Battery is a legal concept that is central to criminal justice in most countries. Although these terms assault
and battery are weakly used interchangeably by many, in law, they both differ significantly with some meaning
depending on the jurisdiction. This blog defines battery, distinguishes it to assault, the types of actions
that can constitute battery, and the factors to consider in assessing the act that may result in the liability or punishment.
Definition and core element of battery
Fundamentally, battery is the knowingly and unlawful application of undesirable or offensive physical contact with
another individual in the absence of their permission.
The primary aspects in battery in most jurisdictions are:
- Volitional action - the defendant should have done a voluntary act.
- Intent or recklessness - the actor either knows of the contact or is reasonably aware that harmful or
offensive contact is highly probable (or is irrationally indifferent to that danger).
- Unconsented contact - this should be a contact that takes place without the consent of the victim.
- Harmful or offending character - the contact has to be harmful (inflicting injury or impairment) or
offensive (infringing the sense of personal dignity of a reasonable person).
Notably, contact may be either direct (e.g. punch, slap) or indirect (e.g. hitting somebody with something he/she is
holding, or making substances get in contact with them in harmful ways).
With the civil (tort) law, also, actual injury is not required: the unconsented or offensive contact is enough to be liable.
Due to these definitions, what may be considered minor acts such as a non-consensual push, a slap or grabbing a person,
can be considered batteries in the law, based on context and consent.
Battery as Crime and Tort
In most legal systems battery has a dual nature:
- Being a criminal offence with the offender prosecuted by the state, and the offender may face punishment of
fines, jail or probation.
- The failure to seek criminal charges by state authorities did not preclude the victim, as a civil tort,
initiating a personal lawsuit against the defendant, to seek compensation (damages) due to the unconsented contact.
This didactic duality emphasizes the legal system in its effort to prevent physical violence as well as its adherence to
the protection of the physical body and its individual dignity and freedom.
Besides, one and the same act can result in both criminal charges and civil liability: the defendant can be
imprisoned and compensated damages ordered.
Distinguishing battery from Assault
The distinction between assault and battery is one of the most frequently misunderstood areas of law (as well
as of ordinary conversation). Although they are usually discussed in conjunction with each other as assault
and battery, they are two different legal terms.
- Assault is generally understood to be the threat or effort to cause physical injury and it causes a reasonable
fear in the victim that he would be in unlawful contact soon. It does not entail physical contact.
- The actual physical contact or force, harmful or offensive, with which the victim is subjected
against his consent is called battery.
To put it simply assault = threat/attempt, battery = the actual act of physical contact.
However, not all batteries are pre-empted by an assault (such as when one gets hit, in the back,
in a blind attack, he or she might not have even had the opportunity to attack the attacker).
On the other hand an assault can take place without resulting in battery as is the case of waving a fist at someone,
or displaying a weapon, which can make one fearful, but no battery.
Due to this overlap and variability in the statutes, certain jurisdictions merge the two into a single crime known
as assault or alternatively, they may refer to the two crime types in other naming formats.
Types of battery: Simple vs. Aggravated
The treatment of all batteries in the law is not equal. In general, there are at least two types of jurisdiction:
- Simple battery - entails non-consensual, causing or threatening contact with aggravating circumstances.
Frequently accused of a misdemeanor.
- Aggravated battery - includes other factors’ that complicate the crime and make it more severe, e.g. the use
of a weapon, the infliction of severe bodily harm, or the victim being so vulnerable as to be a child, etc.
This carries more penalties.
The existence of aggravating factors will increase the level of charge in most jurisdictions and consequently increase the
possible punishments such as longer jail sentences or higher fines.
Proving battery: What the Prosecutor / Plaintiff must show
In order to gain a conviction (in a criminal court) or a judgment (in a civil court), a number of elements or prima facie
requirements are usually required to be proven:
- That the defendant acted.
- The defendant had the intention of contact or that the contact was in substantial certainty to occur.
- The fact that the contact was offensive or degrading to the average person (or, in certain instances,
offensive/degrading in the light of the specific victim in the context of the known sensitivities of the victim).
- The fact that it was a contact that took place against the consent of the victim.
In the case of criminal battery, the prosecutors should demonstrate these factors beyond any reasonable doubt.
The standard is generally much lower in civil battery cases (preponderance of evidence), in which a plaintiff does not
need to demonstrate actual injury, just the unconsented contact.
Defences to battery
Although battery is a grave offense, most legal systems have known defenses. Common defenses include:
- Consent - in case the victim agreed (expressed, or implied, e.g., by accepting to play a sport or undergoing a
medical procedure) to the contact, the contact may not be criminal.
- Self-defense or defense of others - reasonable force can be used by an individual to protect oneself or another
individual in case of impending harm.
- Necessity or lawful requirement - such as some force applied by the police or in other acceptable situations may
not be battery.
- Other defenses known in statutory or case law which can involve mental incapability, mistake, duress, etc., depending
on jurisdiction.
Care is that any such defense must be both reasonable and proportional to the circumstances; any force thus disallowed or
excessive may still equate to battery in spite of any purported justification.
Why battery matters - legal and social significance
Knowledge of battery is not merely an academic practice: it appeals to an ultimate legal and social value:
- Ideal of personal autonomy and physical integrity: The law appreciates that all human beings have the right to freedom of
unwanted bodily contact or coercion. The battery tries to protect that right.
- Responsibility and preventive effect: The law would prevent violence and punish culprits by criminalizing nonconsensual harmful contacts.
- Two solutions: civil and criminal justice: Battery victims can resort to prosecution and/or civil suits; this will carry curative
and revengeful justice.
- Criminal-law clarity: It gives law enforcement and courts, as well as the general public, an idea of what behavior is prohibited,
and what acts qualify as a threat and what constitutes violent acts.
Further, the difference between assault (threat) and battery (actual contact) is not merely theoretical - it impacts the character
of accusations, burden of proof, potential defenses and legal outcome.
Jurisdictional variations and practical considerations
Despite these general similarities in the common law world in the essential terms of battery, significant variations are possible:
- Other jurisdictions combine assault and battery into a single statutory offense in which assault is understood to include
both threats’ and physical contact.
- The types of classification and punishment differ: there might be a misdemeanor simple battery in one state, but a more
serious (or otherwise) one in another.
- The standard of consent - what would be considered consent may vary with context (medical treatment, sports, law enforcement, etc.).
- In other jurisdictions, the battery is also possible through reckless acts or negligence and not necessarily intentional force.
With such differences, any given person who encounters an alleged battery, as a defendant, a victim of the alleged battery, or a
lawyer, should be keen on studying the statute, case law, and the local legal definitions.
Conclusion
Battery, the unlawful, nonconsensual use of harmful or offensive physical contact, is still one of the cornerstones of crimes and
torts of a modern legal system. Battery is the application of force unlike assault where there is a threat or an intimidation of harm.
Such a battery may attract criminal charges, civil liability, or both.
Knowledge of battery, its components, defenses, and differences among jurisdictions, is necessary not only in ensuring that the
rights of individuals are not infringed, but also in ensuring that justice is otherwise provided in cases where individual rights
are infringed. Being a legal professional, a student, or any other citizen, it is possible to gain some understanding of what is
considered wrongful physical aggression in the eyes of the law through clarity on this concept.
