Text: HSB00689 Text: HSB00691 Text: HSB00600 - HSB00699 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 708.1, unnumbered paragraph 1, and
1 2 subsections 1 through 3, Code 2001, are amended to read as
1 3 follows:
1 4 An assault as defined in this section is a general intent
1 5 crime. A person commits an assault when, without
1 6 justification, the person does any of the following:
1 7 1. Any act which is intended to cause pain or injury to,
1 8 or which is intended to result in physical contact which will
1 9 be insulting or offensive to another, coupled with the
1 10 apparent ability to execute the act.
1 11 2. Any act which is intended to place another in fear of
1 12 immediate physical contact which will be painful, injurious,
1 13 insulting, or offensive, coupled with the apparent ability to
1 14 execute the act.
1 15 3. Intentionally points any firearm toward another, or
1 16 displays in a threatening manner any dangerous weapon toward
1 17 another.
1 18 EXPLANATION
1 19 This bill classifies the criminal offense of assault as a
1 20 general intent crime.
1 21 Current case law classifies the criminal offense of assault
1 22 as a specific intent crime. The Iowa supreme court in State
1 23 v. Heard, 636 N.W.2d 227, recently distinguished the
1 24 difference between a general criminal intent and a specific
1 25 criminal intent crime. The Iowa supreme court concluded that
1 26 a crime is a general intent crime when a crime consists of
1 27 only the description of a particular act, without reference to
1 28 intent to do a further act or achieve a further consequence,
1 29 and in this case the court only asks whether the defendant
1 30 intended to do the particular act.
1 31 The Iowa supreme court also concluded that a crime is a
1 32 specific intent crime when the definition of a crime refers to
1 33 a defendant's intent to do some further act or achieve some
1 34 additional consequence.
1 35 LSB 5604YC 79
2 1 jm/pj/5
2 2
Text: HSB00689 Text: HSB00691 Text: HSB00600 - HSB00699 Text: HSB Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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