Understanding a Criminal Battery Charge

Understanding a Criminal Battery Charge Battery is any unlawful offensive physical contact with another person, with or without his or her consent. The contact does not have to be violent for the crime of battery to take place, it can be merely any offensive touching. Unlike the crime of assault, battery requires that actual contact is  made, while assault charges can be brought with only the threat of violence. Basic Elements of Battery There are three basic elements of  battery that are generally consistent among most jurisdictions in the U.S.: The defendant had offensive physical contact with the victim.The defendant is aware that their actions will result in offensive touching.There was no consent from the victim. Different Types of Battery The laws regarding battery vary from state to state, but many jurisdictions have different classifications or degrees of the crime of battery.   Simple Battery Simple battery generally includes all forms of contact that are non-consensual, harmful or insulting. This includes any contact that results in injury or non-injury to the victim. The battery is not criminal unless willful intent to inflict an injury or another unlawful act on the victim exists. For example, if a neighbor becomes angry at another neighbor and purposely throws a rock right at the neighbor resulting in injury and pain, then throwing the rock could result in criminal battery charges. However, if a neighbor is cutting their grass and a rock hits the blade and spins out and hits their neighbor causing injury and pain, then there is no willful intent and there would not be grounds for a charge of criminal battery. Sexual Battery   In some states, sexual battery is any non-consensual touching of the intimate parts of another person, but in other  states,  a sexual battery charge requires actual oral, anal, or vaginal penetration. Family-Violence Battery In an effort to cut down on  domestic violence, many states have passed  family-violence  battery laws, which require that cases of family violence be adjudicated whether the victim decides to press charges or not. Aggravated Battery Aggravated battery is when violence against another person results in serious bodily injury or disfigurement. In some states, aggravated battery can be charged only if the intent to do serious bodily harm can be proven. This includes a loss of a limb, burns resulting in permanent disfigurement, and the loss of sensory functions. Common Defense Strategies in Cases of Criminal Battery No Intent: Common strategies used in criminal battery cases include the most defense which is to prove that there was no intent to cause harm on the part of the defendant. For example, if a man rubbed up against a woman on a crowded subway in a way that the woman felt was sexual in nature, the defense could be that the man did not intend to rub up against the woman and only did so because he was pushed by the crowds. Consent: If consent can be proven, sometimes referred to as mutual combat defense, then the victim may be considered as being equally responsible for any injuries that resulted.   For example, if two men get into an argument in a bar and agree to take it outside to fight it out, then neither man can claim that their injuries were a result of criminal battery if they both agreed to participate in what could be viewed as a fair fight. There may be other criminal charges that apply, but probably not criminal battery. Self-Defense: If a defendant can prove that bodily harm inflicted on the victim was a result of the victim attempting to cause bodily harm to the defendant first and the defendant protected themselves  within what would be considered reasonable, but resulted in the victim being physically harmed, then it is likely that the defendant would be innocent of criminal battery. The key to this defense is that the self-defense was reasonable. For example, if two women were riding on a bus and one woman began harassing the other woman and then began hitting the woman in an effort to steal her purse, and the woman reacted by punching the attacking woman in the nose, causing her nose to break, then the woman that was first attacked used reasonable self-defense  measures and would likely not be found guilty of criminal battery.

The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration Woes

The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration Woes Marketing teams have it tough. You’re one of the few departments that are expected to have a pulse on what every other department in the company is up to. From sales to support you need to be plugged in to understand what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve. BUT, how are you supposed to master cross-department collaboration when your own marketing team is struggling to collaborate amongst themselves? Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone on your team, regardless of specialty, knew what was on tap and how they could contribute to each other’s success? Yes, it would. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not impossible. Here are the best, best practice tips for improving your marketing team’s collaboration. The Best Strategy to Cure Your Marketing Team Collaboration WoesWhy It’s So Hard for Marketing Teams to Collaborate Silos are a big problem for marketing teams. We’ve got Content Marketing, Public Relations, SEM, Social Media, Marketing Automation, the list goes on. And each of these specialties has their own sub-department, which makes collaboration even more challenging. If you’re a Marketing Manager, you’re painfully aware that these silios cause major problems. Poor collaboration is likely causing†¦ †¦ missed deadlines †¦ underperforming campaigns †¦ last minute fire drills †¦ and tension between your team members. However, there is hope. With a bit of bravery, leadership, and a solid strategy in place, you can overcome these silos and start collaborating better. How to Improve Your Marketing Team Collaboration It’s clear that  *a lot* of marketing teams struggle to stay on the same page. But what are you supposed to do about it? *A lot* of marketing teams struggle to stay on the same page. Heres how to fix it.Set Clear Goals Wait†¦ what? You’re probably a little confused since this is a post about marketing team collaboration, not one about KPIs. But hear me out on this one†¦ You’d be surprised how many marketing teams have conflicting goals and no idea how their individual KPIs fit within the company’s wider strategy. In fact, 29% of respondents included in this study  said they found no clear relation between their role and the overarching company strategy. Each team/individual should undoubtedly have their own KPIs, but there should be clear and consistent communication regarding how these are all working together towards a common goal. Here’s an example: Company’s main goal:  $50 million in sales by 2020 Public Relations goal: Reach 2 million people per month Content Marketing’s goal: Bring in 10,000 prospects per month Paid Search goal:  $5 $8 ROAS Marketing Automation goal: Convert 15% of prospects into customers Simply giving everyone a clear idea of where the company is heading and how each team’s KPIs help contribute can lay the foundation for good collaboration. Sometimes it helps to have a visual to get everyone on the same page. Here’s an example of how everyone’s goals fit into the marketing funnel and contribute to the company’s overall goal. Improve Communication Research  shows that improving your team’s communication can increase productivity by a whopping 25%. Improving your team’s communication can increase productivity by a whopping 25%.Sounds great, right? But communication barriers are one of the biggest hurdles for any team to overcome. Why is communication so challenging? Here are a few theories Firstly, marketers rely on outdated technology like spreadsheets to manage project plans, due dates, and tasks. These spreadsheets spiral out of control and leave you wanting to wipe the slate clean and start fresh†¦ so you do. And it works for a while, but the spreadsheet inevitably returns to mass chaos. Secondly, each team has hacked together a way to manage their own projects without a central, cross-team tool. This exacerbates the silo effect. Responsibilities and daily tasks become murky because they are managed across multiple tools. No one knows what they should prioritize nor when things are due. And there are a ton of meetings to try to figure it all out. (Fun fact: An astonishing 62% of marketers say wasteful meetings get in the way of their work.) Yikes. So how can you improve the communication of your marketing team?