In California, domestic violence is a broad term used to refer to all criminal offenses committed against people with whom you have an intimate relationship. A person can commit the crime through intimidation, threats of physical harm, or actual harm. Charges and penalties for domestic violence vary greatly based on your case’s circumstances, the nature of your relationship with the alleged victim, and your criminal history.
If you face domestic violence charges in California, CA, it helps to work alongside an experienced criminal defense attorney. Your attorney will help you understand your charges’ depth, your best options, and even plan for a strong defense against your charges. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we have a team of criminal defense attorneys that will work relentlessly on your case for a favorable outcome. Contact us right away, and let us protect your rights throughout the legal process.
Legal Explanation of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence refers to any type of abuse against a person with whom you have an intimate relationship. You commit abuse against another person when you recklessly or intentionally use threats to use physical violence against your intimate partner.
The victim of the offense mainly determines the nature and gravity of a domestic violence offense.
Under criminal law, domestic violence is defined as abuse committed against a close partner. As provided under this law, an intimate partner could mean any of the following persons:
- A former or current spouse
- A former or current registered domestic partner
- A former or current fiancé(e)
- A former or current romantic partner that lived or lives with you
- An individual with whom you have a child
- A person you are currently dating or has previously dated
On top of that list, California family law has an even longer list of possible victims in domestic violence cases. For custody disputes, the following persons can also count as victims in a domestic violence situation:
- Your child
- Any other individual that is related to you by marriage or blood within the 2nd degree. They may include your sisters and brothers, half-sisters and half-brothers, step-sisters and step-brothers, grandparents and grandchildren, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews.
Common Crimes Under California Domestic Violence Laws and Their Possible Penalties
The most common offenses under domestic violence laws include abuse, battery, neglect, and threats. A majority of these crimes are wobbler, meaning that they can be prosecuted as felonies or misdemeanors. The prosecutor’s decision on how to charge a domestic violence offense is guided by:
- The facts of the case
- The gravity of the offense based on the victim’s injuries
- The offender’s criminal history
Here are common crimes under California domestic violence laws:
Corporal Injury to Spouse — California Penal Code Section 273.5
This law is the most commonly used in domestic violence cases in California. It makes it unlawful for any person to inflict any form of corporal injury on their current or former spouse, co-parent, cohabitant, or dating partner. A corporal injury is used under this law to refer to any physical injury, whether minor or severe.
Corporal Injury to a spouse is a wobbler, meaning that the prosecutor can charge it as a felony or misdemeanor depending on the facts of the case and the defendant’s criminal history.
If charged as a misdemeanor, you are likely to face the following penalties upon conviction:
- A maximum of one year in jail
- A fine of not more than $6,000
On the other hand, if charged as a felony, you are likely to receive the following penalties upon conviction:
- Two, three, or four years in prison
- A maximum fine of $6,000
Domestic Battery — California Penal Code Section 243(e)(1)
This law states that it is illegal for any person to use force against a close partner. Battery occurs when a person willingly and unlawfully uses violence or force on another person. A person can still be guilty of battery even if he/she did not inflict injury on the alleged victim.
A violation of this law is mainly a misdemeanor, punishable by:
- A maximum of one year in jail
- A fine of not more than $2,000
A judge might place you on probation in place of jail time
Child Abuse — California Penal Code Section 273d
Child abuse or corporal injury on a child refers to any cruel punishment or physical injury inflicted upon a child. California laws are very protective of children. Therefore, any form of abuse on a child is severely punished.
Child abuse is a wobbler offense in California. It means that the prosecutor can charge it as a felony or misdemeanor, based on the offense’s severity and the offender’s criminal history.
If convicted of a misdemeanor, you are likely to receive a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of not more than $6,000. But if convicted as a felony, you could receive a maximum of six years in prison and an additional four years if you have a previous conviction of the same or similar offense.
Child Endangerment — California Penal Code Section 273a
This law states that it is unlawful for anyone to willfully expose a child to unjustifiable suffering, danger, or pain. In California, any person below the age of 18 is considered a child/minor. You can still be charged with endangering a minor or subjecting a child to an unreasonable risk of harm, even though the child did not incur a physical injury.
A prosecutor can bring child endangerment charges against anyone, not just the minor’s parents or guardian.
Penalties for this offense depend on whether the risk to the minor included significant physical injury or death. If there were no possibilities of either, the crime would be charged as a misdemeanor, attracting a one-year jail sentence and a maximum fine of $1,000. But if you exposed the minor to a greater risk of suffering physical harm or death, you could receive a prison sentence of two, four, or six years and a maximum fine of $10,000.
