Spitting on Someone in Georgia: Assault or Battery?

Spitting on someone in Georgia is a crime, and it’s charged as simple battery under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23 rather than as assault. It’s a misdemeanor by default, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, but the penalties climb sharply when the person spat on is a police officer, an elderly person, a pregnant woman, a family member, or another protected victim. No injury is required for a conviction; the offensive nature of the contact is itself the crime.

Why It’s Battery and Not Assault

Georgia treats assault and battery as two different offenses. Simple assault under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-20 covers either an attempt to injure someone or an act that puts them in reasonable fear of an immediate injury.¹ Physical contact isn’t part of the definition.

Simple battery under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23 is the opposite problem. It requires intentional physical contact that either causes harm or is insulting or provoking in nature.² Spitting fits the second category cleanly. Saliva landing on another person’s face or body is physical contact, and it’s inherently insulting. Prosecutors don’t have to show bruising, pain, or any injury at all.

That’s also why the case is easier to prove than assault. The state only has to show the contact happened and that it was intentional and offensive.

Penalties for a Standard Simple Battery Conviction

Simple battery is a misdemeanor.² Under O.C.G.A. § 17-10-3, a misdemeanor conviction can bring a fine of up to $1,000, jail of up to 12 months, or both, and a judge can order supervised probation in place of some or all of the jail time.³ Those penalties apply even on a first offense.

When the Victim Triggers a Harsher Charge

This is where a lot of people get caught off guard. Spitting on certain categories of people upgrades the offense from a standard misdemeanor to a “misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature,” which allows a judge to impose a fine well above the usual $1,000 cap. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-23, that upgrade applies when the victim is:²

A police, corrections, or detention officer acting in an official capacity
A person age 65 or older
A pregnant woman
A public school employee engaged in official duties or on school property, including school buses and bus stops
A family or household member, including current and former spouses, co-parents, and people who live or have lived together
A sports official at an amateur event at the school, collegiate, or recreational level
A utility worker acting within the scope of employment
Anyone on a public transit vehicle or in a transit station

Spitting incidents frequently involve police during arrests or occur in domestic settings, so this upgrade applies more often than people realize.

When Additional Charges Can Enter the Picture

Simple battery is the baseline. A few circumstances can bring other charges on top of it.

Reckless Conduct With a Communicable Disease

If someone with a known communicable disease spits on another person, prosecutors can add a reckless conduct charge under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-60. That statute makes it a misdemeanor to endanger another person’s safety by consciously disregarding a substantial risk of harm.⁴ This runs alongside the battery charge rather than replacing it.

Aggravated Assault (Rare)

Aggravated assault under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-21 is a felony carrying one to twenty years in prison.⁵ Prosecutors have occasionally argued that the bodily fluids of a person with a known deadly disease could qualify as an object likely to cause serious bodily injury, but this is unusual in spitting cases and hard to prove. The vast majority of spitting prosecutions stay at simple battery.

Aggravated Battery Does Not Apply

A common misconception is that spitting while infectious automatically becomes aggravated battery under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-24. It doesn’t. That statute requires destroying or disabling a body part, or seriously disfiguring the victim⁷

Defenses That Actually Work

Because the statute requires intentional contact, the strongest defense is often that the contact wasn’t deliberate. Saliva that flies during a heated argument is not the same as spitting in someone’s face, and the state has to prove intent.

Self-defense is a tougher argument in a spitting case because courts expect a proportional response to a threat. Often the more practical defense is attacking the evidence itself: whether the spitting happened at all, whether the identification is reliable, or whether the accuser’s account holds up. These incidents usually come out of chaotic situations, and witness accounts frequently conflict.

Civil Lawsuits for Being Spat On

Criminal charges aren’t the only consequence. The person who was spat on can file a separate civil lawsuit for battery and seek money damages. The state handles the criminal case; the victim controls the civil one, and the two proceed independently.

The burden of proof is also much lower in civil court. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A civil battery claim only requires a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. A defendant acquitted of criminal battery can still lose a civil suit over the same incident.

A civil plaintiff can recover damages without any physical injury or medical bills, including compensation for emotional distress, humiliation, and the offensiveness of the contact itself. Georgia also allows punitive damages in intentional tort cases. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1, punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of willful misconduct, malice, or wanton disregard, and deliberately spitting on someone can meet that standard. When the defendant acted with specific intent to cause harm, Georgia places no cap on the punitive award.6Justia. Georgia Code 51-12-5.1 – Punitive Damages

The deadline is tight. Georgia gives personal injury plaintiffs, including civil battery claimants, two years from the date of the incident to file.⁸ Miss that window and the court will almost certainly dismiss the case no matter how strong the evidence is.