Many people mistake assault and battery for interchangeable crimes. The offenses differ, but both revolve around the possibility and actuality of inflicting intentional harm on another individual. Additionally, the violations require prosecutors to prove elements specific to the crime for the jury to find a defendant guilty. As to the question of which charges you will face, it is up to the prosecutors to decide. They consider the circumstances of the case and what charge is likely to result in a conviction, given the evidence they have.
Assault and Battery Under California Law
It is necessary to first look at what the law defines the two crimes as, and the penalties it outlines should you be convicted. This will help you better understand the crimes and their differences.
Assault
Assault is either simple or aggravated.
- Simple Assault
Any unlawful attempt, coupled with the present ability to inflict a violent injury on another, is a simple assault and a violation of PC 240. This definition encompasses all willful actions an individual engages in that would result in applying force to the victim.
PC 240’s definition provides the elements required for a conviction, namely:
- You willfully acted, and your actions would probably result in directly applying force on another individual — Willful action does not necessarily mean you intended to hurt another, break the law, or gain an unfair advantage. Any deliberate step you take likely to apply force suffices,
- At the time of your actions, you were aware of the facts that would make a reasonable individual conclude that acting in a similar manner would likely result in the application of force to another — Prosecutors will have to prove that you were aware that your action was likely to result in applying force and
- When you acted, you had the present ability to apply force — Application of force refers to any offensive or harmful touching. You will likely face assault charges for slightly touching another for as long as the alleged victim deems it offensive.
Additionally, the law does not require the victim to sustain an injury for assault to take place. Neither does it require you to have successfully applied force to another. Taking a direct step that would have resulted in applying force to another is sufficient.
Examples of simple assault include:
- An individual takes a swing at another and misses. The swing is sufficient for an assault charge
- A child throwing a rock at a neighbor while the neighbor is gardening
- Throwing an empty glass bottle at another
Penalties You Will Receive If Convicted of Simple Assault
Simple assault is a misdemeanor. You will face up to six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000 if convicted. Alternatively, the judge could impose summary or misdemeanor probation terms for you to serve instead of jail time.
The penalties increase if you assault a protected individual. However, you are only guilty if prosecutors prove you reasonably knew or should have known that the individual was a protected individual discharging his/her duties. Convictions result in a maximum of one year in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
Protected individuals include police officers, firefighters, EMTs, parking attendants, jurors, prosecutors, judges, lifeguards, doctors, nurses, and peace officers.
- Aggravated Assault
An assault becomes aggravated in the following circumstances:
- You assault a police or peace officer — This offense violates PC 241
- You use a deadly weapon in the assault — A crime under PC 245(a)(1)
- You assault another using a firearm — A crime under PC 245(a)(2)
- You use caustic chemicals while assaulting another — This offense violates PC 244
The elements in the case are similar to those outlined for simple assault with a slight variation: prosecutors must additionally prove that you assaulted a peace or police officer or used a deadly weapon, firearm, or caustic chemicals.
Penalties You Will Receive If Convicted of Aggravated Assault
Penalties vary depending on the crimes the jury finds you guilty of.
An assault on a peace officer or a police officer is a misdemeanor, and a conviction results in penalties, including a jail sentence of up to one year, a fine not exceeding $2,000, or both.
Assaulting another with a deadly weapon is a wobbler offense. You can face misdemeanor or felony charges. A conviction for a misdemeanor violation results in a jail sentence of up to one year, a fine not exceeding $1,000, or both. Alternatively, the judge could impose summary probation instead of a jail sentence. Felony convictions, on the other hand, result in a prison sentence of up to four years, a maximum fine of $10,000, or both. You could serve formal probation instead of a prison sentence.
When you assault another with a firearm, you will receive sentences depending on the gun used. If you used an ordinary firearm, your offense is either a misdemeanor or a felony. Convictions for misdemeanors are punishable by a jail sentence of between six months and one year, a maximum fine of $1,000, or both. Summary probation is also an option. On the other hand, felonies are punishable by two, three, or four years in prison or formal probation, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
You will face three, six, or nine years in prison for using a semiautomatic firearm and four, eight, or twelve years for using an assault weapon, a .50 BMG rifle, or a machine gun.
