View source for Battery (crime)

{{Short description|Criminal act of unlawful physical contact}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{for multi|the common law term|Battery (tort)|other uses|Battery (disambiguation)}}
'''Battery''' is a criminal [[Offence (law)|offense]] involving "unlawful [[Intention (criminal law)|intentional]] infliction of harmful or offensive physical contact with another person without consent."<ref>{{Cite web |title=battery |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/battery |access-date=2025-09-27 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref> This is distinct from [[assault]], which is the act of creating reasonable fear or apprehension of such contact.

Battery is a specific [[common law]] offense, although the term is used more generally to refer to any unlawful offensive physical contact with another person. Battery is defined by American common law as "any unlawful and/or unwanted touching of the person of another by the aggressor, or by a substance put in motion by them". In more severe cases, and for all types in some jurisdictions, it is chiefly defined by [[Statute|statutory wording]]. Assessment of the severity of a battery is determined by local law.{{Criminal law}}

== Generally ==
Specific rules regarding battery vary among different jurisdictions, but some elements remain constant across jurisdictions. Battery generally requires that:

# an offensive touch or contact is made upon the victim, instigated by the actor; and
# the actor intends or knows that their action will cause the offensive touching.

Under the US [[Model Penal Code]] and in some jurisdictions, there is battery when the actor acts recklessly without specific intent of causing an offensive contact. Battery is typically classified as either simple or aggravated. Although battery typically occurs in the context of [[physical altercation]]s, it may also occur under other circumstances, such as in medical cases where a doctor performs a non-consented medical procedure.

== Specific countries ==
=== Canada ===

Battery is not defined in the Canadian ''[[Criminal Code]]''. Instead, the Code has an offense of assault, and assault causing bodily harm.

=== England and Wales ===
Battery is a [[common law]] offence within England and Wales.

As with the majority of offences in the UK, it has two elements:
* [[Actus reus]]: The defendant unlawfully touched or applied force to the victim
* [[Mens rea]]: The defendant [[Intention (criminal law)|intended]] or was [[Recklessness (law)|reckless]] as to the unlawful touch or application of force

This offence is a crime against [[autonomy]], with more violent crimes such as [[Assault occasioning actual bodily harm|ABH]] and [[Grievous bodily harm|GBH]] being statutory offences under the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]].

As such, even the slightest of touches can amount to an unlawful application of force.<ref>''R v Afolabi'' [2017] EWHC 2960</ref> However, it is assumed that everyday encounters (such as making contact with others on public transportation) are consented to and not punishable.<ref>''Collins v Wilcock'' [1984] 3 ALL ER 374 (QBD)</ref>

Much confusion can come between the terms "assault" and "battery". In everyday use the term assault may be used to describe a physical attack, which is indeed a battery. An assault is causing someone to apprehend that they will be the victim of a battery. This issue is so prevalent that the crime of [[sexual assault]]<ref>{{cite legislation UK |type=act |year=2003 |chapter=42 |section=3 |act=Sexual Offences Act 2003 |access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> would be better labelled a sexual battery. This confusion stems from the fact that both assault and battery can be referred to as common assault. In practice, if charged with such an offence, the wording will read "assault by beating", but this means the same as "battery".

There is no separate offence for a battery relating to [[domestic violence]]; however, the introduction of the crime of "controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship" in section 76 of the [[Serious Crime Act 2015]]<ref>{{cite legislation UK |type=act |year=2015 |chapter=9 |section=76 |act=Serious Crime Act 2015}}</ref> has given rise to new sentencing guidelines<ref>{{cite web|title=Overarching Principles: Domestic Abuse|url=https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/6.4143_SC_Domestic_Abuse_Paper_WEB.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009053051/https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/6.4143_SC_Domestic_Abuse_Paper_WEB.pdf|archive-date=October 9, 2018|website=Sentencing Council}}</ref> that take into account significant aggravating factors such as [[abuse of trust]], resulting in potentially longer sentences for acts of battery within the context of domestic violence.

==== Whether it is a statutory offence ====

In ''DPP v Taylor, DPP v Little'',<ref>''DPP v Taylor, DPP v Little'' [1992] 1 QB 645, 95 Cr App R 28</ref> it was held that battery is a [[statutory offence]], contrary to section 39 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]], although it provides no definition. The court compared the construction of the offence to the treatment of [[buggery]] under section 61 of the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]], which is intended by Parliament to have been abolished when that section was repealed by the [[Sexual Offences Act 1956]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK |type=act |year=1988 |chapter=33 |act=Criminal Justice Act 1988 |section=39 |mode=cs1}}</ref> This decision was contradicted in ''Haystead v DPP'' where the [[Divisional Court (England and Wales)|Divisional Court]] expressed the ''[[obiter]]'' opinion that battery remains a common law offence.<ref>{{cite BAILII
|litigants    = Haystead v Chief Constable of Derbyshire
|court        = EWHC
|division     = QB
|year         = 2000
|num          = 181
|date         = 12 May 2000
|courtname    = auto
|juris        = England and Wales
|pinpoint     = 4
}}. "Although the charge referred to section 39, in truth, common assault by beating remains a common law offence."</ref>

