Tongue v Corey (a pseudonym)

The Supreme Court held that a magistrate erred in dismissing an aggravated common assault charge where the respondent grabbed the complainant's face with both hands while yelling aggressively, finding that such conduct does not fall within the implied consent to physical contact arising from the exigencies of everyday life. The Court confirmed that lack of intention to harm is not a lawful excuse for battery, and that the brief or fleeting nature of contact cannot be assessed in isolation from the nature and context of the contact itself — grabbing a person's face while yelling aggressively transcends acceptable standards of conduct regardless of whether the parties are intimate partners. The matter was remitted for further determination, with the Court noting disquiet about the proportionality of re-prosecuting this charge in isolation but holding that such considerations fall within prosecutorial rather than judicial discretion.