CRIMES AND OFFENSES Crimes Against the Person: Provide Enhanced Penalties for the Commission of the Offenses of Simple Assault, Aggravated Assault, Simple Battery, and Aggravated Battery Against Persons in a Domestic Context; Change the Definition of the Crime of Cruelty to Children in the Second Degree; Provide Penalties for Certain Crimes of Violence Committed in the Presence of Children; Exclude Corporal Punishment Administered by Parents, Guardians, or Others Acting in Loco Parentis from the Enhanced Penalties for Simple Assault or Simple Battery
Weitkamp, Roger T.
Abstract
The Act, entitled the Crimes Against Family Members Act of 1999, provides for broader and more severe penalties in cases of violence precipitated by domestic disputes. The Act enhances the penalties that judges may impose for assault and battery committed in a domestic setting. In addition, the Act equates commission of violent acts in the presence of minors with the crime of second-degree cruelty to children.