Child Neglect — California Penal Code Section 270
Child neglect laws make it illegal for a parent to willingly fail to make available a child’s necessity without a legal excuse. Again, a child under this law refers to any individual below the legal age of 18. A necessity includes basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. A parent, in this case, could be the minor’s legal parent, adoptive parent, foster care parent, or anyone who holds themselves out as the minor’s parent.
Most child neglect cases are misdemeanors, punishable by:
- One year behind bars
- A maximum of $2,000 in fines
- Summary or misdemeanor probation in place of jail time
Elder Abuse — California Penal Code Section 368
Elder abuse refers to any physical or emotional neglect, abuse, and financial exploitation that could be inflicted upon a person 65 years or older. The offense can be committed in several ways, including failing to provide an elder’s physical needs, especially if the elder is incapable of caring for himself/herself. The crime can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor abuse doesn’t involve any risk of physical injury or death.
Elder abuse offense requires you to have been aware or have reasonably known that the victim was an elder of 65 years or older. You must also have willfully and with criminal negligence subjected the victim to unjustifiable suffering, whether physical or mental.
As a misdemeanor, you can receive a maximum of one year in jail, but as a felony, you can receive up to four years of prison time.
Stalking — California Penal Code Section 646.9
Stalking refers to following, threatening, or harassing a person to a point where they are afraid for their safety and their loved ones’ wellbeing. To be found guilty of stalking, the prosecutor must prove that you willingly and maliciously harassed or repeatedly followed another person. It could also be that you issued credible threats intending to place the other person in reasonable fear for their safety or the safety of their loved ones.
Stalking is a wobbler offense in California, meaning that it can be prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or felony.
If prosecuted as a misdemeanor, you are likely to receive misdemeanor probation or one year behind bars.
On the other hand, if charged as a felony, you will likely receive formal probation or five years in prison.
Additional Penalties for California Domestic Violence Conviction
All domestic violence-related offenses are life-changing in that a conviction can alter your life in several ways. Due to these offenses’ nature, California laws have more stringent penalties for every crime committed through battery and abuse. Thus, you can expect more consequences on top of incarceration and court fines once you are found guilty. Some of the additional consequences you might face after conviction include:
Payment of Restitution
You may be required to compensate the victim some amount to enable the victim to cater to his/her medical bills, counseling for his/her mental wellbeing, property damage, or lost wages. The amount of restitution the court will order you to pay is determined by the nature of losses your victim might have incurred as a result of the offense.
Additionally, the court might order you to pay a $500 fine to fund California domestic violence programs.
Participation in Batterers’ Program
In most cases, California judges will require individuals convicted of battery to register for counseling and treatment for a minimum of one year. Treatment and counseling programs are meant to help offenders correct their behavior and discourage a second or third occurrence of the same or similar case. The batterers’ program is beneficial even for those placed on misdemeanor or felony probation in place of jail/prison sentence.
Permanent Criminal Record
The worst of all domestic violence penalties is that a conviction for any related offense remains permanently in the offender’s criminal record. It means that anyone who conducts a regular background check on you will know of the conviction, which could affect your life in several ways.
For example, a potential employer’s decision may be influenced by what he/she finds in your criminal record. Thus, a conviction might make it hard for you to find suitable employment in the future. A negative criminal record could also affect housing and state licensing benefits and even your social life.
Effect on Your Custody Rights
California family laws are pretty strict on domestic abusers, especially when awarding minor children’s custody rights. However, you might be able to attain visitation rights. The law regards it unsafe to leave children under the custody of a parent who has been abusive or negligent in the past.
Note that when it comes to determining custody of minor children after separation or divorce, a family court judge will not require a conviction to determine whether or not you were implicated in a domestic violence situation. However, the judge will be convinced of your unsuitability for custody rights if you have already been convicted of a domestic violence-related offense, at least within five years of the custody case.
Loss of Rights to Purchase or Own a Gun
Owning a gun is vital to many people, more so with the increasing insecurity in the country. However, your rights to own a firearm are dependent on several factors. Among them is your ability to maintain a clean criminal record. California has some offenses that could affect a person’s right to purchase or own a gun. One of them is domestic violence.
A conviction for any domestic violence offense will automatically impact your gun rights for life. Both state and federal laws prohibit people with domestic violence convictions from owning guns. The loss of your gun rights can even come at the beginning of your case before the court finds you guilty.
