MCrim JI 17.1 Definition of Assault [For Use Where There Has Been No Battery]
(1)The defendant is charged with the crime of assault. To prove this charge, the prosecutor must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
(2)First, that the defendant either attempted to commit a battery on [name complainant] or did an act that would cause a reasonable person to fear or apprehend an immediate battery. A battery is a forceful, violent, or offensive touching of the person or something closely connected with the person of another.*
(3)Second, that the defendant intended either to commit a battery upon [name complainant] or to make [name complainant] reasonably fear an immediate battery. [An assault cannot happen by accident.]
(4)Third, that at the time, the defendant had the ability to commit a battery, appeared to have the ability, or thought [he / she] had the ability.
Use Note
* If the victim’s consent or the nature of the touching is at issue, use of M Crim JI 17.14, Definition of Force and Violence, or M Crim JI 17.15, Definition of Touching, is recommended.
History
M Crim JI 17.1 (formerly CJI2d 17.1) was CJI 17:6:01, 17:1:03; amended September, 1998, September, 2008.
Reference Guide
Statutes
MCL 750.81.
Case Law
People v Jones, 443 Mich 88, 504 NW2d 158 (1993); People v Joeseype Johnson, 407 Mich 196, 210, 284 NW2d 718 (1979); People v Sanford, 402 Mich 460, 479, 265 NW2d 1 (1978); People v Davis and People v Perez, 277 Mich App 676, 747 NW2d 555 (2008); People v Terry, 217 Mich App 660, 553 NW2d 23 (1996); People v Laster, 169 Mich App 768, 426 NW2d 806 (1988); People v Ng, 156 Mich App 779, 786, 402 NW2d 500 (1986); People v Etchison, 123 Mich App 448, 453, 333 NW2d 309 (1983); People v LeBlanc, 120 Mich App 343, 346, 327 NW2d 471 (1982); People v Boyd, 102 Mich App 112, 300 NW2d 760 (1980); People v Smith (On Rehearing), 89 Mich App 478, 280 NW2d 862 (1979), cert den sub nom Michigan v Smith, 452 US 914 (1981); People v Banks, 51 Mich App 685, 216 NW2d 461 (1974); People v Maxwell, 36 Mich App 127, 128, 193 NW2d 176 (1971); People v Patskan, 29 Mich App 354, 357, 185 NW2d 398 (1971), rev’d on other grounds, 387 Mich 701, 199 NW2d 458 (1972).