The definition of assault and battery in Las Vegas, Nevada (NRS 200.471, NRS 200.481)

Assault and battery are different criminal offenses. Assault means intentionally making another person feel that they’re about to be physically harmed. Battery is intentionally harming someone physically.

To prove that a Nevada assault crime occurred, the prosecution must show that:

the suspect had intent to commit the assault, and
that the alleged victim was aware of the assault while it was happening

To prove that a Nevada battery crime occurred, the prosecution must show that:

the suspect had intent to commit the battery, and
that the suspect used unlawful force on someone else’s body

These key elements of unlawful force, intent and awareness are discussed in detail just below. Notice that an assault or battery does not need to result in physical injuries for someone to be convicted of it.

a) Unlawful force on someone’s body

One way that assault and battery are different under Nevada law is that assault doesn’t require physical contact, and battery does. For example,

John is behaving disruptively at a Reno casino, so Sam the security guard asks John to leave. Offended, John holds up his fist to strike Sam. Sam ducks.

In this case, the Reno prosecutor might argue that John committed an assault on Sam. This is because John intentionally made Sam believe he was in harm’s way and was about to be physically hurt. Since John didn’t make physical contact with Sam, however, John did not a commit battery crime at this Reno casino.

Although most batteries arise out of physical brawls, batteries can also include situations where the physical contact is less direct. For example,

John sees Sam sipping a beer at a Carson City NV pool hall, and John slips a sleeping pill into Sam’s beer.

Here, John may not have hit or thrown something at Sam, but he still used unlawful force, in the form of the sleeping pill, on Sam. Therefore, the prosecution might argue that John committed a battery crime in Carson City.

Furthermore, under Nevada law an action doesn't necessarily need to be violent in nature to qualify as a battery crime. For example,

John is sitting in a Mesquite NV nightclub when he grabs his cocktail waitress by the arm. After she screams, he immediately lets go of her, and there are no bruises or marks on her arm.

In this case, the Mesquite prosecutor might argue that John committed battery on the waitress even though she wasn’t hurt by the incident. The fact he unlawfully touched her is technically enough for her to press charges. In reality, though, trivial cases like these probably wouldn’t be prosecuted.

In some situations, assaults can be accomplished with words rather than actions. For example,

John has left the men’s room in a Boulder City restaurant when he sees that his seat at the bar has been taken by Sam. John goes to Sam, stares at him meanly and says, "Listen up, jerk. If you don’t get out of that seat in one second, you can be damned sure that you’ll be limping out of here in two!" Sam immediately finds another seat.

In this case, the prosecution might argue that John committed an assault against Sam in Boulder City. This is because his "fighting words" put Sam in reasonable apprehension of being immediately harmed. In reality, though, it’s rare for Clark County to prosecute assault cases involving only verbal threats. Obviously, verbal threats can never constitute a Nevada battery offense because there’s no physical contact.

b) Intent

In Nevada, both assault and battery are "intent crimes." However, that doesn’t mean you have to intend to harm someone to commit an assault or battery:

If you’re charged with assault, the prosecution has to prove to the court that you intended to scare someone into thinking that they were in immediate physical harm. For example,

John is in line at a dance club in Laughlin, and the bouncer is giving him trouble about getting in. Frustrated, John assumes a karate stance and yells at the bouncer, "Let me in right now or you’ll be sorry!"

In this case, the prosecution might argue that John committed an assault crime against the Laughlin bouncer. This is because he intended to scare the bouncer with the threat of immediate physical force.

Even if John had no intention of actually hitting the bouncer, it might still qualify as an assault if the bouncer reasonably believed that John would follow through with his threat. To commit an assault crime in Nevada, you don’t have to mean to harm someone; you just have to intend to make someone think you’re about to harm them.

Like assault, battery requires intent. If you’re charged with battery, the prosecution will have to prove to the court that you intended to use unlawful force on someone else’s body. For example,

John is at a Las Vegas bar when he throws a beer bottle into a group of people hogging the jukebox. The beer bottle hits Sam on the head.

In this case, the Clark County D.A. might argue that John committed a Las Vegas battery crime on Sam because John’s intentional action of throwing the can harmed Sam. The fact John didn’t intend to hit Sam in particular may not help John’s case. That John purposefully acted in a way that was likely to physically hurt someone may be sufficient to prove battery.

c) Awareness

Another difference between assault and battery under Nevada law has to do with the level of awareness required by the alleged victim. If you’re charged with assault, the prosecution has to prove that the person allegedly assaulted was aware they were being assaulted at the time. For example,

John finds Sam in a Summerlin bar sleeping at the counter. To impress his friends, John pretends to whip Sam with a belt, missing Sam’s body by barely an inch. Sam remains asleep.

In this case, John did not commit a Nevada assault offense because Sam, being asleep, had no awareness of John’s actions. Even if someone told Sam afterwards that John whipped his belt at him, Sam still couldn’t press charges because he wasn’t aware of the assault at the time it was happening.

Had Sam suddenly awoken when John’s belt was flying towards him, then the Las Vegas prosecutor might argue that John committed assault because Sam would have been in reasonable apprehension of being hurt at any moment.

If you’re charged with battery, on the other hand, the prosecution does not have to prove that the person allegedly battered was aware they were being battered. For example,

John finds Sam in a Green Valley bar dead drunk on the counter. To impress his friends, John pours Sam’s beer on Sam’s head. Being dead drunk, Sam doesn’t notice. Sam wakes up hours later completely dry.

In this case, the prosecution might argue that John committed a Nevada battery crime because he used unlawful force against Sam by pouring the beer on his head. That Sam was completely unaware of what happened is not really a defense. This is why it’s possible to be convicted of battery on babies, sleeping people and people in comas despite their lack of awareness of what’s happening.

To schedule a free consultation with our Las Vegas assault and battery attorneys, call us anytime at 702-DEFENSE (702-333-3673).

To learn about possible defenses to Assault and Battery in Nevada, click here.

To learn about possible penalties for Assault and Battery in Nevada, click here.

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