Criminal Jury Instructions for the District of Columbia
Fifth Edition (2014)
IV. OFFENSES
Instruction 4.100. ASSAULT

D.C. Official Code § 22-404 (2001)

A. ATTEMPTED-BATTERY ASSAULT

The elements of the offense of assault, each of which the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are that:

1. [Name of defendant], with force or violence, injured [or attempted or tried to injure] [name of complainant] [another person];

2. S/he intended to use force or violence against [name of complainant] [another person]; [and]

3. At the time, [name of defendant] had the apparent ability to injure [name of complainant] [a person][.][; and]

[4. That the defendant’s conduct was not justified by the use of reasonable parental discipline.]

B. INTENT-TO-FRIGHTEN ASSAULT

[The elements of assault, each of which the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are that:]

[Another way the government may prove an assault is by proving each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt, that:]

1. [Name of defendant] committed a threatening act that reasonably would create in another person a fear of immediate injury;

2. S/he intended to cause injury to or to create fear in [name of complainant] [another person]; [and]

3. At the time, [name of defendant] had the apparent ability to injure [name of complainant] [a person][.][; and]

[4. That the defendant’s conduct was not justified by the use of reasonable parental discipline.]

[The following definition applies to both Parts A and B.]

[In the case of either kind of assault,] Injury means any physical injury, however small, including a touching offensive to a person of reasonable sensibility.

[The following definition applies to Part B only.]

[The government must prove a threatening act; mere words are not sufficient. The government need not prove that the defendant intended to injure the complainant.]

[The following definitions apply to both Parts A and B.]

[To prove that the defendant had the apparent present ability to injure the complainant, the government need not prove the complainant actually experienced fear of injury. It is sufficient to prove that the defendant’s act would have created, in a person of reasonable sensibility, a fear of immediate bodily harm.]

[The parent of a minor child is justified in using a reasonable amount of force upon the child for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the child’s welfare, including the prevention or punishment of his/her misconduct. Thus, the parent may punish the child for wrongdoing and not be guilty of assault (1) if the punishment is inflicted out of a genuine effort to correct the child, and (2) if the punishment thus inflicted is not excessive in view of all the circumstances, including the child’s age, health, mental and emotional development, alleged misconduct on this and earlier occasions, the kind of punishment used, the nature and location of the injuries inflicted, and any other evidence that you deem relevant.

To be justified, the force must have been used for the purpose of exercising parental discipline and must be reasonable. The defendant is not required to prove that his/her conduct was a justifiable exercise of reasonable parental discipline. Rather, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s conduct was not so justified.]

C. NON-VIOLENT SEXUAL TOUCHING ASSAULT

The elements of a sexual touching assault, each of which the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, are that:

1. [Name of defendant] sexually touched [name of complainant] [another person];

2. S/he did so voluntarily, on purpose and not by mistake or accident; and[Name of complainant]

3. [The other person] did not consent to being touched by [name of defendant] in that manner.

Sexual touching is touching a part of another person’s body that would cause fear, shame, humiliation or mental anguish in a person of reasonable sensibility if done without consent. The government need not prove, however, that the complainant actually suffered any of those feelings [and it need not prove the complainant was aware of being touched].