’t have to be visible, leave a mark, or send the victim to a doctor. A bruised jaw qualifies. So does scalp pain from a hair-pull or back pain from being shoved into a wall.

The pain can’t be trivial, though. Oregon courts have reversed convictions where the evidence showed only a brief, fleeting sensation and no lasting impairment.¹ The line between substantial pain and momentary discomfort is where many Assault 4 cases are decided.

Misdemeanor Penalties

As a Class A misdemeanor, Assault 4 carries a maximum of 364 days in jail³ and a fine of up to $6,250.⁴ First-time offenders rarely get the maximum, but the ceiling alone makes this a serious charge.

Judges routinely add probation conditions on top of any jail or fine: supervised check-ins, anger management, community service, and substance abuse treatment if drugs or alcohol were in the mix.

Restitution is also mandatory when the crime caused economic harm. If the person you injured ran up emergency room bills, missed work, or needed physical therapy, the court can order you to pay those documented costs in full. Restitution covers out-of-pocket losses only. Pain and suffering is something the victim would have to pursue in a separate civil case.⁵

When Assault 4 Becomes a Felony

Five circumstances automatically elevate Assault 4 to a Class C felony. They apply to the intentional/knowing/reckless and the deadly weapon versions, but not to the vulnerable road user path.¹

The assault was committed in the immediate presence of, or witnessed by, a minor child or stepchild of either the defendant or the victim, or a minor child living in either household. “Witnessed” means the child directly saw or perceived the assault in any manner.
You have a prior conviction for assault, menacing, or strangulation, and the victim in that earlier case is the same person.
You have at least three prior convictions for assault at any degree, menacing, or strangulation, regardless of who those victims were.
You knew the victim was pregnant.
The victim was performing official employment duties and you have two or more prior assault convictions against people in similar circumstances.

A Class C felony conviction carries up to five years in state prison⁶ and a maximum fine of $125,000.⁷

The Domestic Violence Multiplier

A large share of Assault 4 cases involve people in domestic relationships, and that classification changes everything. When the conviction qualifies as domestic violence, Oregon law requires the court to note that on the judgment itself.¹ That notation triggers consequences well beyond the criminal sentence.

No-Contact Orders

Expect the court to impose a no-contact order as a release condition in any domestic violence case. No calls, texts, social media messages, in-person contact, or communication through a third party. Violating the order is a separate crime. Even if you share a home with the victim, you’ll need somewhere else to stay until the order is lifted.

A Lifetime Federal Firearms Ban

This is the consequence that catches people off guard. Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing any firearm or ammunition.⁸ A single misdemeanor Assault 4 involving a spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or other qualifying domestic relationship triggers a lifetime federal ban. Oregon’s jail and fine penalties end. This one doesn’t.

Immigration Consequences

Non-citizens face serious exposure. Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen convicted of a “crime of domestic violence” deportable.⁹ An Oregon Assault 4 conviction involving a domestic partner can meet that definition when the offense involved the use or attempted use of physical force. Any non-citizen facing an assault charge should talk to an immigration attorney before accepting a plea.

Defenses

Being charged isn’t being convicted. The right defense depends on what actually happened.

Self-Defense and Defense of Others

Oregon law allows you to use physical force when you reasonably believe another person is about to use unlawful force against you or a third person. You can use whatever degree of force you reasonably believe is necessary to stop the threat.¹⁰

The word doing the work is “reasonably.” You don’t have to be right that an attack was coming, but your belief has to be one a reasonable person could have held in the same spot, and the force you used has to be proportional to the threat.

There are limits. You can’t claim self-defense if you started the fight, unless you clearly withdrew and the other person kept coming. You can’t claim it if you provoked the encounter intending to hurt someone. And Oregon bars the defense entirely when the force was motivated by discovering someone’s actual or perceived gender identity or sexual orientation.¹¹

No Physical Injury

Because the statute requires “physical injury,” the state has to prove impairment or substantial pain. If the contact was minor and any pain was fleeting, the prosecution has a problem. Defense attorneys often point to the absence of medical treatment, visible marks, or testimony about lasting pain.

No Intent

For the standard version of Assault 4, the state has to show you acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. Accidentally bumping someone or causing harm through ordinary carelessness isn’t enough. The deadly weapon and vulnerable road user versions are the exceptions, where criminal negligence is sufficient.

How Long the State Has to Charge You

Oregon has two years from the date of the offense to file misdemeanor Assault 4 charges.¹² When the charge is a Class C felony, the longer general felony limitations period applies. Once the window closes without a filing, the state can’t prosecute.

Clearing the Conviction Later

Oregon lets people petition to set aside certain convictions, which is the state’s version of expungement. For a Class A misdemeanor Assault 4, the waiting period is three years from the date of conviction or release from custody, whichever is later. For a Class C felony Assault 4, the wait is five years.¹³

Setting aside a conviction doesn’t lift the federal firearms ban that comes with a domestic violence conviction, and a set-aside conviction can still be used as a prior for felony enhancement in some situations. Even with those limits, a successful set-aside pulls the conviction off background checks and often makes the difference for employment and housing.

1
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 163.160 – Assault in the Fourth Degree
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 161 – General Provisions
3
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 161.615 – Maximum Terms of Imprisonment for Misdemeanors
4
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 161.635 – Fines for Misdemeanors
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 137.106 – Restitution to Victims
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 161.605 – Maximum Terms of Imprisonment for Felonies
7
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 161.625 – Fines for Felonies
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
10
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 161.209 – Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
11
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 161.215 – Limitations on Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
12
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 131.125 – Time Limitations
13
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code ORS 137.225 – Order Setting Aside Conviction or Record of Criminal Disposition