Lastly, using caustic chemicals while assaulting another is a felony. Caustic chemicals are corrosive substances capable of damaging living tissue. PC 244 violations are felonies. Convictions result in prison sentences of two, three, or four years or formal probation and a fine not exceeding $10,000.
Battery
Like assault, battery is either simple or aggravated.
- Simple Battery
Battery, as defined in Penal Code 242, is any willful and illegal use of force or violence on another individual. You are only guilty of the charge if:
- You willfully touched someone else — Willfulness refers to intentional acts and not necessarily aiming to break the law, gain an undue advantage or inflict injury on another, and
- The touch was offensive or harmful — PC 242 only requires physical contact with someone else. You do not have to inflict an injury on the victim for the jury to find you guilty of battery. That means even a slight touch, whether offensive or harmful, is enough to convince a jury to convict. Meaning touching another rudely, angrily, violently, or disrespectfully suffices.
Additionally, touch can be direct or indirect through the victim’s clothing or by using an object to make contact with the victim.
Penalties If Convicted of Simple Battery
Simple battery is a misdemeanor offense. If found guilty, you will face up to six months in jail, summary probation, and a maximum fine of $2,000.
- Aggravated Battery
Prosecutors pursue aggravated battery charges if the victim sustains a serious bodily injury in the battery incident. Per Penal Code 243(d), prosecutors must prove that:
- You unlawfully touched someone else and
- The touch resulted in serious bodily injury — Contact can be through the victim’s clothing or indirectly if an object made contact.
The charges come with penalties harsher than simple battery charges if convicted of the crime.
The law distinguishes great bodily injury from serious bodily injury. Great bodily injury (GBI) refers to significant physical harm greater than a moderate or minor injury, for example, gunshot wounds, dog bites, broken bones, and second-degree burns.
A serious bodily injury is an impairment of someone’s physical condition. However, the injuries are less extreme than GBI. Examples include concussions, cuts that require sutures, broken or fractured bones, disfigurement, lost teeth, and loss of consciousness.
Note: Whether an injury is great or serious is a question of fact for the jury or judge to decide. Further, the victim does not have to seek medical treatment for the court to consider the injury serious.
Penalties If Convicted of Aggravated Battery
Aggravated battery is a wobbler offense. If charged with a misdemeanor violation, a conviction would result in a jail sentence of up to one year, a maximum fine of $1,000, or both. Felony charges, on the other hand, result in a jail sentence of up to four years, a fine not exceeding $10,000, or both.
Should the victim suffer great bodily injuries, you will receive penalty enhancements per Penal Code 12022.7. You could face an additional consecutive prison sentence of three to six years.
In summary, assault addresses actions that could inflict harm or unwarranted contact with another individual. Battery, on the other hand, relates to the actual infliction of violence or force on another individual.
Can I Challenge Assault or Battery Charges?
Yes, you can. The law allows you to raise a legal defense to challenge your charges. Your attorney will select the best defense for your case based on the facts of your case and the defense that is most likely to result in the best legal outcome.
- Defenses Applicable in Assault Charges
You can use any of the following defenses to challenge an assault charge:
You Lacked the Present Ability to Inflict Violence or Force
PC 240 requires prosecutors to prove you had the present ability to inflict violence or force on the victim. Without the present ability, you are not guilty of the offense.
No Willful Action
Assault requires deliberateness in your action. Therefore, you are not guilty of battery if your actions were an accident.
Consider situations where an individual is in a crowd and shoves someone. Let us extend this scenario to a party scene where you accidentally bump into a waiter who trips, causing the glasses he was carrying to fall on another individual.
In both cases, you did not act willfully. Your shoving in the first scenario and bumping into the waiter in the second were purely accidental.
