is there a difference: tort battery and criminal battery? Forum

[dudnaito]

I didn't have enough space to write, but in dual intent jurisdictions where you need both the intent to make contact without consent AND intention to make harmful/offensive contact, is there a substantive difference between that and criminal battery?

I haven't studied criminal law yet, so i'm asking.

[Wavelet]

It depends on what mens rea elements attach to the elements of criminal battery. If you need to 1) act with the purpose of making harmful/offensive contact or knowledge that your act will cause harmful/offensive contact and 2) have knowledge that the contact is not consensual, then they are the same element-wise. But I don't think it's far-fetched to imagine a battery crime where acting recklessly with respect to causing harmful/offensive contact (rather than acting with purpose or knowledge) suffices.

But even if they are the same element-wise, the burden of proof for proving intent (i.e., purpose/knowledge) is much higher for a crime than a tort.