Battery is the unlawful application of force to the person of another resulting in either bodily injury or an offensive touching; simple battery is a misdemeanor

• need not be intentional (no intent required);
• aggregated (defined by statute) batteries are felonies:
• 1) a deadly weapon
• 2) seriously bodily injury is caused; or
• 3) victim is a child, woman, or police officer

In a majority of jurisdictions, it is either:

1) an attempt to commit a battery; or

2) the intentional creation--other than mere words--of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of victim of imminent bodily harm.

A minority of jurisdictions limit assault to an attempt to commit a battery; simple assault is a misdemeanor.

Consent--recognized as a defense in some jurisdictions--medical operation, reasonable injuries incurred in consensual athletic contests.

An unlawful attempt to commit a battery coupld with a present ability to succeed; lack of ability to succeed precludes liabiity under these statutes.

Assault (an attempt to commit a battery; or the intentional creation--other than mere words--of a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the victim of imminent bodily harm);

• 1) with a dangerous (deadly) weapon; 2) with intent to rape, maim, or murder.

At common law, the felony of mayhem required either dismemberment or disablement of a bodily part.

• Modern trend (statutes) abolish it as a separate offense and treat it instead as a form of aggravated battery; 
• a few states require a specific intent to maim or disfigure.

At common law, divided into three classifications:

• Justifiable homicides (those commanded or authorized by law);
• Excusable homicides (those for which there was a defense or crim liability); and
• Criminal homicides.

a. Murder - unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought;

b. Voluntary Manslaughter - a killing that would otherwise be murder but is distinguishable from murder by existence of adequate provocation--i.e., a killing in the heat of passion.

c. Involuntary Manslaughter: 2 types

1) Criminal Negligence (ith greater deviation from reasonable person std than required for civ liability)

2) "Unlawful Act" Manslaughter

a) Misdemeanor-Manslaughter Rule: A killing in the course of the commission of a misdemeanor (almost all courts would require the misdemeanor be malum in se)

b) Felonies Not Included in Felony Murder - if killing was caused during the commission of a felony but does not quaity as a felony murder case, the killing will be involuntary manslaughter.

• the death must be a foreseeable consequence of the felony.

Modern statutes often divide murder into degrees;

all murders are second degree murders unless the prosecution proves any of the following: would make it first degree.

• a) Deliberate (made in a cool and dispassionate manner) and Premeditated (D actually reflected on the idea, even if only for a brief moment) Killing
• b) First Degree Felony Murder: many states list specific felonies that may serve as the basis for felony murder.
• c) Others: some statutes make killings performed in certain ways first degree murder--by lying in wait, poison, or torture, etc.

If a killing is committed during the commission of one the statutory enumerated felonies, the killing is usually first degree murder w/o the prosecution needing to show that it was deliberate or premediated (relieves the prosecutory burden).

• most common felonies listed are: burglary, arson, rape, robbery, and kidnapping;
• Other felonies (inherently dangerous to human life) are often speifically added.

Malice can be express or implied.

• In the absence of facts excusing the homicide or reducing it to voluntary manslaughter malice aforethought exists if the D has any of the following states of mind:
• i) intent to kill (express malice);
• ii) intent to inflict great bodily injury;
• iii) Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life ("abandoned and malignant heart")
• iv) intent to commit a felony;