Domestic Battery: PC 243(e)(1)
Domestic battery also concerns a willful or intentional act on an intimate partner except that the injury can be trivial, though harmful or offensive, and need not have caused any pain to the victim. For a battery to occur, it can be any unwanted contact such as pushing or slapping the individual and doing so with the purpose or intent of committing harm. A battery also occurs regardless if the contact was not directly on the victim. For example, smashing the victim’s car window while the person was inside, snatching a necklace off the intimate partner or kicking the victim’s cat in the person’s presence could be charged as domestic battery.
Domestic battery is a misdemeanor though you can face aggravated battery charges, which can be charged as a felony if the intimate partner suffered serious bodily injury, and face state prison time. In many cases, the court will require the offender to attend a batterer’s treatment program for at least one year as a condition of probation. A subsequent domestic battery conviction results in a mandatory minimum jail time of 48 hours.
Possible Defenses to a Domestic Violence Charge
There are numerous defenses available to anyone charged with any of the above charges, some of which are dependent on the crime for which you are being prosecuted.
- Self-defense. You can asset self-defense if you reasonably believed you or someone near you was in imminent danger of being harmed or unlawfully or offensively touched and that you needed to apply force to protect yourself or that other person. The force used must be only that required or necessary to defend yourself.
- Lack of injury. If no injury occurred, then certainly you cannot be prosecuted under PC 243.5, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant. You need not have produced a visible injury, though, to be charged with a battery offense or elder abuse.
- Lack of a sustained or reasonable fear for one’s safety or well-being. To be prosecuted for criminal threats, the victim must have had a reasonable fear of the threat and it must have lasted for more than a moment. Merely being startled or being told by the defendant that he or she may get you some day may not be enough to constitute a crime.
- False accusations. Many times, a jealous spouse or ex-dating partner or vengeful family member will fabricate a charge of assault or abuse. Often, a comprehensive medical examination will not contradict the accuser’s account of how an alleged injury occurred.
- Mistaken assumptions. In some cases, someone who is required to report suspected abuse or domestic violence will report it to authorities. A criminal defense attorney may have to launch a separate investigation to exonerate the defendant by showing that either someone else was responsible or that some other plausible explanation explains the injury.
- Violation of constitutional rights. Police must follow certain protocol that adheres to rights found in the federal and state constitutions regarding reasonable searches and seizures, extracting confessions and lawfully arresting someone.
Contact the Domestic Violence Attorney Group
A domestic violence accusation may be result of a mistake or a fabricated allegation from someone seeking retribution or vengeance against you. There are numerous cases where mitigating circumstances, unknown facts, misunderstandings or overzealous prosecutions result in unsubstantiated or excessive charges that our attorneys can examine and appropriately advise you. Promptly retaining an experienced domestic violence lawyer from the Domestic Violence Attorney Group can often mean the difference between getting your case dismissed, charges reduced, or having you plea to a different offense with lesser penalties. South Lake Tahoe Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in South Lake Tahoe, California
About South Lake Tahoe
South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The population was 21,403 at the 2010 census, down from 23,609 at the 2000 census. The east end of the city, on the California-Nevada state line, is mainly geared towards tourism, with T-shirt shops, restaurants, hotels, and Heavenly Mountain Resort with the Nevada casinos just across the state line in Stateline, Nevada. The city extends about five miles (8 km) west-southwest along U.S. Route 50, also known as Lake Tahoe Blvd. The western end of town is mainly residential, and clusters around "The Y" (new intersection October 2008), the X-shaped intersection of US 50, State Route 89, and the continuation of Lake Tahoe Boulevard after it loses its Federal highway designation.
As its name suggests, it is located on the southern shore of Lake Tahoe, right next to the Nevada border and the town of Stateline, Nevada.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.6 square miles (43 km2), of which, 10.2 square miles (26 km2) of it is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) of it (38.80%) is water. Its elevation is about 6,237 feet (1,901 m).
The city incorporated in 1965 by combining the previously unincorporated communities of Al Tahoe, Bijou, Bijou Park, Stateline, Tahoe Valley, and Tallac Village. A post office was established in 1967. In 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted from a bus-stop in South Lake Tahoe, aged 11. She was found in 2009 in Antioch, California 18 years later.
Gambling arrived at the Lake in 1944, when Harvey's Wagon Wheel Saloon and Gambling Hall opened as one of the area's first gaming establishments (technically on the Nevada side of the state border in the South Lake Tahoe (Nevada gaming area). But competition soon sprang up and so did the need for more permanent accommodations. By the 1950s, roads began to be plowed year-round, enabling access to permanent residences. When the 1960 Winter Olympics came to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe was put firmly on the map as the skiing center of the western United States.
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