Assault & Battery

Definitions of Assault and Battery

Assault:  An assault occurs when an intentional act by the defendant creates an apprehension of imminent contact that is harmful or offensive. An attempted battery also qualifies as an assault. An "apprehension of imminent contact" simply means that the victim perceives that they will likely be contacted. The main point in an assault is that the victim feels that the harmful or offensive contact will occur; this means that they must be aware of the defendant's intentional act.   

Battery:  A battery occurs when a defendant makes intentional physical contact with the victim that causes bodily injury or is offensive to a reasonable person. The main point here is the physical contact between the defendant and the victim. Unlike in an assault, the victim need not be aware of the intentional act.

Assault and battery usually come together- a battery charge usually includes an assault charge. Thus, the phrase "assault and battery" can typically refer to a single incident.

Required Intent

Assault:  In order to be found guilty of an assault, a defendant must have intended for the assault to occur. This means that the defendant intended to cause an apprehension of harmful or offensive contact, and the act was not accidental. The intent to commit an assault may transfer to different victims- for example, if the defendant intended to scare one person but ended up scaring a different bystander, intent for an assault would be satisfied.

Battery: Battery requires a definite intent on the part of the defendant as well. In this case the defendant must have intended to make the harmful or offensive contact. An indirect application of force would also constitute a battery. The intent to commit a battery can also transfer to different victims as in an assault. Also, the intent can transfer if the defendant intended to cause one type of injury but instead causes a different injury.

**The basic distinction between assault and battery with regards to intent is that assault has to do with the intent to create fear in the victim, while battery has to do with the intent to make contact with the victim.

Examples

Assault: An example of an assault is if a person swings their fist at a person intending to scare them, or if the person waives a knife at them intending to scare them. Another example of an assault is if a person throws an object at a person and creates an apprehension of harmful contact.

Examples that do not constitute an assault are simply threatening a person with words, or making threats about events that will occur in the future. The reasoning is that the contact must be "imminent", or about to occur in the immediate present. Also, an intentional act is not an assault if the person is unaware of the act, for example, if they are asleep or unconscious (since they cannot perceive the act).

Battery:  An example of a battery is if a person strikes someone intending to cause physical pain, such as a punch or a kick.  Another example is if the person makes contact with the other in a manner that is offensive, such as removing an article of clothing without the person's consent.

Examples of acts that do not constitute a battery are accidentally bumping into someone or touching someone to get their attention.  Depending on the situation, the same physical contact may or may not be considered offensive.

For example, hugging a friend might not be offensive, especially if such activity has been a common practice between the two people.  However, hugging a complete stranger would likely constitute a battery because it would be offensive to the stranger. Thus, batteries involving "offensive contact" can be somewhat subjective and are handled according to what a reasonable person would consider offensive.     

Expanded Definitions of Battery

Some jurisdictions have stretched the definition of battery to include somewhat tenuous situations. For example, a battery can include contact with items the person is holding, or items attached to the person as clothing. Examples of this are if someone strikes a bag a person is carrying, or someone grabs the necktie of another person. These would be batteries even though the person was not actually touched.

Also, contact that would not be considered offensive by a reasonable person might still be a battery if the person is unusually sensitive, such as a victim of a traumatic experience.   

Batteries involving a deadly weapon, great bodily injury or dismemberment, and batteries on a police officer, woman or child fall into the category of "aggravated battery". Aggravated battery carries with it more serious criminal consequences than "simple batteries".

Criminal vs. Civil Liability

Both assault and battery can result in potential consequences under criminal and civil law.

Penalties under criminal law include:

Under civil law, the accused may be responsible for paying for the victim's damages, including:

Computation of damages depends on several factors, including the severity of the offense, intervening acts by the victim, and the local community's disposition towards the particular act.

Defenses Available for the Accused

Even if an assault and/or battery did occur, the defendant may be excused if one of the following defenses applies:

Points for Consideration

To recap, here are some points to consider if you have been accused or are the victim of an assault & battery: