Guys, I need some legal help.

Any ideas where I can go to determine if an attack against an umpire is a crime in my state (Arkansas) and what constitutes an attack (physical vs. threat)?

thanks,

Arkansas has legislation re: sports officials. Try this link for info:

http://www.naso.org/legislation/page4.htm

Good luck!

THANKS!

you are a life saver...if you are ever in my neck of the hills, I owe you a cold one.

I'll give details tomorrow...

Alan:
I know I'm a little late on this, but an "attack" [see below] on ANYONE is a crime in every state: JR gave you a reference for official-specific legislation.

An "assault" is an attempt, coupled with a present ability, to comit a battery: a "battery" is any angry, rude or offensive bodily touching, however slight. A mere threat, not accompanied by any overt physical act [think in terms of "offering" at a pitch], is usually NOT a crime; but a threat, coupled with a raised fist or a charge across the field probably is.

I'm in the camp that sees little need for official-specific legislation: merely adequate enforcement of the already-ubiquitous laws on the books today. That said, my group has had a stated policy for several years: if one of our guys is assaulted, "..however slight.." the harm, we want a prosecution.

Being a (non-practicing) lawyer, my question is why would someone seek legal advice on a baseball umpire message board where even the baseball advice is sometimes suspect.

JR gave what I was looking for. A few years ago we had a discussion along these lines and I didn't remember the specifics. I received a specific code ref and was able to look it up and verify.