Domestic Assault and Battery

While working the Friday and Saturday midnight shifts as a police officer, the first thing I always did after signing on with dispatch was to go to the Mobil on the Run across the street from the police station to find out how the beer sales were that evening.  It never failed…if the beer sales were up, it was going to be a busy night.  If they were down, it was going to be a slow night.  Those busy nights would have me running from one house to another for domestic related arguments and assaults.

Domestic violence calls are some of the most volatile calls a police officer will respond to.  This is because tempers are already flaring when he gets in, and because a victim can turn into an aggressor at any time (or vice versa).  If, given the situation, the officers determine that a battery took place, the law says that they shall make an arrest.  Shall, in the law, means must.

Every state is different when it comes to defining assault and battery.  For example, in Massachusetts an assault is the act of placing another person in reasonable apprehension of the imminent use of force against him/her.  A battery, on the other hand, is reckless or intentional touching of another person, without that person’s consent, which causes physical harm.  Every battery, by its definition, also contains an assault, but they are two distinct charges.  In New Hampshire, however, an assault is a battery and vice versa.  To fully know your rights, you should ask your attorney what the law is in your own particular state.

A domestic related assault and battery occurs between two people who have, or had, either an intimate relationship or a familial relationship.  This list includes parents, siblings, boy/girlfriends, spouses, and even former boy/girlfriends.  If a battery takes place in any of these relationships, the law demands the police make an arrest.  In most states, the police do not need a warrant to make an arrest if the arrest happens within 12 hours of the battery.  This “12 hour” rule has been passed by the various legislatures to provide immediate protection to victims of domestic assault and battery.

As with most laws, the nuances can vary between different states.  As a defense attorney, I do my best to make sure that my clients completely understand the law as it applies to them.  It’s best to consult an attorney in order to fully understand the laws in your own state.