{"id":373930,"date":"2018-06-29T12:35:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T17:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/massachusetts-law\/massachusetts-assault-and-battery-laws.html"},"modified":"2018-07-02T14:21:49","modified_gmt":"2018-07-02T19:21:49","slug":"massachusetts-assault-and-battery-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/massachusetts-law\/massachusetts-assault-and-battery-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts Assault and Battery Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Massachusetts Assault and Battery Laws<\/h1>\n
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Each state usually has its own definition of assault and battery<\/a>. Generally, however, assault involves threats or attempts to physically hurt someone while battery involves actual contact with the person. In Massachusetts, there are multiple statutes that address assault and battery, which are based on a variety of circumstances that surround the offense. For example, there is a specific statute that addresses assault and battery to collect a loan<\/a>. Violation of this statute is punishable by three to five years in state prison or up to two-and-a-half years in jail for a first offense, and five to ten years in state prison for any subsequent offenses.<\/p>\r\n

Assault Versus Assault and Battery<\/h2>\r\n

It’s first important to understand that Massachusetts’ laws distinguish between "assault" and "assault and battery." According to the Massachusetts Criminal Model Jury Instruction 6.120<\/a> [PDF] and Instruction 6.140<\/a> [PDF], these terms are defined as follows:<\/p>\r\n