Which statement describes affray?

Which statement describes affray?

• A. Using or threatening unlawful violence towards another in a manner that would cause a person of reasonable firmness present to fear for his personal safety.
• B. Committing a serious assault resulting in injury.
• C. Carrying a weapon in public without permission.
• D. Engaging in a private argument.

Answer: (A)

Affray is about public violence or threatening violence in a way that unsettles bystanders. The defining element is that someone uses or threatens unlawful violence toward another in a setting where people are present, and that threat would cause a person of reasonable firmness nearby to fear for their own safety. Importantly, no injury needs to occur for it to be an affray, and it centers on the public setting and the fear generated in onlookers. This distinguishes it from a serious assault, which requires actual injury; from carrying a weapon in public, which is about possession of a weapon rather than the act of fighting or threatening in front of others; and from a private argument, which doesn’t involve public bystanders or fear for safety.

Affray is about public violence or threatening violence in a way that unsettles bystanders. The defining element is that someone uses or threatens unlawful violence toward another in a setting where people are present, and that threat would cause a person of reasonable firmness nearby to fear for their own safety. Importantly, no injury needs to occur for it to be an affray, and it centers on the public setting and the fear generated in onlookers.

This distinguishes it from a serious assault, which requires actual injury; from carrying a weapon in public, which is about possession of a weapon rather than the act of fighting or threatening in front of others; and from a private argument, which doesn’t involve public bystanders or fear for safety.