I would also find her civilly liable for the harm she did and damage she caused.
The problem with those “judge” shows is that the “judges” are morons who couldn’t analyze legal issues if their lives depended on it. But I would love to have their gig :).
syrstree…I would not recommend carrying a dangerous chemical in your pocketbook. …other than exposure to yourself if and when it leaks in your pocketbook that maybe against the law in many places to use as a 'self-defense" weapon. as for the anecdote mentioned above that is more than civil that sounds like a criminal assault. if a person breaks in your home you can spray them with pepper spray, wasp spray , hit them with a frying pan, use a gun etc…on the street or in your buildings gym…that gets a little iffy and there are two sides to every story. I know what I would do if someone was breaking into my home it is very simple…I would get that butterfly feeling in my stomach and either faint or get so light headed i would be unable to move. ( yeah I am not a macho man)… but the best way to avoid certain things like the gym story is do not use the gym late at night. use a buddy system if you need to walk across a dark campus parking lot at night…etc…
I am not anti pepper spray but you need to know how and when to use it and realize that you can also become exposed if it is windy or the other person is close when you spray them. and if the person is truly not a bad person you can probably expect the police to look for you , so call them first if you do use it.
As an aside to this discussion, at UT orientation, I attended the Campus Safety session. With the recent and tragic murder of a freshman last Spring, the discussion of safety was at the forefront of all the parents’ minds. The Police officer recommended pepper spray but he said to buy 3 canisters. One to practice with so you knew how to use it. the second he recommended spraying and purposely getting some on yourself and in your nose/lungs because inevitably you will get some on yourself in a real situation and you don’t want to panic. The third was to keep and use in a threatening situation. He also recommended a personal alarm and a self-defense class like RAD.