Assault vs battery

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nodaywithout

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Assault: An assault is any willful and unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do a corporal hurt to another. Words alone do not constitute an assault. Words plus an apparent ability to commit a battery, equal assault.


Battery: A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.


I am interested in getting some real life scenarios of Assault vs Battery.
Would any LEO's or lawyers be willing to post some scenarios for me?
 
nodaywithout said:
Assault: An assault is any willful and unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do a corporal hurt to another. Words alone do not constitute an assault. Words plus an apparent ability to commit a battery, equal assault.


Battery: A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.


I am interested in getting some real life scenarios of Assault vs Battery.
Would any LEO's or lawyers be willing to post some scenarios for me?
Click to expand...

Every state has different laws on what assault and battery really are. Maryland only has Assault 1 and Assault 2, but they include the battery definitions.

I point a gun at you, but do not fire. I am likely to be charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Nevada law). I actually shoot the gun at you, and a round hits you. That is Battery with a Deadly Weapon in addition to a possible Attempt Murder charge).

You can think of assault as an attempted battery in some states. I take a swing at you, and I miss you. That is an assault in many cases. I take a swing and connect, that is a battery in many cases. There are defenses, but you didn't ask about that.
 
442js said:
Every state has different laws on what assault and battery really are. Maryland only has Assault 1 and Assault 2, but they include the battery definitions.

I point a gun at you, but do not fire. I am likely to be charged with Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Nevada law). I actually shoot the gun at you, and a round hits you. That is Battery with a Deadly Weapon in addition to a possible Attempt Murder charge).

You can think of assault as an attempted battery in some states. I take a swing at you, and I miss you. That is an assault in many cases. I take a swing and connect, that is a battery in many cases. There are defenses, but you didn't ask about that.
Click to expand...

Nice job.. It about sums it up!
 
Assault - what you put on your fallen assailant's open wounds.

Battery - what you hook up your fallen assailant to, when you need to find out who sent him.

:P
 
They typically go hand in hand don't they? I watch a lot of junk tv and the term assault and battery is used quite often
 
Cotillion said:
They typically go hand in hand don't they? I watch a lot of junk tv and the term assault and battery is used quite often
Click to expand...

Disclaimer I am not now nor have i ever been a lawyer or a law enforcement officer.

It can be assault and/or battery. They can go together (from my knowledge of it) the difference between the two is the severity of force/violence/corporal hurt that has occurred. if someone inflicts some bruises, maybe even a scratch on a person - assault. If someone inflicts injury on another, internal bruising/bleeding, broken ribs/bones battery if both happen assault and battery.

Perhaps there is a lawyer or two on this site who can verify or correct me.
 
There are different names for the same crime. In my state, there is assault and menacing. Where menacing is the threat of violence, and assault is the act of or attempt of violence.

In this case, if someone has a baseball bat and is threatening to hit you with it then it's assault. If the person hits you with the baseball bat, then it's battery. Generally, police will charge the suspect with both if the threat was made and an attempt was made afterwords.
 
Years ago I read the difference in one of these little handouts that police or some law demonstation booth give out. Just like someone pointed out assault is when you rear back and threaten to hit someone with your fist or a baseball bat etc., maybe possibly swing at them. Battery is when you actually hit them. Assault and battery is basically wheh you threaten to hit them (assault) and then hit them (battery). Battery is thee actual act of hatting someone. If you sneak up behind them and hit them over the head with a baseball bat then that would only be battery without the assualt.

As was also stated the actual terms and laws vary all over the place by state and possibly even cities. It can go by different terms but you should be able to tell the difference between the two with no problem.
 
Also realize that the some states may have one legal title, assault in this case, but different degrees that may not be the actual act of the title. For instance 'Assault in the Fifth Degree' may be the physical threat of Assault. So think twice before stepping over that line, you may have Assault on your record.

Link Removed
 
nodaywithout said:
Disclaimer I am not now nor have i ever been a lawyer or a law enforcement officer.

It can be assault and/or battery. They can go together (from my knowledge of it) the difference between the two is the severity of force/violence/corporal hurt that has occurred. if someone inflicts some bruises, maybe even a scratch on a person - assault. If someone inflicts injury on another, internal bruising/bleeding, broken ribs/bones battery if both happen assault and battery.

Perhaps there is a lawyer or two on this site who can verify or correct me.
Click to expand...

It depends on the state. Some states have both assault and battery, and some don't (see my Maryland example above). Assault in many states means there is no offensive touching, but battery is when there is contact. If we get into a fight, and I swing at you and miss, and then I connect with my next punch, that would be assault (swinging and missing), and battery (hitting you). I would be unlikely to be convicted of assault as assault often merges with battery so I would just be convicted of battery.

Of course, if I have a defense, I wouldn't be convicted of either.

Read your state laws carefully, because what is assault in one state, isn't necessary assault in another state.
 
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