Contrast and comparison between assault and battery crimes.

            A battery offence is where there occurs unjustified touching of another person causing harm while an assault is attempting or threatening to touch someone against his or her will. Therefore a battery is an attempted assault. The battery crime must not really involve a caused injury or pain to the body. In assault the victim must be conscious of the criminal intension and ability to commit the offence while in batter the victim maybe or may not be conscious. An assault may not have any self-defense while battery necessarily require some sort of self defence. However the two crimes are at times considered to be one crime. This is because both are crimes but of different degrees. Battery being an assault that has been physically done. Before battery occurs there is always an intent to harm and threaten before the actual action. Hence there must be an assault before the actual act battery.

Example

            Tanus a primary school boy walking from school meets Jessup the most notorious boy in the school on his way. Tanus had reported a case to the teacher about Jessup’s mis-conduct. Jessup is known for revenge and fighting other pupils in school. This makes Tanus to have a lot of fear of harm always when he is on his way home or to school. This can be considered as an assault case. Pastlen goes in with her friend Janice forcefully. This is considered as a rape case which is a battery crime.

            In other jurisdiction where assault is defined as an intentional physical contact with a person without her knowledge. In this case a physical action occurs but it is still considered an assault. In this jurisdiction the definition of assault contains the definition of battery of other jurisdictions. The jurisdiction only have degrees of assault and no battery. The different degrees are the ones that determine the different measures of punishment to be given. The different degrees of assault include three stages where the first bears the most severe punishment. This degree involves body harm or disvaluing human life by use of dangerous weapons. It is called an aggravated assault. The second degree includes use of weapon but the body harm is less serious. The third degree doesn’t involve use of weapons, it is just a threat to do the injuries but not doing it. It receives the lightest punishment[Cedric 2015].

            Sexual battery or assault in other jurisdictions can be considered consensual in some cases. A consensual touching is where both parties are willing to be involved. A case where a lady complains of a sexual assault to a judge. At the listening of the case it is heard that the complainant is the defendant’s lover. The place where the scene occurred is the man’s house. The lady complains of her breast being touched by the man. It is also brought to the attention of the judge that the lady spent the previous night in the man’s house. In this case the reported assault is considered to be consensual. The complainant was willing to engage in this since she went there herself and even spend her night there. Such a case will be judged in favor of none of the two parties. There would be no punishment to the defendant because he might have been tempted by the same complaint to doing whatever he did[Kimberly 2016].

Conclusion

The crime of assault and crime of battery are two different crimes to some jurisdiction one to some. However wherever they are two different ones there are some similarities and differences. They are both cases which involve relationship between human beings.

References

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Ryngaert, C. (2015). Jurisdiction in international law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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Ferzan, K. K. (2016). Legal, moral, and metaphysical truths. Place of publication not identified: Oxford Univ Press.