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In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so.[1] It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in criminal prosecution, civil liability, or both. Additionally, assault is a criminal act in which a person intentionally causes fear of physical harm or offensive contact to another person.[2][3] Assault can be committed with or without a weapon and can range from physical violence to threats of violence.[4][5] Assault is frequently referred to as an attempt to commit battery, which is the deliberate use of physical force against another person. The deliberate inflicting of fear, apprehension, or terror is another definition of assault that can be found in several legal systems. Depending on the severity of the offense, assault may result in a fine, imprisonment, or even death.[6][7]
Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law.
Traditionally, common law legal systems have separate definitions for assault and battery. When this distinction is observed, battery refers to the actual bodily contact, whereas assault refers to a credible threat or attempt to cause battery.[8] Some jurisdictions combined the two offenses into a single crime called "assault and battery", which then became widely referred to as "assault".[9][10] The result is that in many of these jurisdictions, assault has taken on a definition that is more in line with the traditional definition of battery. The legal systems of civil law and Scots law have never distinguished assault from battery.
Legal systems generally acknowledge that assaults can vary greatly in severity.[11] In the United States, an assault can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. In England and Wales and Australia, it can be charged as either common assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) or grievous bodily harm (GBH). Canada also has a three-tier system: assault, assault causing bodily harm and aggravated assault. Separate charges typically exist for sexual assaults, affray and assaulting a police officer. Assault may overlap with an attempted crime; for example, an assault may be charged as attempted murder if it was done with intent to kill.
- ^ "Assault and Battery Overview". criminal.findlaw.com. criminal.findlaw. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ "Beyond Rape: An Essay on the Difference between the Presence of Force and the Absence of Consent". heinonline.org. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ Garfield, Leslie Yalof (2009). "The Case for a Criminal Law Theory of Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress". Criminal Law Brief. 5: 33.
- ^ FELSON, RICHARD B.; STEADMAN, HENRY J. (February 1983). "Situational Factors in Disputes Leading to Criminal Violence". Criminology. 21 (1): 59–74. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1983.tb00251.x. ISSN 0011-1384.
- ^ Meloy, J. Reid; Hoffmann, Jens (2021). International Handbook of Threat Assessment. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-094016-4.
- ^ Reitz, Kevin R. (February 1993). "Sentencing Facts: Travesties of Real-Offense Sentencing". Stanford Law Review. 45 (3): 523–573. doi:10.2307/1229007. ISSN 0038-9765. JSTOR 1229007.
- ^ Tyler, Tom R.; Weber, Renee (1982). "Support for the Death Penalty; Instrumental Response to Crime, or Symbolic Attitude?". Law & Society Review. 17 (1): 21–45. doi:10.2307/3053531. ISSN 0023-9216. JSTOR 3053531.
- ^ Spohn, Cassia; Beichner, Dawn; Davis-Frenzel, Erika (May 2001). "Prosecutorial Justifications for Sexual Assault Case Rejection: Guarding the "Gateway to Justice"". Social Problems. 48 (2): 206–235. doi:10.1525/sp.2001.48.2.206. ISSN 0037-7791.
- ^ "14. Criminal Law (Ireland)". Annotated Legal Documents on Islam in Europe Online. doi:10.1163/2666-075x_ldio_com_16irl14. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Walby, Sylvia; Allen, Jonathan (2004). "Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault And Stalking: Findings from The British Crime Survey". PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e649462007-001. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Britt, Chester L.; Buzawa, Eve S.; Buzawa, Carl G. (July 1991). "Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response". Contemporary Sociology. 20 (4): 597. doi:10.2307/2071841. ISSN 0094-3061. JSTOR 2071841.