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As a successor to the common law crime of 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, [14] whereas battery that unintentionally causes great bodily harm is considered a third-degree felony. [15]
Although there is an absence of a chapter or part with the aforementioned name, the code still does contain provisions for crimes such as murder, rape, and assault, among others, all crimes which are typically considered to be a crime against the person.
Battery is aggravated when using a weapon or dangerous object, when it results in disfigurement or serious physical injury. Assault and battery are classified as aggravated when directed towards a person with special status such as a law enforcement officer or elderly person. Assault becomes aggravated given the intention to murder or rape.
Felonies include the most serious crimes such as murder and treason. In addition to the trial that decides innocence or guilt, there is a separate trial (after one is convicted) that determines the punishment(s) for the criminal charges committed. [2]
Assault and battery is the combination of two violent crimes: assault (harm or the threat of harm) and battery (physical violence). This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault as threatened violence rather than actual violence.
As distinguished from battery, assault does not need to involve the 'unwanted physical contact; but is the anticipation of such contact'. [4] It only needs intent to make or threaten contact and the resulting apprehension. [5] At one point, the common law understanding of assault required more than words alone, it also required an overt act.
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[9] [10] The result is that in many of these jurisdictions, assault has taken on a definition that is more in line with the traditional definition of battery. The legal systems of civil law and Scots law have never distinguished assault from battery. Legal systems generally acknowledge that assaults can vary greatly in severity. [11]