Massachusetts Assault and Battery (A&B) While the potential penalties are the same, assault does not require evidence that you actually made contact with the alleged victim, whereas an assault and battery does require some form of contact.
When a person intentionally causes harmful or offensive contact with another person, the act is battery. However, if the plaintiff expressly consented to such an act or gave implied consent by participating in a particular event or situation (e.g., playing sports with the defendant), they are not liable.
Section 13A. (a) Whoever commits an assault or an assault and battery upon another shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 21/2 years in a house of correction or by a fine of not more than $1,000.
You can ask the District Attorney to drop the charges against the defendant, but ultimately it is the prosecutor's decision. Due to the serious nature of domestic abuse, prosecutors usually will not drop the charges against a defendant solely at the request of the alleged victim.
Section 13A: Assault or assault and battery; punishment Section 13A. (a) Whoever commits an assault or an assault and battery upon another shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 21/2 years in a house of correction or by a fine of not more than $1,000.
Assault and Battery comes from Massachusetts General Laws chapter 265 section 13A(a), which states “Whoever commits an assault or an assault and battery upon another shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than 21/2 years in a house of correction or by a fine of not more than $1,000.
Assault refers to the wrong act of causing someone to reasonably fear imminent harm. This means that the fear must be something a reasonable person would foresee as threatening to them. Battery refers to the actual wrong act of physically harming someone.
In the United States, criminal battery, or simple battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact, including sexual contact. At common law, simple battery is a misdemeanor. The prosecutor must prove all three elements beyond a reasonable doubt: an unlawful application of force.