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 Assault

This page contains directions for (1) common assault and (2) assault with intent to resist arrest

Common Assault (1)

Any act by which a person whether intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend immediate violence is an assault.

Any touching, hitting or punching without consent is an assault by beating

So, the key question for you to answer in relation to Count *, having regard to all the evidence and the directions which I give you, is this

Are you sure that D**? 

If the answer is “yes”, the defendant is guilty of Count *.  If the answer is “no”, he is not guilty of Count *.

Assault with intent to resist (2)

There are two parts of this offence

1.         Assaulted.   

An assault is any act by which a person whether intentionally or recklessly causes another to apprehend  immediate violence.

**Any pushing or punching without consent is an assault.

2.                     With intent to resist or prevent lawful apprehension or detainer.

Lawful apprehension or detainer in this case means arresting **** and putting handcuffs on him.  You can infer someone’s intent by looking at all the circumstances.

In this case, it is not disputed that PC ***** was acting lawfully.  In the circumstances he was entitled to arrest and handcuff ****.  It is also not disputed that *** ran away because he was seeking to avoid arrest.   So you may not have to spend too much time thinking about the second part of Count *.

So, the key questions for you to answer in relation to Count *, having regard to all the evidence and the directions which I give you are

“Are you sure that D** assaulted PC **?

“Are you sure that at that time he intended to resist or prevent his arrest?”  

If the answer to both questions is “yes”, D** is guilty of Count *.  If the answer to either question is “no”, he is not guilty of Count *.

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