Criminal Law - Third-Degree Assault
HB0907 creates a new misdemeanor offense of third-degree assault in Maryland law. The bill defines “offensive contact” as nonconsensual physical contact that a reasonable person would find offensive, while excluding contact that causes physical injury, creates a risk of serious physical injury, or falls within domestic violence or sexual crime provisions. A person violates the new section by intentionally causing offensive contact, engaging in conduct intended to place another in fear of offensive contact, or attempting to cause offensive contact. A conviction is punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.
The bill also updates related charging, jurisdiction, and expungement provisions. It specifies how third-degree assault under the new section may be charged, clarifies that it is not automatically a lesser included offense of other crimes unless specifically charged, and states that certain victim characteristics and resulting physical injury are not defenses to the offense. In addition, it adds the new offense to the list of misdemeanors eligible for expungement under certain circumstances and assigns District Court jurisdiction, while preserving circuit court jurisdiction in limited situations such as a jury demand or related charges.
HB0907 amends the Criminal Law, Courts and Judicial Proceedings, and Criminal Procedure Articles of the Maryland Code. It adds a new statutory assault offense, revises criminal charging rules and court jurisdiction for that offense, and expands expungement eligibility to include convictions under the new third-degree assault section. The bill affects prosecutors, defendants, courts, and individuals seeking expungement by creating a separate misdemeanor offense with defined elements and procedural treatment.
The available legislative context suggests strong support for the bill. It was reported favorably with amendments in committee, adopted by the House, and later passed the Senate on third reading by a unanimous 44-0 vote. The absence of recorded opposition or negative testimony in the provided materials indicates broad agreement on the bill’s approach.
No specific committee debate or recorded opposition is provided, so there are no documented points of contention in the supplied materials. Based on the text, any potential issues would likely center on whether the bill broadens assault liability by criminalizing offensive contact and how the new offense interacts with existing assault, domestic violence, and sexual offense statutes, as well as the effect on expungement and court jurisdiction. However, the available record does not identify any named opponents or disputed amendments.