Domestic Violence and the Standard a person is held too.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The Reasonable person standard.

I was asked by a friend of mine to examine and explain what constitutes Domestic Violence when no physical injury has occurred.

Unfortunately, that answer is as not so simple, but I will try to shed some light.

In Tennessee, to be convicted of assault without injury occurring then the Defendant must, " Intentionally or knowingly cause[s] another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury; or

 Intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another and a reasonable person would regard the contact as extremely offensive or provocative."  T.C.A. 39-13-101  Even though this is vague, a Reasonable Person does have a definition. 

Still confused?  Basically a reasonable person is what a normal person in the same situation would have done or thought.  For example, would a reasonable person think someone is trying to assault them if they were giving them a hug and that person was a close friend?  No, a reasonable/ normal person would not think that.  So, in a perfect normal world, that would be unreasonable.  But this is not a perfect, normal world, and people have fears and take actions differently. So, sometimes that is taken into account.  Does the "friend" know about these fears? That can potentially change the outcome of this case.

Now, Mississippi has a different interpretation of what constitutes an assault.  It states, "attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm."  MS Code Annotated. 97-3-7.  This definition is more focused on what that Defendant did. Also, it seems to take away the reasonable test.  For example, if two friends were having a nice chat and one friend decides to make a playful but potentially menacing stance towards the other, then this could be assault.  Would it be reasonable within the context, probable not, but none-the-less it could be charged as assault.  The law on its face does not look at whether it was reasonable for the victim to think what he/she thought.

This is why prosecutors and police have discretion in these matters.  But, once a matter is charged and the prosecution has started that is where Defense attorneys have a hard time.  Two levels though the charge was reasonable, so we have to show unreasonableness or present the context.