Cole v Turner
(1704) 6 Mod Rep 14917041 min read
The case in brief30-second read
- Facts
- The case involved a dispute concerning unwanted physical contact between the parties. No significant force or injury was involved in the specific contact at issue. The question was whether the mere fact of unwanted touching, absent measurable harm, was actionable.
- Issue
- Whether the least unwanted touching, absent any actual injury, constitutes battery.
- Held
- The least touching of another person, without lawful justification or consent, constitutes battery. This applies regardless of the degree of force involved. Proof of actual injury is not required to establish the tort.
- Principle
- The least touching of another, without lawful justification or consent, constitutes battery, regardless of the degree of force or presence of actual injury.
Facts
- The case involved a dispute concerning unwanted physical contact between the parties. No significant force or injury was involved in the specific contact at issue. The question was whether the mere fact of unwanted touching, absent measurable harm, was actionable.
Issue
- Whether the least unwanted touching, absent any actual injury, constitutes battery.
Held
- The least touching of another person, without lawful justification or consent, constitutes battery. This applies regardless of the degree of force involved. Proof of actual injury is not required to establish the tort.
Ratio decidendi
Battery protects bodily integrity from any unwanted, non-consensual physical contact, however slight. The tort does not require proof of measurable injury; the mere fact of unwanted contact, absent lawful justification, is itself sufficient.
Exam use
How to use it in an answer
- Key line: "In Cole v Turner (1704), the court established that the least unwanted touching of another, without lawful justification, constitutes battery, regardless of injury."
- Use as the foundational authority for battery's expansive scope protecting bodily autonomy from any degree of unwanted contact.
Cite this
Citation
Cole v. Turner (1704) 6 Mod Rep 149Reported: (1704) 6 Mod Rep 149. This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.