Assault vs Battery

Assault and battery are a combination of threat and physical harm. The severity of harm caused decides the charge of an assault and battery case. It could either be a misdemeanor or a felony according to common law.

Comparison chart

Improve this chart	Assault	Battery
Common Law:	Intentional tort	Intentional tort (Negligent tort in Australia)
Justification:	Self defense or defense	Consent, self defense, defense, necessity
Important aspect:	Threat of violence is enough to constitute assault; no physical contact is necessary	Physical contact is mandatory
Nature of crime:	Not necessarily physical	Definitely physical
Purpose:	To threaten	To cause harm

The scales of justice

1 Definition
2 Principle
3 Dynamics
4 Example of assault and battery
5 Legal Implications
6 Aggravated Variants
7 See Also
8 References

edit Definition

Any reasonable threat to a person is assault while battery is defined as use of force against another with intent of causing physical harm without his consent. In other words, assault is the attempt to commit battery.

edit Principle

An assault can cause fear of impending violence in a person even though there is no actual violence inflicted. Battery on the other hand trespasses into the comfortable personal space of a person without his consent and causes him bodily harm.

edit Dynamics

Threatening an individual verbally is assault but hitting the person is battery. Assault and battery usually occur together. Behavior such as pointing a gun at someone or waving a potential weapon constitutes assault. As soon as waving advances to beating, the crime becomes one of assault and battery. Physical contact with the body graduates the crime of assault into one of assault and battery. The elements of battery are

a volitional act,
done for the purpose of causing an harmful or offensive contact with another person or under circumstances that make such contact substantially certain to occur,
which causes such contact.

edit Example of assault and battery

Throwing a rock at someone for the purpose of hitting him is battery if the rock in fact strikes the person and is an assault if the rock misses. The fact that the person may have been unaware that the rock had been thrown at him is irrelevant under this definition of assault.

Some jurisdictions have incorporated the definition of civil assault into the definition of the crime making it a criminal assault to intentionally place another person in "fear" of a harmful or offensive contact. "Fear" means merely apprehension - awareness rather than any emotional state.

edit Legal Implications

Both assault and battery are criminal offenses tried as a misdemeanor or felony based on the seriousness of damage caused. Assault cases rarely stand alone in court of law since threats are difficult to prove. Physical injury can be easily established and hence battery can be proved. Battery essentially involves assault but an assault does not necessarily involve battery. The penalties rendered vary according to laws of jurisdiction but both assault and battery are regulated by statutes.

edit Aggravated Variants

Aggravated assault is the display of willingness or ability to carry out the threat while aggravated battery is making physical contact or touching the person with or without weapons in order to cause bodily harm or restrain.

Comparison chart

Contents

edit Definition

edit Principle

edit Dynamics

edit Example of assault and battery

edit Legal Implications

edit Aggravated Variants

edit See Also

edit References

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