The Pickup Game Punch

On March 31, 1993, the Defendant was playing in a pickup basketball game at a University of Washington gym. An opposing player guarded him aggressively, and at one point the other player scratched the Defendant's face while contesting the ball. Frustrated, the Defendant later swung and punched the other player squarely in the face, breaking his jaw in three places. The other player needed emergency surgery, had his jaw wired shut, and spent weeks recovering. The Defendant was charged with assault in the second degree - intentionally assaulting another and thereby recklessly inflicting substantial bodily harm. At trial, the Defense asked the judge to instruct the jury that the other player had consented to the physical contact by choosing to play a rough contact sport, and that consent is a defense to assault. The trial court refused. The Defense argued that athletes accept the risk of injury inherent in the game; the Prosecution argued that whatever a player consents to, it does not include being intentionally punched in the face.