OTHER OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON

Question 1

Battery

Answer 1

• Battery:
  (1) Unlawful application of force to the person of another
  (2) Resulting in bodily injury/offensive touching.
• Does not need to be intentional, & force does not need to be direct (ex. causing a dog to attack vic is battery).
• Battery: general intent (intend to do the act, not necessarily the consequences)
• Some jurisdictions recognize consent as a defense

Aggravated Battery
- Most jurisdictions treat the following as aggravated batteries & punish them as felonies:
(1) battery w/ a deadly weapon;
(2) battery resulting in serious bodily harm; and
(3) battery of a child, woman, or police officer.

Question 2

Assault

Answer 2

Assault is either:
(1) An attempt to commit a battery or
(2) Intentional creation (more than words) of reasonable apprehension in vic of imminent bodily harm.
- If there has been an actual touching, battery, not assault.

Aggravated Assault
Aggravated assault is an assault plus one of the following:
(1) use of a deadly/dangerous weapon, or
(2) w/ intent to rape, maim, or murder

Question 3

Tip

Answer 3

• Think of assault as two separate crimes: (1) attempted battery assault (specific intent, (D must intend to commit a battery), & (2) creation of reasonable apprehension assault. Be sure to consider both types of assault in answering a question, b/c one may apply even though other does not. Ex/ If D stops V at knifepoint & demands V’s money, D has committed creation of reasonable apprehension assault but not attempted battery assault. You would not want to decide that D is not guilty of assault b/c you thought only about attempted battery assault

Question 4

Tip

Answer 4

Be aware that some jurisdictions have eliminated
the term “battery” and define that offense as a type of assault. In those states, an “assault” may be either a battery, an attempted battery, or the intentional creation of a reasonable apprehension of imminent bodily harm

Question 5

FALSE IMPRISONMENT

Answer 5

• False imprisonment:
  (1) Unlawful confinement of a person
  (2) W/o person’s valid consent.
• M.P.C. requires that confinement “interferes substantially” w/ vic’s liberty.
• Not confinement to prevent a person from leaving, if alternative routes are available
• Consent is invalidated by coercion, threats, deception, or incapacity due to mental illness, substantial cognitive impairment, or youth.

Question 6

KIDNAPPING

Answer 6

• Modern statutes: Kidnapping is an unlawful confinement of a person that involves either
  (1) some movement of vic, or
  (2) concealment of vic in a “secret” place.

Aggravated Kidnapping
- Aggravated kidnapping includes kidnapping for ransom, kidnapping for purpose of committing other crimes, kidnapping for offensive purposes, & child stealing (consent of a child is irrelevant b/c a child is incapable of giving valid consent).

Question 7

RAPE

Answer 7

• CL: rape was unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man, not her husband, w/o her effective consent.
• Modern: Some state statutes have renamed “rape” as “sexual assault.”
• Slightest penetration is sufficient.

Absence of Marital Relationship
- Under CL & M.P.C., a husband cannot rape his wife, but most states today either reject this rule entirely reject it where parties are estranged/separated.

Question 8

Rape: Lack of Effective Consent

Answer 8

• Rape: Intercourse must be w/o effective consent.
• Lack of effective consent exists where:
  (1) Intercourse is accomplished by actual force
  (2) Intercourse is accomplished by threats of great & immediate bodily harm
  (3) Vic is incapable of consenting due to unconsciousness, intoxication, or mental condition; or
  (4) Vic is fraudulently caused to believe the act is not intercourse
• Consent due to other types of fraud (ex. perpetrator persuading vic that perpetrator is vic’s spouse/that they will get married) is effective

Question 9

STATUTORY RAPE

Answer 9

Statutory rape is carnal knowledge of a person under age of consent. Statutory rape is a strict liability crime, so it is not necessary to show lack of consent

Question 10

Mistake as to Age

Answer 10

• Will D’s reasonable mistake as to vic’s age prevent liability for statutory rape?
• Best answer is no, since statutory rape is a strict liability crime.
• A second best answer, to be used only if no alternative, is that a reasonable mistake as to age will prevent conviction if D reasonably believed vic was old enough to give effective consent.