Assignment Instructions

Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:

1. Compare and contrast the key similarities and differences between the crime of assault and the crime of battery. Provide one (1) example of each crime to support your response.
2. Determine whether or not the jurisdiction in which the crime has occurred should consider the man’s actions as assault. Next, determine whether or not the jurisdiction should punish the man’s actions as battery. Justify your response.
3. Suggest one (1) different fact pattern that would change the scenario from assault and / or battery to consensual touching. Support the validity of your response.

Consider the following change to the scenario. (A) is held against her will.

4. Discuss the crime of false imprisonment. Next, debate whether or not the suggested change in Question 3 would allow the court to convict the attacker in order to punish him. Provide a rationale to support your response.
5. Differentiate between the crimes of false imprisonment and kidnapping. Support or critique the notion that one of the two crimes is more heinous than the other. Justify your response.

Consider the following change to the scenario. (A) and the attacker are romantically linked and are having an argument. The attacker drags (A) in the alley to talk. (A) slaps the attacker.

6. Debate whether or not (A)’s action would require the attacker to defend himself. Provide a rationale to support your response.
7. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar type Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Explain the role of individuals and federal, state, and local government agencies in crime fighting and prosecution of criminal offenses.
• Analyze the essential legal elements of criminal conduct.
• Explain the concept of criminal liability.
• Apply the concept of criminal responsibility and give examples of justifications, excuses, and incapacity for criminal acts.
• Contrast crimes against persons, crimes against property, and other types of criminal conduct.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in criminal law.
• Write clearly and concisely about criminal law using proper writing mechanics.

Sample Answer

Assault vs. Battery

Assault and battery regarded together or differently based on jurisdiction. The two crimes are usually prosecuted together. Battery is a crime which contains the harm, causation, attendant circumstance criminal intent, and criminal act elements. The battery intent includes recklessly, knowingly, negligently or purposely causing bodily to another with or without a weapon. The element of battery attendant circumstance requires that touching take place without the consent of the victim. The criminal act need also be legal and factual cause of damage. Offensive contact and other physical harm are regarded in a number of jurisdictions. Assault on the other hand is a criminal act which contains intent and criminal act elements. It can include battery attempt or battery threat. Assault normally involves threatening to carry out a violence crime upon a different individual with aptitude to follow via the threat. On the other hand, battery must involve unwanted or unsolicited touching, injuring or groping of a different person, battery is considered to be a more serious crime as compared to assault (Staff, 2015).

Example of a battery: When a person throw a stone to another person with intention of hitting another person. If the person is hit by this stone, then it is considered as battery.  Battery can also be demonstrated when an individual get hold of another from nowhere and slap the person or box the person. This is regarded as battery

Example of an assault: When a person throws a stone to another person with intention of hitting the person but luckily or unluckily missies the person, then that is considered as an assault. Assault can also happens someone stop another person and threaten to make harm to cause injuries for one reason or another and demonstrate the ability to fulfill his or her threat. For instance with statements such as “I will kill you, or I will beat you up.”

Case Jurisdiction

In this particular case, A is attacked without her knowledge dragged in alley and her clothes are ripped. This is a clear intention that the attacker intended to cause harm to A. The act of dragging A and ripping off her clothes without her consent is battery, since it is a violent and an offensive act against A, especially in this case where A was not aware of the attacker. The ripping off of A’s clothes demonstrates intention of causing more harm which include rape. Since there was no argument between them, or previous relation, the attacker could have been trying to rape A, and if she did not manage to escape this could have happened. In this regard, the man can be accused or prosecuted with attempted rape, which is clear prove that his intention were not good. However, since he had not managed to make more advancement this can only be interpreted as battery and the man should be punished for it.  A hits the offender with a rock to escape. Although there is battering taking place in this case, it is specifically done for self-defense. The attacker could have caused more harm to A, if A had not managed to escape, in the regard, the A intention of executing the battery act will safe her from being charged with battery crime (FindLaw, 2015).

Battery to Consensual Touching

This act could have transformed into consensual touching if A and the offender were in some sort of sexual relationship and they were playing games or A was in consent of the offender presence, and intention. Basically, A must be in consent for the act to qualify to be consensual and must have agreed to the act and not forced to be involved in it. Therefore. in this case, A and the man must know each other, must have agreed to be together and A was at the point of incident purposely to meet him and ready for his contact. This response is valid because only consent creates a difference between battery and consensual touching, without consent, this could have been considered non-consensual touching, which is also considered a crime (Storm, 2015).

Change of Scenario

When the scenario is changed, the aspect of false imprisonment comes in. False imprisonment is a crime that involves restricting freedom of movement of another person intentionally. The restraining act can involve physical barrier that include a locked door, restraining by employing physical force, an invalid legal authority application, or failure to release. The change of question three to consider a situation where A is restricted by a person related with her forcefully, then the person will be subjected into punishment of false imprisonment, irrespective of whether A had consent to be in the place. This limit the freedom of movement of another person whether the person consented to be in the place, no one is supposed to prevent him or her to get out of the place and thus, anyone one involved in the act of confining another person against their will commits a crime (USLegal, 2015).

False Imprisonment vs. Kidnapping

False imprisonment involves restricting the movement of another person without the person’s consent. This can either be due to legal measures or personal interest. Kidnapping takes place when an individual moves another individual physically, without the consent of that person, with intent of using the abduction in link with some form of wicked objectives, either for political purposes, for ransom, or for any other purpose. On the contrary, false imprisonment may not have wicked objectives though it may cause bodily harm or psychological harm to the involved person (USLegal, 2015).

Change of Scenario

In case A and the man are in a relationship and A is dragged a side for a talk then the situation changes. Basically, the two individuals know each other and A is well aware of the reason of being dragged behind. If A slaps the attacker, it must be to demonstrate her anger or disagreement and thus, she may not go beyond that slap or cause any more harm to the attacker. In this case, the attacker does not have any reason to defend himself. Maybe he can just hold her hands to retrain her from slapping him again if she shows any further intention. However, based on the relation, A does not demonstrate any danger towards the attacker and thus, there is no need for self-defense. Moreover, judging on masculinity, A cannot pose any physical danger to the attacker since she does not have the physical power to do so or a weapon to aid her in doing so and thus, self-defense is not necessary (FindLaw, 2015).

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