Assault and Battery
The phrase "assault and battery" is widely misunderstood. A popular belief is that assault and battery consists of striking someone. As any good lawyer will tell you (as my Seattle criminal attorney acquaintance told me) while this wide held idea isn't entirely incorrect, it is far from correct.
Assault and battery are two different entities.
Assault
Assault is the act of threatening bodily harm upon someone, putting someone in a situation where they fear for their life or attempting to put someone's life at harm. Personal contact is not necessary to commit assault. A common example of assault is pointing a knife at someone or threatening someone's life.
Battery
Battery is when someone intentionally touches someone else against that persons will with a body part, object or substance. You do not necessarily have to hit someone to get arrested for battery. Spitting on someone could get you arrested for battery.
There are ways around an assault or battery conviction. These exceptions are called "privileges" and will act as a suitable defense in a court of law. There are several assault and battery privileges, but here are five of the most common.
1. Defense Three types of defense fall under this umbrella category: self defense, defense of others and defense of property. Self defense is the act of using reasonable force to protect yourself from physical harm. Defense of others is the act of using reasonable force to protect others. Defense of property is using reasonable force to defend your belongings. In all cases, the phrase "reasonable force" is key. You cannot hit someone with a shovel if they threaten to spit on you. Specific defense laws vary from state to state.
2. Mutual Combat Mutual combat occurs when two or more people voluntarily agree to fight without the pretense of self defense. Barring excessive force (i.e. a kick to the face of a knocked out or downed combatant) nobody involved in the fight is likely going to win an assault or battery case. Only in the event of excessive force can an assault or battery case be likely.
3. Discipline In some jurisdictions, upholding discipline is an assault and battery privilege. In these cases, an individual is given the responsibility of using a reasonable amount of force to discipline someone and prevent them from hurting themselves, hurting others and destroying property. Hospital workers, mental hospital employees, teachers and parents can all use the discipline privilege in certain areas.
4. Police Conduct Besides the defense privilege, police conduct is one of the most well known assault and battery exceptions. Law enforcement is allowed to use reasonable force in order to restrain someone or place someone under arrest. Much like self defense, the amount of reasonable force varies with the amount of resistance. People who sustain injuries from law enforcement officers that are practicing reasonable force will not win an assault or battery case, even with the best Seattle criminal lawyer I know.
Bradley Johnson is a Seattle Criminal Attorney.
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