Assault

You may not pretend that you are going to cause harmful contact with another person. This is called assault because it puts a fear in the victim that they will experience bodily harm. In addition, you cannot strike them with an object. You may not even create an offensive bodily contact. For example, it is against the law to spit on someone or to pour your drink on another person. You may not be hurting them physically, but the contact is indisputedly offensive.

Furthermore, you may not cause an offensive contact with an object that is held or connected to another person. For example, you may not hit something out of another persons’ hands that they are holding. You may not knock their hat off of their head. You may not pull on their shirt that they are wearing. 

You may not verbally threaten an individual or their family, when you have the ability to carry out the threat at that time. Thus, you may not threaten to strike somebody when you are within their personal space. You may not threaten to hit somebody with a bat when you are holding a bat or have a bat nearby. However, an empty threat is not a crime, like if one were threaten to tase somebody when you don’t own a taser. 

Child Discipline

You may physically discipline your child, but the discipline must not be excessive, and it must not create any type of lasting physical harm. It is important to always err on the side of caution. When disciplining your children physically, do not use a weapon or instrument that will increase the strength of the contact or requisite pain.

Thus, how do we handle conflicts? The best way is to attempt to leave the situation. Give people time to cool down and then attempt to confront the situation again. Do not do actions based on your emotion at that time because the consequences can be severe. 

Self Defense

What do we do if people violate our rights? First, you may defend yourself. You may use the force necessary to stop the threat of violence and you may use the amount of force equal to what they are using. If they threaten great bodily harm or death, then you may even kill the other person to prevent your own great bodily harm or death. However, you may not exceed the level of their attack and you may not continue attacking them once they are debilitated. Thus, if somebody punches you, and you punch them back and knock them unconscious, you may not continue to strike them. You must be careful when using self defense, but you still have the right to protect you and your family. 

If you are a victim of violence, report the situation to the authorities immediately. Gather any evidence that may be available. Consider if there were witnesses and get their contact information. Take pictures of any bruising on your body, torn clothes etc. Keep items that may have blood or other evidence on them. If you have been the victim of violence or threats, The Lions Den, Attorneys at Law can help protect your legal rights.