State v. Roberts

Defendant contends the court erred in refusing to grant his motion for nonsuit as to assault on a female.

There is no statutory definition of assault in North Carolina, and the crime of assault is governed by common law rules. G.S. 14-33 does not create a new offense as to assaults on a female, but only provides for different punishments for various types of assault. State v. Lefler, 202 N.C. 700, 163 S.E. 873; State v. Jones. 258 N.C. 89, 128 S.E. 2d 1; G.S. 4-1.

This Court generally defines the common law offense of assault as “an overt act or an attempt, or the unequivocal appearance of ah…