HCBA Lawyer Magazine Vol. 28, No. 5 | Page 28

eXtenDing the BounDs of an assauLt Criminal law Section Chair: Justin Petredis - Law Offices of Justin Petredis, P.A. criminal defense attorneys need to be aware that bystanders to a crime A n “assault” is defined as “an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well- founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.” So an assault has three elements: (1) an intentional, unlawful threat 26 have a chance to become victims as well under the logic of williams. by word or act; (2) an apparent ability to carry out the threat; and (3) creation of a well-founded fear that violence is imminent. When considering the first element, the focus is on the perpetrator’s intent and “not the reaction of the person perceiving the word or act.” Benitez v. State, 901 So. 2d 935, 937 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); J.S. v. State, 207 So. 3d 903 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017). For example, in J.S. v. State, the Fourth District Court of Appeal overturned a delinquency adjudication, which was based on a burglary with assault, because the defendant’s act of pulling out a pellet gun, while he Continued on page 27 M AY - J U N E 2 0 1 8 | HCBA LAWYER