Commonwealth v. Cohen

A District Court jury found the defendant guilty of assault and battery for intentionally spitting on a young woman with whom he had a disagreement outside a convenience store. See G. L. c. 265, § 13A. On appeal, the defendant contends that spitting on another, intentionally and without consent, does not amount to a prohibited touching under the statute. To the contrary, we conclude that such conduct does constitute an assault and batteiy.

We rehearse the familiar principles:

*359“Assault and battery is a common law crime now set forth in G. L. c. 265, § 13A. An assault is an offer or attempt to do…