Therefore, whilst it may be a better view that battery and assault have statutory penalties, rather than being statutory offences, it is still the case that until review by a higher court, ''DPP v Little'' is the preferred authority.<ref>{{cite book |last=Smith & Hogan |title=Criminal Law |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=584}}</ref>

==== Mode of trial and sentence ====

In England and Wales, battery is a [[summary offence]] under section 39 of the [[Criminal Justice Act 1988]]. However, by virtue of section 40, it can be tried on [[indictment]] where another [[indictable offence]] is also charged which is founded on the same facts or together with which it forms part of a series of offences of similar character. Where it is tried on [[indictment]] a [[Crown Court]] has no greater powers of sentencing than a magistrates' court would, unless the battery itself constitutes [[actual bodily harm]] or greater.

It is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding [[Standard scale#United Kingdom|level 5 on the standard scale]], or both.

==== Defences ====

There are numerous defences to a charge of assault, namely<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Defences, mitigation and criminal responsibility |title=JSP 830 – Manual of service law |chapter-url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a82f31ced915d74e3404623/20170523-Chapter_12-Defences_Mitigation_Criminal_responsibility-AL42-v1.pdf |via=GOV.UK}}</ref>

* Intoxication due to drugs/alcohol - voluntary or involuntary (does not apply to offences which may be committed recklessly, intentionally or with negligence i.e. assault/battery)
* [[Self-defense|Defence of self or others]]
* [[Prevention of Crime Act 1953|Prevention of crime]]
* [[Mistake (criminal law)|Mistake]]
* [[Duress in English law|Duress]]
* [[Necessity (criminal law)|Necessity]]
* [[Insanity defense|Insanity]]
* [[Automatism (law)|Automatism]]
* [[Provocation (law)|Provocation]]
* [[Alibi]]
* [[Diminished responsibility in English law|Diminished responsibility]]
* Consent (does not apply when the assault/battery results in [[actual bodily harm|ABH]] or greater)
* [[Superior orders]]
* [[Chastisement|Reasonable chastisement]] of a child
* [[Medical procedure|Medical]] procedure
* Sporting activities
* [[Arrest]] by [[Constable]]
* [[Citizen's arrest|Arrest]] by citizen

For provocation, see [[Tuberville v Savage]].

=== Russia ===
There is an offence which could be (loosely) described as battery in Russia. Article 116<ref>{{cite web|title=ПРЕСТУПЛЕНИЯ ПРОТИВ ЖИЗНИ И ЗДОРОВЬЯ - Уголовный кодекс РФ (УК РФ) от 13 June 1996 N 63-ФЗ \ Консультант Плюс|trans-title=Crimes Against Life and Health - The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Criminal Code) of 13 June 1996 N 63-ФЗ Consultant Plus|url=http://www.consultant.ru/popular/ukrf/10_24.html#p1236|access-date=2013-07-01|publisher=Consultant.ru|language=ru|archive-date=December 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213170533/http://www.consultant.ru/popular/ukrf/10_24.html#p1236|url-status=live}}</ref> of the [[Russian Criminal Code]] provides that battery or similar violent actions which cause pain are an offence.

=== Scotland ===
There is no distinct offence of battery in [[Scotland]]. The offence of [[Assault#Scotland|assault]] includes acts that could be described as battery.

=== United States ===

In the United States, '''criminal battery''', or simple battery, is the use of [[Force (law)|force]] against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact, including sexual contact.<ref>''[[Black's Law Dictionary]]'', Garner, p. 162</ref> At [[common law]], simple battery is a [[misdemeanor]]. The [[prosecutor]] must prove all three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

# an unlawful application of force
# to the person of another
# resulting in either bodily injury or offensive touching.

The common-law elements serve as a basic template, but individual jurisdictions may alter them, and they may vary slightly from state to state.{{citationneeded|date=August 2022}}

