What is the test for assault with a deadly weapon?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Sun, 240 Cal.Rptr.3d 696, 29 Cal.App.5th 946 (Cal. App. 2018):
Assault with a deadly weapon, the crime to which appellant pled guilty, was codified in California in 1872. Punishable by up to four years in prison, the offense prohibits the commission of "an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm[.]" ( 245, subd. (a).) Assault is defined as "an unlawful attempt, coupled with a present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another." ( 240.) The crime is considered a general intent offense because it "does not require a specific intent to injure the victim." ( People v. Wyatt (2010) 48 Cal.4th 776, 780, 108 Cal.Rptr.3d 259, 229 P.3d 156.) Rather than turning on the defendant's intent, the crime focuses on the likelihood his conduct would
[29 Cal.App.5th 951]
result in injury to another. ( People v. Williams (2001) 26 Cal.4th 779, 787, 111 Cal.Rptr.2d 114, 29 P.3d 197.) An assault occurs "if a reasonable person, viewing the facts known to defendant, would find that the act would directly, naturally and probably result in a battery." ( Id . at p. 788, fn. 3, 111 Cal.Rptr.2d 114, 29 P.3d 197.)
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