Xequecal wrote:
Perception is exactly how assault charges work. If a "reasonable person" would interpret the conduct as threatening then it's assault. Your intent is irrelevant. That's also why its so easy to accuse people of stuff like sexual harassment, because if you believe you're being sexually harassed, you pretty much are.
No, this is not how assault charges work at all. Who told you this? An Assault is an attempt to cause physical harm; you have to actually be attempting to do so.
The confusion may arise if you're doing something like pretending to get ready to punch someone, but then don't. Aside from the fact that this is a threat and that usually is a crime in itself, the reason it is assault is not that the victim perceived it as such; it's that you actually began an attempt to cause physical harm and thereby assaulted the person. Since assault is the crime of attempting physical harm (whether or not it includes actually causing it; some states dispense with battery and put that under assault as well) the fact that you began the attempt is what makes it illegal, not the victim's perception. This is because it is a criminal case, not a civil one, and the court would much prefer to look at actions which can be testified to directly as opposed to your intent or the victim's perception which are solely a matter of the word of each.
In fact, a statute that made it dependent on victim perception would be a very dangerous violation of the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt, because victim perception is highly doubtable.
Sexual harassment does work based on the reasonable person standard, but you are making the common mistake of confusing the victim's perception with that of a reasonable person. It does not matter that the victim felt harrassed; what matters is if they were
reasonable in doing so. People frequently believe that what matters is the perception of the victim in these cases, when what really matters is the perception of a reasonable person.
If that were not the case, every single sexual harrassment complaint would always be upheld.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