Under modern statutory schemes, battery is often divided into grades that determine the severity of punishment. For example:
* '''Simple battery''' may include ''any'' form of non-consensual harmful or insulting contact, regardless of the injury caused. Criminal battery requires ''intent'' to inflict an injury on another.
* '''Sexual battery''' may be defined as non-consensual touching of the intimate parts of another. At least in Florida, "Sexual battery means oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object": See section 794.011.<ref>{{cite web |title=794.011 Sexual Battery Unspecified |url=http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/QualifyingOffenses.jsp#1130 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216030020/http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/offender/QualifyingOffenses.jsp |archive-date=February 16, 2007 |access-date=4 March 2015 |website=offender.fdle.state.fl.us/ |publisher=Florida Department of Law Enforcement}}</ref>
* '''Family-violence battery''' may be limited in its scope between persons within a certain degree of relationship: statutes for this offense have been enacted in response to increasing awareness of the problem of [[domestic violence]].
* '''Aggravated battery'''{{anchor|US aggravated battery}} generally is seen as a serious offense of [[felony]] grade. Aggravated battery charges may occur when a battery causes serious [[bodily injury]] or permanent disfigurement. As a successor to the common law crime of [[Mayhem (crime)|mayhem]], this is sometimes subsumed in the definition of [[assault]]. In Florida, aggravated battery is the ''intentional'' infliction of great bodily harm and is a second-degree felony,<ref>{{cite web |title=Florida Statute on Aggravated Battery |url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799%2F0784%2FSections%2F0784.045.html |publisher=Florida Legislature |access-date=December 4, 2011 |archive-date=December 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211195219/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799%2F0784%2FSections%2F0784.045.html |url-status=live }}</ref> whereas battery that ''unintentionally'' causes great bodily harm is considered a third-degree [[felony]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Florida Statute on Felony Battery |url=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799%2F0784%2FSections%2F0784.041.html |publisher=Florida Legislature |access-date=December 6, 2016 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220111214/http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0700-0799%2F0784%2FSections%2F0784.041.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Kansas ====

In the state of [[Kansas]], battery is defined as follows:<ref>{{cite web |title=Kansas Statutes, Sec. 21-5413. Battery; aggravated battery; battery against certain persons; aggravated battery against certain persons |url=http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/statute/021_000_0000_chapter/021_054_0000_article/021_054_0013_section/021_054_0013_k/ |year=2017 |website=Kansas Legislature |access-date=15 March 2018 |archive-date=September 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924041141/http://kslegislature.org/li/b2017_18/statute/021_000_0000_chapter/021_054_0000_article/021_054_0013_section/021_054_0013_k/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

:Battery.
:(a) Battery is:
:(1) Knowingly or recklessly causing bodily harm to another person; or
:(2) knowingly causing physical contact with another person when done in a rude, insulting, or angry manner.

==== Louisiana ====

The law on battery in [[Louisiana]] reads:<ref>{{cite web |title=Subpart B. Assault and Battery (with Related Offenses) |url=http://legis.la.gov/lss/lss.asp?doc=78437 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130903065224/http://legis.la.gov/lss/lss.asp?doc=78437 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 3, 2013 |website=legis.la.gov |publisher=Louisiana State Legislature |access-date=4 March 2015 }}</ref>

:§&nbsp;33.  Battery defined:
:Battery is the intentional use of force or violence upon the person of another; or the intentional administration of a poison or other noxious liquid or substance to another.

== Jurisdictional differences ==

In some jurisdictions, battery has recently been constructed to include directing bodily secretions (i.e., [[spitting]]) at another person without their permission. Some of those jurisdictions automatically elevate such a battery to the charge of aggravated battery. In some jurisdictions, the charge of criminal battery also requires evidence of a mental state (''[[mens rea]]''). The terminology used to refer to a particular offense can also vary by jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions, such as [[New York (state)|New York]], refer to what, under the common-law, would-be battery as assault, and then use another term for the crime that would have been assault, such as [[menacing]].

== Distinction between battery and assault ==

A typical [[Actus reus|overt behavior]] of an assault is Person A chasing Person B and swinging a fist toward their head. That for battery is A striking B.

Battery requires:
* a volitional act (that is the defendant was acting voluntarily), that
* results in physical (or in the US, "harmful or offensive") contact with another person, and
* is committed for the purpose of causing that contact, or, in the US, under circumstances that render such contact substantially certain to occur or with a reckless disregard as to whether such contact will result, or in England and Wales, reckless that it might occur (meaning that the defendant foresaw the risk of that contact and carried on unreasonably to take that risk).

Assault, where rooted on [[English law]], the act of intentionally causing a person to apprehend physical contact with their person.  Elsewhere it is often similarly worded as the threat of violence to a person while aggravated assault is the threat with the clear and present ability and willingness to carry it out.  Aggravated battery is, typically, offensive touching without a tool or weapon with attempt to harm or restrain.

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|battery}}
* [[Assault (tort)]]
* [[Assault occasioning actual bodily harm]]
* [[Battery (tort)]]
* {{wiktionary-inline|beat up}}
* [[Non-fatal offences against the person in English law]]
* [[Right of self-defense]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{English criminal law navbox}}
{{Types of crime}}

[[Category:Common law offences in England and Wales]]
[[Category:Crimes]]
[[Category:Criminology]]
[[Category:Offences against the person]]
[[Category:Violence]]