If a woman slaps a man her hardest, can he punch her his hardest?

Question

and not get charged with assault?

and battery.

no personal attacks please...its a question.

katrine: there is no "her", its just a question.

Answer 1

First distinguish assault from battery. Under the common law definitions, assault is an intentional act creating the apprehension of harmful or offensive contact, while battery was the actual (completed) harmful or offensive contact. The definitions vary by state, but the difference is important.

What you're talking about appears to be a potential self-defense argument. Again the the definitions vary by state, but the common law standard works as follows.

Self-defense is a justification to intentional actions, like battery, where the defender acts to prevent the attacker from harming them. So, if someone moves to punch you, and you punch them first to stop them, that's self-defense.

Self defense requires an appropriate and comparable level of force, and must be timely. So, if you punch someone after they've punched you, in retribution, that's generally not self-defense. Also, if you use a level of force that is much harder than necessary to stop the attacker, that would also not be self defense. So, given two people of roughly equal strength, if the attacker moved to punch the defender, and the defender shot the attacker with a gun, that's excessive force.

So, in your example, there are two questions. One, is the man punching to prevent being the woman from hitting him, or is he attacking back in retribution? Two, assuming preventative action, is the level of force appropriate and reasonable to stop the impending attack, or is it excessive?

Gender doesn't matter, just the relative level of force necessary to preempt or stop the impending attack. So, if in your example, the woman was much stronger than the man, and the man's punch occurred before the woman's slap and was made to prevent the woman's slap, and the force used by the man was reasonable and necessary to prevent the woman's attack -- assuming all that, self defense would apply. But if it was retributive, or using excessive force, again gender doesn't matter and self-defense would not apply.

Answer 2

no one can hit anyone with out getting assault charges. no matter who hits who there is jail time. what you should be asking is if you can hit a woman and the answer is no u pusswa. a real man can take the hit. that doesnt mean it doesnt hurt or u have to play it off like it doesnt but shows strength and class by the amount of self control you have.

Answer 3

Hell No! First off the man is probably doing something really childish to provoke a woman to slap him... And if a man is going to swing back at a woman; he is not a man but a Pussy!

Answer 4

Ha! Try to get a jury to think of that as self defense instead of physical abuse.

Don't go punching girls... unless they're giving you a hard beating :S

Answer 5

The fact that you're premeditating it on Yahoo answers could give her a fair legal argument against you I think. And the answer to the first question is no.

Answer 6

Sure, he'd be charged with Domestic Violence if they are in a relationship instead of Assault or Battery.

No personal attacks-ha,ha, sure...- personally, I think you are a cheating, wife-beating chauvinist pig...but that is just my opinion.

Answer 7

NO.
Short of being threatened with DEADLY force, there is no acceptable reason for a man to strike a woman.

Answer 8

a man that hits a woman is flat out a B*TCH!

Answer 9

Yes, but you'll probably both go to jail.

Answer 10

I think "he" could get charged. Guys shouldn't hit girls anyway.