You can be charged with battery anytime that you use willful and unlawful force against another person. While this may bring to mind images of serious and severe beatings, many instances of battery involve no injury or pain to the alleged victim. In fact, any time you may have touched another person, you have opened yourself up to a battery charge.
How does battery relate to assault? Are they the same thing? In short, no. California law considers assault to be any instance where you attempted to use force against another person while battery is the actual use of force. In an assault, there does not have to be actual physical contact between the accused and the alleged victim, but in when battery is involved, there does need to be that physical contact.
What defenses do I have in assault & battery allegations?
Many people are shocked when they are charged with assault and battery in instances where no one was seriously injured. For example, someone that spits on another person in the middle of an argument, they may be charged with assault. When you have been accused of assault and battery, you have options for your defense.
Defense against battery and assault charges include:
- You acted in self-defense. If you believed that you or someone else was in danger of suffering bodily injury, that the use of force was necessary to temper that danger, and no more force than necessary was used to accomplish this goal, then you were acting in self-defense.
- You were not willful in the actions. Your actions do not need to be intentional to be considered assault and battery, but they do need to be willful, which means that if the accused battery was committed by accident, you cannot be convicted of a crime.
- You were the parent of a child that was being disciplined. There are many cases of parents that are brought up on child abuse charges related to battery. You can show that you were within your legal rights for disciplining your child and that does not count as battery.
What does not count in assault and battery charges is the use of words. Words are not enough to constitute an act of assault and battery unless the person saying the words also acts in a way that causes a fear of harm.
Are you looking for legal representation in an assault and battery case? Contact our firm today!