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"Assault and battery" is the combination of two violent crimes: assault (the threat of violence) and battery (physical violence).
This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault as threatened violence rather than actual violence.
Assault is an intentional attempt or threat to inflict injury upon a person, coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm, which creates a reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or offensive contact in another. Assault does not require actual touching or bodily harm to the victim. Assault and battery are sometimes used interchangeably, but battery is an unjustified harmful or offensive touching of another. Battery also differs from assault in that it does not require the victim to be in apprehension of harm.
In both criminal and civil law, a battery is the intentional touching of, or application of force to, the body of another person, in a harmful or offensive manner, and without consent. A battery is often confused with an assault, which is merely the act of threatening a battery, or of placing another in fear or apprehension of an impending and immediate battery. A battery is almost always preceded by an assault, which is why the terms are often used transitionally or combined, as in "assault and battery."
Consequences of assault crimes can be imprisonment, probation or parole, fines, loss of right to possess weapons, and anger management classes to name a few. Based on if the offender of the assault crime has a prior history of assault crimes, as well as any other prior convictions, is on current probation or parole, as well as many other variables will affect the resulting consequences of the assault crime penalty if convicted.
Aggravated battery is a battery offense that involves some aggravating factor. This type of battery offense is typically considered a felony offense, and the perpetrator can face incarceration, fines, and many other punishments. For an offense to be considered aggravated battery one or more of the following factors may have been involved: the battery was committed against a protected person (a child, peace officer, or person over 65 years of age); the battery involved a weapon (whether use was real or threatened); the victim suffered significant injury (loss of limb or permanent damage); or the offense occurred in a public transit vehicle or station, school zone, or other protected place.
There are a few arguments that may be used to defend a person charged with battery. Lack of intent can be argued by the defendant in a battery case to contend that the injurious physical contact was an accident. A defendant may also argue that the battery was committed in self defense or the defense of others or property. If you would like to learn more about battery, please contact us to speak to an attorney who can evaluate your case to determine how best to protect and maximize your legal interests.
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