What is Assault and Battery in Oklahoma?

We hear the term “assault and battery” all the time on our favorite television police shows and assume we know what the term means.

But under the law in Stillwater, Oklahoma, the term may be something different than what we expect and know.

Understanding Assault and Battery

Assault and battery are really two separate crimes. They often occur together and therefore get lumped together in legal jargon.

In Oklahoma, an assault is defined as any intentional attempt or threat of force or violence against another person. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 641

An assault is the attempt itself or the placing of another person in fear of receiving an immediate battery. An irate husband opening his hand to slap his wife is the assault. The open hand heading toward her face is both an attempt and a threat of impending injury.

A battery is defined as the intentional and unlawful use of force or violence against another. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 642

Case law speaks to this crime as being an unlawful beating or the use of wrongful physical violence or constraint upon another without their consent. In this example, the contact between the man’s hand and his wife’s cheek is the battery.

Because they occur together so often, they are often charged together. In some ways, you can think about a battery as a completed assault. Every battery includes an assault, although an assault can be committed without a battery.

When charged together, the prosecution must prove every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt in order to secure a conviction. If any element goes unproven, there can be no conviction.

Here are the elements of a completed assault and battery in Oklahoma:

willful
unlawful
use of force or violence
upon another person.

OUJI-CR 4-26

Lawful Use of Force is Not Assault and Battery

There are situations in which one may use force or violence lawfully in Oklahoma. In those cases, the use of force or violence is not considered assault and battery. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 643

A police officer may use necessary force in the performance of his or her duties, such as when necessary during an arrest.

Someone about to be injured, someone coming to the aid or defense of another, or a victim of any trespass or other unlawful interference with real or personal property can legally use physical force as long as the level of force used is not more than needed to prevent the offense.

Parents, carriers of passengers, and other people may also be entitled to use a degree of lawful force in certain circumstances, such as when preventing a mentally ill person from committing an act dangerous to others.

A person may use non-deadly force if that force is necessary to protect another from imminent danger or in the defense of another — even where the danger to the other person may not have been real — provided the amount of force used is reasonable under the circumstances. OUJI-CR 8-4

A person may use deadly force when resisting any attempt by another to commit a felony upon or in any dwelling. Defense of habitation is a defense to assault and battery, even if the danger is not real as a reasonable person in those circumstances would have thought it to be real. OUJI-CR 8-14

Penalties

Simple assault, simple battery, and simple assault and battery are misdemeanor crimes in Oklahoma.

The penalty for simple assault is a jail term of up to 30 days, or a fine of up to $500, or both. Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 644

The penalty for simple assault and battery is a jail term of up to 90 days, or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

If you use an object capable of inflicting bodily injury or commit an assault and battery against police officers, the frail, or the elderly, simple assault becomes a much more serious crime. Consequently, these crimes carry higher penalties.

If you are facing charges of assault and battery in Oklahoma, you will need the assistance of an experienced Stillwater criminal defense lawyer. We can help.