Smith v. United States
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
601 A.2d 1080 (1992)
During an armed robbery, Smith's (defendant) accomplice pointed a gun at three different victims while Smith took money from the register, and Smith was convicted as an aider and abettor of armed robbery plus two counts of assault while armed; although the jurisdiction recognized both attempted-battery assault and intent-to-frighten assault as distinct theories, the trial judge instructed the jury only on attempted-battery assault, and Smith appealed the assault convictions as unsupported under that instruction.
Whether there are two distinct types of assault, with attempted battery assault requiring proof of an attempt to cause physical injury and intent-to-frighten assault requiring proof of threatening conduct intended to frighten the victim.