Acted in Self-defense
The law allows you to protect yourself or another individual against a perceived danger. However, you can only assert that you acted in self-defense or defense of another if the following are true:
- You reasonably believed you or another individual faced imminent danger of suffering physical harm or being touched illegally,
- You reasonably believed that immediate force was necessary to counter the threat, and
- You used no more force than necessary to defend yourself or another individual from the danger
This defense is ideal when the alleged victim threatens to cause harm and attempts to do so, and you have to protect yourself or another from the alleged victim. Words alone are insufficient to warrant battery, no matter how offensive.
You Were Falsely Accused
False accusations in assault cases are common. The alleged victim could press assault charges for several reasons. He/she could be jealous, seek revenge for a perceived wrong, or make a rash choice out of spite or anger.
Criminal defense attorneys conduct independent investigations to determine the truth. Without evidence, the prosecution’s case could become a he-said-she-said case. Therefore, the information the independent investigations reveal will be pivotal in convincing the jury of your innocence. Your attorney could present the alleged victim's or witnesses’ past false claims to the jury to establish a pattern of false accusations. In other situations, your attorney relies on past conflicts with the alleged victim to prove to the jury that you were falsely accused.
The Alleged Victim Gave Consent
You can assert that the alleged victim consented to a particular act. If so, the action cannot form the basis of an assault charge. This defense is only viable if the action does not exceed the permission provided. If it does, the victim will have grounds to press assault charges.
This defense can also apply to battery charges.
It is important to note that courts scrutinize the acts. If the deed results in harm, you will be charged with assault, battery, and other violations since bodily injury violates public policy even if the victim consented.
- Defenses Applicable in Battery Charges
Any of the following defenses will help fight battery charges.
Though distinct crimes, assault and battery share some defenses that could help challenge the prosecution's case. These defenses include:
- You were acting in self-defense or defense of others
- No willful action
- You were falsely accused
However, the defenses specific to battery charges include the following.
The Injury Was Not Serious
You are only guilty of aggravated battery if the injury the victim sustained is serious or great. If the physical harm is neither, your charges could be reduced from aggravated battery to simple battery. You will, therefore, acknowledge battering the victim but not inflicting serious bodily harm as alleged.
Parental Right to Discipline Your Child
Allegations of battery are, on some occasions, leveled against a parent for disciplining his/her child. Your accuser could mistakenly or deliberately accuse you of battering your child for using force on the child. However, the law allows parents to discipline their children as long as the physical force used on the child is reasonable and not excessive, given the circumstances.
You can assert this defense if you are a parent and were reasonably disciplining your child.
You Were Defending Your Property
Like in self-defense, the law allows you to take necessary steps to defend your property.
Consider situations where a thief or a burglar attempts or successfully breaks into your house or car. While responding to the break-in, you charge at the offender, beating them. Ultimately, the offender breaks his arm and files battery charges against you.
The reasonable standard must be met for this defense to be effective. That is, you should have used reasonable force in the situation. Context matters. Therefore, the appropriateness of this defense varies from one case to another.
You Did Not Touch Another
You might not have touched the alleged victim. For example, if you were running in a crowded area, the alleged victim tripped, fell, and broke her ankle as the crowd dispersed. In this scenario, you did not touch the victim. Neither did you touch an individual close to the victim who would have bumped into her, causing the fall.
If you bumped into someone close to the victim who pushed her and caused her to fall, you would be liable for battery. This scenario meets the indirect contact requirement for battery convictions.
Contact a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
Assault and battery are consequential allegations if charged and convicted. You have to defend yourself in the court of public opinion, which is not always forgiving. This could lead you to conclude that you do not stand a chance of fighting these charges.
Fortunately, courts require evidence to substantiate assault or battery claims. Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the offense. Failure to which your charges will be reduced or dismissed.
We evaluate your case at Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer to develop a winning defense strategy. We challenge the prosecution’s case to secure the best legal outcome. If you or a loved one faces assault or battery charges, call us at 310-502-1314 for assistance.
