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Assault - Coggle Diagram
Assault
READ V COKER (1853)
The plaintiff was a paper stainer who rented premises from the defendant, Mr. Coker.
The plaintiff fell behind on rent payments, so Mr. Coker employed another person, Mr. Holliwell, to recover the past due amount.
To pay the rent, the plaintiff proposed selling some of his fixtures to Mr. Holliwell as collateral, which was agreed to.
An agreement was then made where the plaintiff could continue using the fixtures in his work, and the defendant would pay the rent.
However, the defendant later disagreed with this agreement and tried to force the plaintiff out of the premises.
When the plaintiff refused to leave, the defendant and his workers came, rolled up their sleeves, and threatened to break the plaintiff's neck if he did not leave.
Fearing injury, the plaintiff left the premises and later brought a legal claim of assault against the defendant.
The court held that the situation constituted an assault, due to the defendant's actions and words.
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The judge asserted the defendant was guilty of assault, as there was a clear threat of violence showing an intention to assault, along with the capability to carry out the threat.
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DEFINITION
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Mere words alone do not constitute assault, but can indicate gestures or preparation that do
For assault to succeed, it does not require actual force, only a threat of violence that causes apprehension
The main purpose of the assault offense is to prevent people from trying to frighten or intimidate others
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CONDITIONAL THREAT
BIRBAL KHALIFA (1903)
The accused, Birbal Khalifa, objected to a policeman requesting his thumb print.
In response, Birbal produced a lathi (weapon) and stated he would break anyone's head if they asked for his thumb print.
The court held that this was a conditional threat, and did not constitute assault.