Lets face it, there are a lot of laws out there and it's naive to think that someone should know all of them. That being said, it's also naive to think that you don't need to be familiar with any of them. No matter what country you live in you should at least be familiar with common laws that could be easily broken. If you find yourself in a sticky situation knowing what and what not to do is a great asset. It could mean the difference between jail and a lawsuit or nothing at all. You would be doing yourself a great favour by gaining knowledge about commonly broken laws and situation surrounding them.
There are two laws that this article will cover. These are laws that are common throughout most of the world and are very similar in every country. Most of the readers of this site are from either the United States or Canada which have extremely similar laws. The two laws that will be covered in detail are Assault and Trespassing.
What is Common Law?
The term "Common Law" get thrown around a lot but not many people really know what it means. Common Law is a term the originated in England which is a basis for how their system of law and order arose. Common law in North America is based on British Common Law which explains why they are so similar between the two countries. British common law was developed over hundred's of years of common sense reasoning on protecting citizens rights from other citizens. Crown Law is of course laws that citizen can brake against the government.
Assault
Assault laws are usually seen as straight forward but when you really get into the law itself people will find that it is a little more complicated. Of course everyone knows that you just can't strike someone for no reason which is why there is a law against it. You can however defend yourself if you are being assaulted no matter what. Self-defence is completely legal when faced with being attacked.
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"Simple assault can be distinguished without the intent of injury upon another person. The violation of one's personal space or touching in a way the victim deemed inappropriate can be simple assault. In common law states an assault is not committed by merely, for example, swearing at another; without threat of battery, there can be no assault." - assaulted.askdefinebeta.com
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In North America it gets a little tricky when police or the government has to decide if someone has broken the law. When an assault occurs the law has to first decide who caused the original confrontation that lead to the assault and if the person intended to cause the confrontation to become physical. That means, did one of the people cause a physical confrontation when it could have been avoided. It doesn't matter who swung first.
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"Four elements were required at common law:
The apparent, present ability to carry out;
An unlawful attempt;
To commit a violent injury;
Upon another."
- assaulted.askdefinebeta.com
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The second scenario is that the confrontation or meeting was completely mutual. If it escalated to physical contact then it will come down to who initiated physical contact first. Physical contact is exactly that, it doesn't have to be violent contact. It could be simply placing your hand lightly of someone's shoulder which is considered physical contact. The other oddity when it comes to assault laws is that the "imminent threat of physical contact" can be considered assault and may allow you to defend yourself. This means that "cocking" your arm or feinting a strike can be considered assault which would mean anything that happens after this action would be that persons fault.
What to Remember - Don't cause the confrontation, stay where you are. Don't initiate physical contact. Don't physically threaten assault.
Read more about Assault Here
Trespassing
For trespassing we will deal with "trespassing to land" which is what people usually think of when they see the word trespassing. Trespassing can happen any time someone enters property that is owned by someone else and causes them to not be able to properly enjoy their property. Being charged with a crime can depend on if there are signs clearly posted, if the person knowingly trespassed or if they caused damage while on the property.
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"Trespass is defined by the act of knowingly entering another person’s property without permission. Such action is held to infringe upon a property owner’s legal right to enjoy the benefits of ownership. Criminal charges, which range from violation to felony, may be brought against someone who interferes with another person’s legal property rights." - www.law.cornell.edu
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If you happen to be hiking in the woods and not knowing enter someone else's land you are technically trespassing but you may not be breaking a law if you don't know. If you have to climb a fence of cross a line of signs that say "No Trespassing" then there is a good chance you could be charged with a crime. If the owner of the land tells you that you are trespassing and wants you to leave then you must leave. If you come back or stay after being told to leave then you could be charge with a crime.
There are a few exceptions to this law, most involve comparing trespass laws with other more serious crimes. For example if you see a serious crime occurring on privately owned land such as someone being badly assaulted, assaulted with a weapon or other serious crimes that are causing grievous injury to another person, you can enter the private property to stop the crime. In many jurisdictions in North America you can also enter private property if their is something that belongs to you and the person that owns the land will not let you retrieve your property. This is considered theft or theft by conversion which is a worse crime than trespassing so it may be reasonable for someone to retrieve their property by trespassing.
What to remember - If you are told to leave, you must leave. If you are told not to return, don't go back. If you see a sign then you cant enter unless you have a (lawful) reason.
Trespassing is a very complicated law read more Here.
Final Words
These days it is important to be familiar with all laws in your country and city. I encourage everyone to read up on common laws such as assault and trespassing because there may be subtle nuances between jurisdictions. Finally, do not think you can reference this website as a defence against one of these crimes if you commit one. I am not a lawyer or police officer, I happen to be very familiar with these two laws because of employment background. This article is only meant to give a broad concept of these laws and how they work.
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