Let’s talk about the crime of assault. Why is it important to understand the elements? Because assault is the basis of many statutory crimes and civil procedures, such as domestic violence, protective orders, and many others.
In those crimes or civil processes, assault may be an element or a necessary component. In common law, “assault” is defined as an intentional tort and or crime that causes harm to another person.
Crucially, it does not require physical contact. Instead, assault focuses on a defendant’s actions causing a victim to reasonably apprehend, or anticipate, imminent harmful or offensive contact. This means the victim must genuinely and reasonably believe they are about to be subjected to unwanted physical contact or harm, even if no actual touching occurs.
For an act to be considered assault, three key elements must be present. First, intent: the defendant must have intended to cause the victim to fear an imminent harmful or offensive contact. This does not necessitate an intent to inflict actual injury, but rather to create the apprehension of it. There are exceptions to this, such as gross negligence or some variation. Second, reasonable apprehension: the victim must reasonably believe that harmful or offensive contact is about to occur. This implies that a rational person in the same circumstances would also fear the possibility of an unwanted touch, not merely a subjective fear. Finally, immediacy: the apprehended harm must be perceived as about to happen right then, in the very near future, rather than at some later time, and there cannot be an “impossibility “of the act occurring.
It is important to distinguish assault from “battery.” The fundamental difference lies in physical contact. While assault involves the apprehension of imminent harmful or offensive contact without any physical touch, battery requires the actual infliction of harmful or offensive physical contact. Therefore, assault is about the threat or fear of contact, whereas battery is about the execution of the contact itself. Hope this helped. Call JC Law if you need us!