Distinguish between assault and battery

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

One of the most common torts against the person is assault. An assault is the intentional placing of another in fear or apprehension of an immediate, offensive bodily contact. All of those elements must be present for an assault to exist. Thus, if the defendant pointed a gun at the plaintiff and threatened to shoot and the plaintiff believed the defendant would shoot, an assault would have taken place. If the plaintiff, however, thought that the defendant was joking when making the threat, there was not assault because there was no apprehension on the part of the plaintiff. Likewise, a threat to commit harm in a week is not an assault because there is no question of immediate bodily harm. A threat made with an unloaded gun, as long as the plaintiff does not know the defendant is incapable of carrying out the threat, however, is an assault. An assault is frequently, but not always, followed by a battery, which is an intentional, unwanted, offensive bodily contact. Punching someone in the nose is a battery, whereas accidentally bumping into someone on a crowded street is not. The term "bodily contact:" has been broadly interpreted to include such diverse situations as the defendant's using a projectile, such as a gun, to make physical contact with the plaintiff, and a defendant's pulling a chair out from under the plaintiff.