What is the difference between "tortious assault and battery" and "criminal assault and battery?"
Answers:
Tortious assault and battery is a tort; criminal assault and battery is a crime.
A tort is a civil case between private parties. If you beat me up, I could sue you for the torts of assault and battery, and recover money.
A crime is (obviously) a criminal case, and the "plaintiff" is the government, which prosecutes the defendant. If you beat me up, in addition to me suing you in a private civil suit (tortious assault and battery), the government can bring a criminal case against you (criminal assault and battery) and send you to jail (or whatever the penalty is).
The underlying actions would be the same; the type of court case (and remedy -- money vs. jail time) is different.
One is civil for pain and anguish and to seek monetery compensation because you were in a sense "wronged" The other is a criminal charge and is prosecuted by the state.
Tort literally means "wrong" in French.
A tort is a civil wrong -- and the remedy would be for the injured party to sue the attacker for monetary damages.
A crime is punishable by the govt -- and could include jail time.
The elements (what needs to be proven) are generally the same, though most civil cases have a lesser standard of proof then "beyond a reasonable doubt".
There may be other subtle differences depending on how the law defines each -- but that's the general idea.
"tortious assault and battery" is a tort, a civil matter, between two people or groups of people(IE, personX v. PersonY), usually for seeking monetary damages. The other is criminal, where the government is charging them with a crime (State of X V. personY)
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