Avoid Assault and Battery Charges

Different states have differing definitions for assault and battery. However, for these charges to stand in most states, they must have been committed by one person who:

1. Has tried or has physically attacked another person
2. Has threatened or acted in a threatening matter towards another person.

In many states, more serious cases of assault and battery are termed as aggravated assault. For most states, these charges can be brought against a person who has:

1. Caused or tried to cause serious injuries to another person
2. Caused injury to another person using a deadly weapon.

Although the terms assault and battery are often used together in the listing of charges, they are two distinct terms with different definitions.

• Assault

Although definitions vary from one state to another, assault is generally understood as an attempt to injure another person. This may include threats or behavior that can be considered threatening. It can be defined as the attempt to intentionally use force or violence to harm or injure another person.

Physical contact is not always involved in these offenses. However, it should be proven that the acts or attempts to use violence or cause harm would be enough to put a person in fear of their own safety.

Only evidence of general intent is required to be charged with assault. This means that the offender must be shown to have intended to cause harm to the victim. In some cases, people who act in ways that are considered dangerous may be charged with this offense even if they didn’t intend to harm anyone.

• Battery

Different states have varying definitions of battery. However, in general, it is defined as intentional physical contact with another person that may be considered offensive or harmful. In order for an offense to be considered battery, it must fulfill the following requirements:

• • There must have been intentional touching (physical contact)
  • The touching (physical contact) must be proven to have been offensive or harmful to the recipient
  • There was no consent from the recipient

Unlike assault, intent to harm is not always required to bring a charge of battery against a person. However, this intent is often present in many cases of battery. It is enough to show that the offender had the intent to contact the other individual. However, incidents in which people act in negligent or reckless ways that result in contact are considered assault and not battery e.g. if someone accidently bumps into someone else, no matter how offensive the contact may have seemed to the ‘victim.’

In order for contact to be considered a criminal act, it depends on whether it can be viewed as harmful or offensive. Battery therefore encompasses physical acts of varying severity ranging from those that cause serious physical injury to those that involve minimal contact. Victims don’t always have to be injured e.g. in incidents of spitting on someone. The act may not injure the victim but is considered offensive and as such, the contact is sufficient for a battery charge.

Historically, assault and battery charges were considered as separate crimes. However, many definitions show that battery is usually the result of a completed assault. Many state laws therefore do not distinguish between the two. Many states simply refer to any crime involving physical violence as an assault.