Opinion ID: 687305
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Assault and Battery Charge

Text: 51 The appellant argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Davis and the county on Count VI, which alleged that the strip search was an unlawful assault and battery. He acknowledges that he was not touched by Davis during the search and, therefore, Davis's conduct does not constitute a battery as defined in Sec. 12-3 of the Illinois Criminal Code. 5 However, he argues that the conduct constitutes an assault because he was instructed by Davis to remove his pants and lower his underwear for a visual inspection with the implication that if he did not do so voluntarily, those tasks would be performed for him by Davis. 52 Under state law, [a] person commits an assault when, without lawful authority, he engages in conduct which places another in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery. 720 Ill.Comp.Stat. 5/12-1(a). The key phrase for purposes of this analysis is without lawful authority. Obviously if Davis was justified in conducting the strip search, as we have found, he had proper authority to imply that he would carry out the search himself if Kraushaar had failed to comply with Davis's instructions. The district court, therefore, properly granted summary judgment against the appellant on this count. 53