Assault
[4][5] Assault is frequently referred to as an attempt to commit battery, which is the deliberate use of physical force against another person.
The deliberate inflicting of fear, apprehension, or terror is another definition of assault that can be found in several legal systems.
Traditionally, common law legal systems have separate definitions for assault and battery.
Battery can include a wide range of actions, from slapping someone to causing serious harm or even death.
[15][16] Depending on the severity of the offense, it can carry a wide range of punishments, including jail time, fines, and probation.
[19][20] It is generally described as an intentional act that causes another person to fear imminent physical harm or injury.
[26][27][28][29] Although the range and precise application of defenses varies between jurisdictions, the following represents a list of the defenses that may apply to all levels of assault: Exceptions exist to cover unsolicited physical contact which amount to normal social behavior known as de minimis harm.
Assault can also be considered in cases involving the spitting on or unwanted exposure of bodily fluids to others.
In some jurisdictions, most notably England, it is not a defense where the degree of injury is severe, as long as there is no legally recognized good reason for the assault.
Legally recognized good reasons for consent include surgery, activities within the rules of a game (mixed martial arts, wrestling, boxing, or contact sports), bodily adornment (R v Wilson [1996] Crim LR 573), or horseplay (R v Jones [1987] Crim LR 123).
Unreasonable physical punishment may be charged as assault or under a separate statute for child abuse.
[34] Many countries, including some US states, also permit the use of controversial corporal punishment for children in school or home.
The below table shows the rate of reported serious assault for individual countries according to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the last available year.
Contrary to modern usage, the term did not have the extended connotation of overweening pride, self-confidence or arrogance, often resulting in fatal retribution.
In Ancient Greece, "hubris" referred to actions which, intentionally or not, shamed and humiliated the victim, and frequently the perpetrator as well.
Violations of the law against hubris included, what would today be termed, assault and battery; sexual crimes ranging from forcible rape of women or children to consensual but improper activities; or the theft of public or sacred property.
[52] Two well-known cases are found in the speeches of Demosthenes, a prominent statesman and orator in ancient Greece.
The category of acts constituting hubris for the ancient Greeks apparently broadened from the original specific reference to mutilation of a corpse, or a humiliation of a defeated foe, or irreverent, "outrageous treatment", in general.
The meaning was eventually further generalized in its modern English usage to apply to any outrageous act or exhibition of pride or disregard for basic moral laws.
Atë, Greek for 'ruin, folly, delusion', is the action performed by the hero, usually because of their hubris, or great pride, that leads to their death or downfall.
The concept of timē included not only the exaltation of the one receiving honor, but also the shaming of the one overcome by the act of hubris.
Rush Rehm simplifies this definition to the contemporary concept of "insolence, contempt, and excessive violence".
The Criminal Code Act (chapter 29 of Part V; sections 351 to 365) creates a number of offences of assault.
[57] A person is guilty of this offence if they unlawfully offer or attempt, with force or violence, to strike, beat, wound, or do bodily harm to, another.
The mens rea for assault is simply "evil intent",[62] although this has been held to mean no more than that assault "cannot be committed accidentally or recklessly or negligently" as upheld in Lord Advocate's Reference No 2 of 1992 where it was found that a "hold-up" in a shop justified as a joke would still constitute an offence.
c. 100) creates the offences of: The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (c. 28 (N.I.))
However, under limited circumstances the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 treats a fetus as a separate person for the purposes of assault and other violent crimes.
A person who engages in that behavior is guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree (a Class A misdemeanor; punishable with up to one year incarceration, probation for an extended time, and a permanent criminal record) when they threaten to cause physical harm to another person, and guilty of aggravated harassment in the first degree (a Class E felony) if they have a previous conviction for the same offense.
[76][77][78][79] New York also has specific laws against hazing, when such threats are made as requirement to join an organization.
However, if the crime is perpetrated against a firefighter or police officer, the offender may face first-degree felony charges carrying a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
