Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Criminal Assault with a Beer

Technically, the woman could be charged with committing an Assault & Battery by throwing beer on your friend (assuming that she did it with the 'specific intent' needed for the crime).

An "assault" is an unlawful act that places another person in reasonable apprehension of receiving an immediate battery. The defendant must have intended to either injure the victim, or make the victim reasonably fear receiving a battery. An assault is intentional, not an accident. The victim need not be actually injured for a "Simple Assault".

A "battery" is an intentional, unwanted and forceful/violent touching of another person, or something closely connected with that person.

So, if the woman was angry at your friend and threw her beer on him, and was not acting in justifiable self-defense, an A&B probably occurred. It's a misdemeanor carrying up to 93 days in jail &/or a $500 fine.

The real question is not whether she "could" be charged ... it's whether she "should" be charged. I'm a prosecutor, and I can't see myself issuing this charge. Why? I have the discretion to not issue cases because it's not an appropriate expenditure of public resources ... or because it's just a technical violation of the law ... or because the victim has other viable civil remedies ... etc.

Here, there was apparently no injury (except for your friend's pride, and maybe his laundry bill). Also, the odds are pretty good that there's a lot more to this story than you've told us, such as why she threw her beer and what your friend may have been doing beforehand. Also, "bar fights" are tough cases to prosecute because most witnesses have been drinking, which makes their memory less reliable in the eyes of jurors.

The fact that the suspect is from another state does not mean that she cannot be charged. The problem comes when she leave Michigan and doesn't return. The only legal means to force her back is "extradition", which is not going to happen for a misdemeanor assault due to the time and expense involved (which includes papers signed by the Governor). So, the arrest warrant would just sit around until/unless she voluntarily returned to Michigan to face the charge.