The law of assault and battery in Massachusetts is set out in Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13A. As with the crime of assault, assault and battery takes on two forms. There is intentional assault and battery and there is reckless assault and battery.

An intentional assault and battery requires the district attorney to prove four things beyond a reasonable doubt. These elements are as follows:

1. That you committed a touching, no matter how slight.
2. That you committed this touching intentionally. This element can be inferred by the your conduct.
3. That the touching was harmful or offensive. Massachusetts law states that a harmful touching is a touching that is physically or potentially physically harmful. An offensive touching on the other hand it one that amounts to an affront to a person's integrity.
4. That the touching was committed without justification or excuse. An example of justification is where people engage in contact sports or when someone submits to an examination by a doctor. An example of excuse is when you are riding in a subway car and the car rapidly decelerates causing you to bump into some.

Self-defense, necessity, consent and accident are just some of the defenses to charges of assault and battery.

Reckless Assault and Battery

This is the second and less common form of assault and battery. In order for you to be convicted of this type of assault and battery Massachusetts law requires the prosecution to prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. That you engaged in actions that caused physical harm or bodily injury to someone. This is proved by showing that you interfered with someone's health or comfort. The injury does not have to be permanent.
2. That your actions amounted to wanton and reckless conduct. To satisfy this element the prosecutor must establish that your actions went beyond mere negligence and amounted to recklessness. Your conduct is considered reckless if you knew or should have known that the conduct in which you engaged would likely have caused substantial harm to someone but you ran the risk rather than modify such conduct.

It is reckless conduct if a reasonable person, under the circumstances as they were known to the defendant, would have recognized that such actions were so dangerous that substantial injury would very likely result.

The crime of assault and battery in Massachusetts carries with it a maximum 2½ year jail sentence. Thus, this crime is prosecuted in the district courts.

To learn more about the crime of assault and battery in Massachusetts, or if you have been charged with a criminal offense, call our office at 617-263-6800 or contact us online.