Many people use the terms assault and battery interchangeably, e.g., first comes the assault and then sometimes the battery. Assault refers to the threat of violence, not the violence itself, while battery involves offensive physical contact or bodily harm.
Although many states distinguish between assault and battery, Maryland does not. As a result, threatening violence and actually committing a violent act are both considered assault under the state’s laws. Offensive physical contact is categorized as second-degree assault, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $5,000. If the assault involves a firearm or results in serious injury or death, it constitutes first-degree assault, which is punishable by 25 years in prison.
Criminal assault or civil assault?
Assault technically can be both a crime and a civil offense, or just a crime. For example, if someone was shot with a firearm and sustained a traumatic brain injury, the perpetrator could be charged with first-degree criminal assault and the victim could sue for personal injury damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering in civil court. However, if someone took a punch and suffered minor injuries, including a bruise, they could press criminal charges against the offender but probably wouldn’t be able to recover much (if anything) in terms of monetary damages if they brought a personal injury lawsuit.
Although many would assume that actual violence would be considered more serious than threatened violence, this is not necessarily the case in Maryland. Here are some intriguing (and maybe somewhat outlandish) cases involving assault in the state:
- Maryland Freshman Delegate Jeffrie E. Long Jr. is facing home invasion and first-degree felony assault charges alleging that he entered his aunt’s house in April 2023 without permission and threatened her with a pipe. Once inside the home, an agitated Long told his aunt to “keep my name off your mouth or I’ll put you six feet under.” According to court documents, Long’s aunt said she reported the incident because she “was in fear for her life and was afraid Long was going to kill her.” However, earlier this month, the charges were downgraded to second-degree assault and fourth-degree burglary.
- A Hartford County (MD) elementary teacher was ultimately cleared of a second-degree assault charge brought after a student allegedly bit him and he made a biting motion back to the student, but did not actually bite her. Although the incident was witnessed by several others who felt that the teacher’s action was inappropriate, the girl did not file a complaint, but later told another teacher that he bit her on the wrist. After being placed on administrative leave without pay, the teacher was eventually reinstated by the school system and the charges were expunged from his record. However, his attorney later said in a statement that the favorable outcome did not make up for the year [he] spent as a “pariah” due to the charges.
- In 2019, a Cecil County (MD) woman suffering from mental illness was convicted of 35 counts of resisting arrest, first and second-degree assault, and several other charges after she ran into a Cecil County roadway with a gun and a knife during a mental health crisis. She was taken to jail following a struggle, and while in her cell, stripped off her clothes, became combative, resisted being handcuffed, and yelled that she had hepatitis and AIDS while holding a syringe. An appeals court upheld most of the convictions because “they met the letter of the law,” but stated that the woman was “grossly overcharged and over prosecuted” and prosecutors “effectively criminalized her mental health crisis for no legitimate public safety purpose.”
- A Maryland man with a self-described “foot fetish” was charged with three counts of second-degree assault after he sprayed corn syrup on several women at multiple grocery stores over a period of several months, and at least one of the incidents was captured on store surveillance cameras. In each occurrence, the accused allegedly approached the women and, seemingly appearing to be helpful, told them something was on their pant leg. He then abruptly sprayed the substance on them, and then attempted to follow them around and out of the store. The substance was later determined to be a type of non-toxic solvent.
- When Sharon Herz got out of the shower and walked into her living room, her former boyfriend, Todd Lamb, was standing there and “scared the s*** out of her” – his words. Although Lamb committed three counts of actual battery upon Ms. Herz during the next three-and-a-half hours, it was the assault charged under Count Five that was considered the most severe. As the Court reasoned: “The threatened and imminent battery that Sharon Herz feared, but which fortunately never came to pass, was not the appellant’s shoving of her against a wall or his hand across her mouth or his arm about her neck and shoulder. It was the terrifying dread that in the next split-second, a bullet could implode into her skull.”
As you can see, Maryland has some rather bizarre laws, victims, and offenders. After all, you can get hit with assault in the first-degree for even threatening to touch someone – like, you’re screwing around with your buddy and he gets hurt, and now there are cops at your door. If you have found yourself in this unfortunate situation, I can help. At Drew Cochran, Attorney at Law, I will defend you on pretty much any criminal defense issue – whether the laws make sense or not. To learn more, call my offices in Annapolis or Ellicott City or fill out this contact form.
If you’re accused of breaking a rule you don’t understand or agree with, remember: Keep Calm – and Call Drew.
