As an umpire and a lawyer, I'm concerned about misimpression's that some sports officials might have of new laws dealing with assaults on them.

First, I have seen it written that a new California law "protects" sports officials from assaults. Please be wary of thinking about it that way because it just isn't true. The California law-Penal Code section 243.8-is not going to "protect" you from being assaulted. It just makes it a separate crime for someone who already has done that. It certainly won't "protect" you from anything, and I wouldn't want any official to be lulled into thinking that they somehow have acquired any new "protection." I seriously doubt that-while they are pounding on a sports official-or even while they are lurking waiting to do so-the typical irate manager, coach, player, or fan is thinking about whether they are running afoul of some special law, anyway. I mean, we're not talking about "rocket surgeons" here, are we?

Second, I have heard people make assertions to the effect that California law now provides for "an automatic $2,000 fine and 6 months in jail for striking an official." Again, not so. There is no "automatic" anything. Under that special California law, added in 1991, a battery on a sports official is "punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both . . ." So, what's the penalty for ordinary battery on anyone else? Well, an ordinary battery is "punishable by a fine of not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both . . ." The only difference is the maximum time of possible jail commitment. There is no difference in the minimum time-nor is there any required time at all. And the maximum fine amount remains exactly the same, and there is no minimum fine, or required fine at all. Now, do you think a first-time sports-official batterer is likely to draw a six-month sentence under this new law, anyway? Not likely. So, what difference does the California battery-on-a-sports-official law have? Perhaps, a repeat offender might find himself sentenced to more than six months in jail, but my guess is that it probably would have to be the guy's third battery before that would happen. And if you're thinking that the law might come into play on the first offense if the injury were serious enough or if the battery involved a weapon of some kind, well, there already are different battery laws providing for stiffer penalties in such situations-on anyone- so the sports-official law would not even be used in such a circumstance.

What it amounts to is this: In California, we sports officials now have a new law (1) that nobody has heard of, (2) that won't "protect" us from assaults, (3) that won't result in an increased fine, (4) that won't result in a longer jail sentence, in most cases, and (5) in those cases where it will result in a longer jail sentence, that can enhance that jail sentence by no more than six months. So, my advice is: Don't go letting your guard down, just because your state may have a new such law.