Unit 1
Facts
Avery and Betty never liked each other. Avery was among the top students in math class, while Betty performed poorly in math and other subjects. Betty was also well known for regularly bullying her classmates. The two reached a flashpoint of their conflict on the day their teacher gave the whole class a difficult math test. Because of her natural aptitude in Math, Avery felt that the test was not difficult at all, while Betty was struggling with it. When Betty asked Avery to share the solution with her, Betty immediately shot back: “You better solve it by yourself”. Enraged, Betty thought to herself: “Ok, I will make you pay for this”. Shortly after the class, Betty approached Avery while Avery was chatting with friends in the schoolyard. Being extremely angry, Betty screamed: “I’ll beat you because of your insolence today in class.” “Who are you calling insolent?” Avery replied, “You’re the thug that no one wants to be friends with.” Betty replied, “Who are you calling a thug? I’ll give you some punches to see if you still dare to call me that!” Betty then quickly charged towards Avery with both fists raised. Avery panicked, frightened of Betty’s act. She stepped back and unfortunately slipped and fell. Her arm was injured and her bag was torn. “Look at what you did!”, Avery cried and groaned. “You made me fall on purpose and you’re in trouble. You will be responsible for injuring my arm and tearing my bag”. “What are you talking about?”, Betty smirked, “I haven’t even touched you yet. Everyone saw what happened. And no matter what I did, you deserve it because you dared to call me a thug.”
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What is your opinion? 01. Has Betty violated the law by threatening to beat Avery? Answer: Yes Legal definition: An assault in “assault & battery” is an immediate threat to harm a victim’s physical condition or health where the victim has reason to believe that the attacker will carry out what he/she threatened. Under these facts, Betty’s act is considered an assault as she rushed forward to hit Avery, in reaction to protect herself, Avery slipped and fell suffering personal injury and property damage which is a violation of the law. As a result:
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Betty may be subject to administrative sanctions for the act of “having gestures, cruel words” or “disrupting the school’s order”.
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There are not enough grounds to consider Betty’s act liable for criminal sanctions. The Vietnam’s criminal code only governs the act of “threatening to kill”.
02. Is Betty responsible for damages caused to Avery under the law (i.e. her injured arm and her torn bag)? Answer: No Betty is not responsible for compensating Avery because Betty did not directly cause Avery’s injured arm and torn bag. This was caused by Avery herself. Betty only committed the act of “assault” (as provided in Question 1 – What is your opinion?). She did not have any direct contact with Avery.
03. Is Betty’s act of raising her fist considered battery? Does Betty’s act violate the law? Answer: No Legal definition: Battery can be understood as a physical contact which intentionally causes injury or harm to another person’s physical condition or health without his/her permission. Betty’s act of rising her fist up does not satisfy the definition of “physical contact”, so it is not considered battery. However, Betty’s act may be considered an assault subject to sanctions according to the administrative law (as provided in Question 1 – What is your opinion?).
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What is your opinion? 04. Is a verbal insult considered a violation of the law? Is Avery’s act of calling Betty the thug considered a verbal insult to Betty? Answer: The act of verbally insulting other people is considered a violation of the law which may be subject to administrative liability for the act of “insulting the honor and dignity of others” or criminal liability for the “Crime of insult to another person” if there is a serious insult. In addition, if the act of seriously verbally insulting other people harms the health and psychology of others, a compensation may be claimed for damages under the civil law It is difficult to consider Betty’s act of calling Betty a thug a verbal insult to Betty because the argument between Betty and Avery was just a common quarrel, Betty said Avery was “lying” and Avery said Betty was “a thug”. To consider whether there is a verbal insult or not will depend on a case by case basis and the level of effect on the honor and dignity of others.
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05. In serious cases, is it possible to ask the competent State agencies to assist in the prevention of assault & battery by others? If yes, which competent State agencies would be involved? Answer: Yes Intervening and preventing a person commiting assault & battery (on the basis of the possibility of occurrence) are the responsibility of the police of the commune or ward where you reside. A request must be made if you need help. Alternatively, call 113 in an emergency.
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What if What if: What if Betty spits in Avery’s face? Does that behavior violate the law? Provide an explanation. Answer: Yes The act of spitting into another person’s face does not satisfy the definition of “battery” because no injury has been caused according to the law. However, there is a strong possibility that this act may be considered “an assault” or the act of “insulting the honor and dignity of others”, subject to administrative or criminal liability under the law depending on the seriousness of the violation (as provided in Question 1 and Question 4 – What is your opinion?). In addition, Betty may be requested to compensate Avery under the civil law if Avery can prove Betty’s act of insulting the honor, dignity, and reputation caused damage to Avery Furthermore, if Betty knew that her saliva contained an infectious disease but intentionally spit in Avery’s face, Betty’s behavior may constitute the “Crime of spreading dangerous infectious diseases to people” under the criminal law.
