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This article is about the crime. For the tortious aspects nal Code provides that battery or similar violent actions
of battery, see Battery (tort). For other uses of the word which cause pain are an oence.
battery, see Battery.
Battery is a criminal oense involving the unlawful physical acting upon a threat, distinct from assault which is the At common law, simple battery is a misdemeanor. The
act of creating apprehension of such contact.
prosecutor must prove all three elements beyond a reaIn the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, sonable doubt:
is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful,
1. an unlawful application of force
oensive or sexual contact.[1] It is a specic common law
misdemeanor, although the term is used more generally
2. to the person of another
to refer to any unlawful oensive physical contact with
3. resulting in either bodily injury or an oensive
another person, and may be a misdemeanor or a felony,
touching.
depending on the circumstances. Battery was dened at
common law as any unlawful touching of the person of
another by the aggressor, or by a substance put in mo- The common-law elements serve as a basic template, but
tion by him.[2] In most cases, battery is now governed by individual jurisdictions may alter them, and they may vary
statutes, and its severity is determined by the law of the slightly from state to state.
specic jurisdiction.
Under modern statutory schemes, battery is often divided
into grades that determine the severity of punishment.
For example:
Generally
Simple battery may include any form of nonconsensual harmful or insulting contact, regardless
of the injury caused. Criminal battery requires intent to inict an injury on another.
Specic rules regarding battery vary among dierent jurisdictions, but some elements remain constant across jurisdictions. Battery generally requires that:
1. an oensive touch or contact is made upon the victim, instigated by the actor; and
2. the actor intends or knows that their action will cause
the oensive touching.
2
2.1
Specic countries
Russia
2
2.2.1
2 SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
Kansas
Louisiana
vulnerable adult may have been committed (s. 5 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004).
Under English law, a battery has only been committed if
the correct mens rea (fault element) can be proven. In the
case of battery, the mens rea of the oence is intention or
recklessness (see R v. Venna [1976] QB 421). A person
acts intentionally in terms of a result when his purpose is
to cause it and he may be held to act intentionally if he
foresees that the result is a virtually certain consequence
of his action and he nonetheless acts (see R v. Woollin
[1998] 4 All ER 103; although this decision specically
applies to the law of murder, it is generally accepted that
this denition of intent applies throughout the criminal
law). A person acts recklessly in terms of a result when
he is aware of the risk that the result will occur if he acts
and he does so act where no reasonable person would (see
R v. Cunningham [1957] 2 QB 396).
2.3
Canada
2.4
United Kingdom
3
2.4.3
Jurisdictional dierences
In some jurisdictions, battery has recently been constructed to include directing bodily secretions (i.e., spitting) at another person without his or her permission.
Some of those jurisdictions automatically elevate such a
battery to the charge of aggravated battery. In some jurisdictions, the charge of criminal battery also requires
evidence of a mental state (mens rea). The terminology
used to refer to a particular oense can also vary by jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions, such as New York, refer to
what, under the common law, would be battery as assault,
and then use another term for the crime that would have
been assault, such as menacing.
2.4.4
The overt behavior of an assault might be Person A advancing upon Person B by chasing after him and swinging
a st toward his head. The overt behavior of battery might
be A actually striking B.
Battery requires (1) a volitional act that (2) results in a
harmful or oensive contact with another person and (3)
is committed for the purpose of causing a harmful or offensive contact or under circumstances that render such
contact substantially certain to occur or with a reckless
disregard as to whether such contact will result. Assault
is an attempted battery or the act of intentionally placing a
person in apprehension of a harmful or oensive contact
with his or her person.
[3] "
- ( )
13 June 1996 N 63- \ ".
Consultant.ru. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
[4] 794.011 Sexual Battery Unspecied.
offender.fdle.state..us/.
Florida Department of Law
Enforcement. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
[5] Florida Statute on Aggravated Battery. Florida Legislation.
[6] Chapter 21: Crimes And Punishments PART II.-PROHIBITED CONDUCT Article 34: Crimes Against
Person. kansasstatutes.lesterama.org/. Retrieved 4
March 2015.
[7] SUBPART B. ASSAULT AND BATTERY (WITH RELATED OFFENSES)". legis.la.gov/. Louisiana State
Legislature. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
[8] The Sexual Oences Act 2003, section 3
[9] Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, 1993
supplements and 1994 and 1996 editions
[10] Smith, John Cyril; Hogan, Brian (1999). Criminal Law
(9th ed.). London: Butterworths. p. 402. ISBN 0-40698383-6.
[11] Smith, J. C. [1991] Crim LR 900
[12] Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire [2000]
EWHC QB 181 (12 May 2000)". Bailii.org. Retrieved
2013-07-01.
[13] Smith & Hogan (2008). Criminal Law. OUP. p. 584.
In some places, assault is the threat of violence against an- [14] The Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 39
other while aggravated assault is the threat with the clear
and present ability and willingness to carry it out. Likewise, battery is undesired touching of another, while aggravated battery is touching of another with or without a
tool or weapon with attempt to harm or restrain.
See also
Assault (tort)
Battery (tort)
Non-fatal oences against the person in English law
Right of self-defense
References
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