After your arrest, the judge at the arraignment will automatically issue a domestic violence restraining order. One of the terms in that order is that you must not own, use, or even possess a firearm.
Immigration Consequences
Most domestic violence convictions in California are listed under aggravated felonies and crimes of moral turpitude. These are the two main categories of offenses that affect a person’s immigration status.
If you are a non-citizen living in the U.S and you are convicted of a domestic violence offense, you could be deported or removed from the U.S.
If you have been trying to obtain a permanent residency in the United States, a conviction will make you inadmissible to the country. You will also be illegible to apply for an adjustment status or green card.
Possible Legal Defenses for Domestic Violence Charges in California
The only way to avoid the harsh penalties associated with a conviction for domestic violence in California is to fight your charges. You need to engage the services of an experienced criminal attorney who can put up a good fight for your case’s favorable outcome. Your attorney will offer you the emotional support you need and develop a strong defense that could convince the court to either drop or reduce your charges. Fortunately, several defense strategies are available that your attorney can apply in your situation to help you avoid a conviction. Some of them are:
It Was an Accident
The most acceptable defense strategy for most domestic violence cases is that it was all an accident. You may not have been willing to inflict an injury on your partner. If there was an argument and you were trying to flee from your partner, he/she could have been accidentally injured in the process. If that’s the case, you must explain the details of the events to your attorney, who in turn will use his/her legal expertise to ensure that the jury is thoroughly convinced and your charges dropped.
Accidents happen all the time. Most judges have handled cases in which battery or abuse victims have been injured by accident and not through the abuse or battery. An experienced attorney will know how to argue your case to compel the court to reduce or drop your charges.
Again, all domestic violence offenses require the defendant to have willfully committed an act of abuse or battery on a person with whom they have an intimate relationship. If there wasn’t the willfulness to commit the offense, the prosecutor would not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and the court will not find you guilty. Willfulness refers to the willingness to do something. It means that you must have done what you did on purpose and not by accident.
Self-Defense
You might have used force against the alleged victim out of self-defense or defense for another person. If the other person felt defeated, they might have called the police and accused you of domestic violence.
However, the court will want to know whether the amount of force you used was reasonable enough under the circumstances or more than necessary to inflict harm on the other person.
In self-defense cases, you will be tasked to explain to the court why you felt the need to defend yourself. If the court is convinced that you or someone else was in imminent danger of suffering harm in the hands of the alleged victim, you might not be convicted of self-defense.
You Didn’t Inflict Injuries on the Victim
Domestic violence cases can be complicated, mainly because there are usually no witnesses. The court relies on the detailed accounts of both parties to conclude the matter. If the alleged victim claims that you injured them physically and you didn’t, your attorney can counter their allegations by providing sufficient proof that you did not cause those injuries in the first place.
It is common for people to lie in court to gain the upper hand against their opponents. If there was already a disagreement between you and your partner, he/she might exaggerate the matter to gain an advantage over you in court.
However, this is illegal and could cause the victim to face charges if the court finds out that he/she has been lying all along. The most likely outcome, in this case, is that the court will drop your charges.
False Accusations
Again, you might have been falsely accused of domestic violence by your partner for several reasons. It could be out of jealousy, revenge, or anger, or even gain the upper hand against you in another court case like a divorce or child custody proceeding.
Unfortunately, when the police are called in a domestic violence situation, they must arrest someone even before they conduct an investigation. Domestic violence cases are somehow complex because, in most cases, there are no witnesses. Thus, it is possible to go through a legal battle even when you are innocent.
Be sure to inform your attorney about all the details of your case that could help him/her convince the court of your innocence. Your attorney can use other ways to obtain compelling evidence to support your claims. For example, subpoenaing the alleged victim’s text messages, emails, or social media accounts. He/she could also use expert help in conducting a thorough investigation into the victim’s backgrounds and alleged witnesses.
Legal Rights To Discipline a Child
It is a good defense strategy to use if you are a parent and face child abuse charges. California parents have legal rights to discipline their children, though not to the extreme. A child might accuse his/her parents of abuse while in the real sense they are trying to escape discipline.
If you feel that you were right to discipline your child, and you did not cause the child any physical injuries, your attorney might use this defense to have your charges dropped by the court.
Find a California Criminal Lawyer Group Near Me
If you face domestic violence charges in California, CA, and seek help in fighting your charges, you are better off engaging the services of an experienced criminal attorney. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we have the right skills and experience to help you navigate the complex legal process and design a strong defense against your charges. Call us at 559-712-8377, and let us study the details of your case to advise you on the right way forward.