What if: Does Betty have any legal liability if she has a physical fight with Avery? Answer: Yes Betty may be subject to the following liability: • Criminal law: A penalty of up to 03 years’ community sentence or an imprisonment term of up to 03 years for the “Crime of deliberate infliction of bodily harm upon another person” when the percentage of physical harm is between 11% and 30%, or less than 11% in special cases (e.g. using dangerous weapons,…). • Administrative law: A fine of VND1,000,000 for the act of “fighting” if the rate of physical harm of Betty does not reach the above percentages of criminal law as mentioned above. • Civil law: If Betty’s behavior affects Avery’s life and/or health, Avery may claim compensation from Betty.
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What if: What if the offender commits assault & battery using a baseball bat or a stone? Is it different from a normal case? Answer: Yes Because the above items can create serious injury. This attack can be considered battery with “dangerous weapon” which may increase the seriousness of act and a heavier sentence level will be applied.
What if: What if the two girls quarreled in the schoolyard and Betty pulled out a realistic looking toy gun from her bag and said: “I’ll shoot your head off”. Avery was horrified and fainted in the schoolyard. Does this behavior violate the law? Answer: Yes Even though the gun was just a toy, if Avery had reason to believe that it was real, this act may be considered as a murder threat. In other words, Betty may be prosecuted for criminal liability for the “Crime of threat of murder”.
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What if What if: What if Betty called Avery a “weirdo” and Avery got angry? She swung her fist intending to hit Betty, but her fist did not come in contact with Betty. Will Avery be subject to any legal liability for the act of causing harm to a person? Answer: No For the act of causing harm to a person, it is necessary to consider the consequences and the relationship between the violation and the consequences. In this case, Avery did not have any physical contact with Betty’s body and there were no consequences. So there are not enough grounds for imposing sanctions on Avery for the act of causing harm to a person.
What if: What if Betty and Avery were arguing and Betty became angry and swung her fist, breaking Avery’s glasses? Although Betty’s fist never touched Avery’s face, would Betty have any legal liability? Answer: Yes There are not enough grounds to consider Betty’s act the act of “deliberate infliction of bodily harm upon another person” because this violation is necessary to consider the consequences (i.e. whether a specific percentage of the body has been injured) and the relationship between the violations and consequences. In this case, Betty had not yet caused injury or harm Avery’s health. However, this act of Betty may be considered “fighting” or “destroying or deliberate destruction of others’ property”, subject to administrative or criminal liability under the law. Further, regardless of the value of the damaged property, Avery can request Betty to pay compensation under the civil law if Avery can prove Betty’s act caused damage to Avery. 10
What if: What if Betty pushed Avery into a corner where there was no escape, and Betty swung her fist at Avery. To avoid being attacked, Avery suddenly punched hard, knocking Betty to the ground. Does Avery have any criminal liability? Answer: No There is a high possibility that Avery will not be liable for defending herself in this manner. The law provides that self-defense to protect one’s self or others from being attacked is a justifiable defense to a crime. Further, self-defense against an assault & battery is explicitly recognized by the law. However, when the threat is gone, the justification for self-defense no longer exists. Nevertheless, if Betty is injured with a physical disability percentage of 31% or death, Avery may have committed the “Crime of deliberate infliction of bodily harm upon another person due to unjustified use of force in self-defense� under the criminal law.
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What if
What if: What if Avery held a baseball bat to protect herself and hit Betty with the bat? Would this be considered self-defense? Answer: Yes The use of the bat by Avery will only be justifiable if Betty suddenly started a fight with Avery, without Avery’s foreknowledge, and Avery by coincidence was holding or found a baseball bat nearby to fight back when Betty suddenly attacked her. Note: If Avery had known beforehand that she would be attacked by Betty, and Avery searched for and found a baseball bat well-before the fight, it would be likely that Avery’s act would not be considered self-defense. Rather, the courts may see it as a plan by Avery to attack Betty. In addition, the Court will consider the totality of the circumstances to judge whether a person’s behavior is self-defense or a deliberate attack.
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What if: What if Betty took a swing with her fist at Avery, but instead connected with a third party, Carla? Would Betty be guilty of battery of Carla even though she didn’t intend to hit her? Answer: No Betty’s act of hitting Carla does not satisfy the definition of “intentionally”, so it is not considered battery (as provided in Question 3 – What is your opinion?). Nevertheless, this act of Betty may be considered “fighting” or “disrupting the school’s order”, subject to administrative liability. Betty may also be responsible for compensation for Carla’s injuries, such as reasonable expense for hospital examination and treatment.
Activities session
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Are there any other ways to settle the problems between Avery and Betty instead of filing a lawsuit or a criminal complaint?
If you were given the task of establishing a Peer Mediation Center to help students resolve conflicts and work things out constructively, how would it be organized? Should you ask for help from friends or adults? Write a paragraph or a page describing such a program. Who would you want to work at such a center to resolve conflict and avoid violence?
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If you were to hold a panel discussion on the issue of violence in school, what form should it take? What do you think are the causes? How can the problems be settled?
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