Law School Discussion

how the hell do you prove intent to cause harm??  except for a few obvious scenarios, it seems like a very hard task.

intent to harm is not required.  intent to make 1)offensive or harmful 2)contact that causes the harm is required.

uncertainty arises when you try to determine what constitutes "offensive or harmful" contact.  this is where the whole "reasonable man" thing comes in to play and where annoying lawyers have room to argue.

looking back to vosburg, the court ruled that if the touching had occured on the playground it probably would not have been "unlawful" and putney wouldnt have been liable for battery.  in that situation, the touching wouldnt have been offensive, but in the classroom it was.  putney is liable because he intended to make contact, and that contact was offensive.  whether he intended the harm that resulted is irrelevant.

if you shake someone's hand at a reception and fracture some bones because of some pre-existing bone disease that you had no knowledge of, you wouldnt be liable for battery.  you had no intent to cause harm, and while you did intend to make that contact, it would not be considered an offensive touching by a reasonable person considering the circumstances.

if you want to brief, forget the retarded long form that law schools teach you and go with a condensed statement of the facts, the holding, and the rationale/rule.  (and dont do those stupid holdings that go something like "no, the lower court did not err by ____ where _____."  just get right to the substantive legal issue in question.)

i think everything else is worthlesss bs and a waste of your time.

causing "apprehension of such a contact" is an element of assault, not battery, right?  there actually has to be some kind of harmful contact for battery.

and what about vosburg v. putney where the court ruled that intent to act is enough even if there is no intent to harm?  if you slap someone in the face in a joking manner but end up breaking his/her nose, you can be held liable for battery simply because you intended to commit that act of slapping, even though you didnt intend to cause any harm.

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