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. Maywood Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Maywood, California
About Maywood
Maywood is a small city in southeast Los Angeles County, California. At 1.18 square miles (3.1 km2), Maywood is the third-smallest incorporated city in Los Angeles County.
As of July 1, 2010, Maywood became the first municipality in California to dismantle its police department, lay off all city employees, except for the city manager, city attorney and elected officials, and contract with outside agencies for the provision of all municipal services, an unprecedented action among California cities. Maywood is now billing itself as the first American city to outsource all of its city services. The population was 27,395 at the 2010 census.
The land on which Maywood now stands had been populated by Native American tribes for centuries. The area that would later become Maywood was deeded in 1781 by the Spanish monarchy to Spanish War veteran Manuel Nieto. When the settlement of Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles was recorded, it included the cow pasture (now Maywood) that eventually turned into a rancho.
The climate in the city of Maywood is very warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 80's and mild during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 60's. The warmest month of the year is August with an average maximum temperature of 89.40 °F (31.89 °C), while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 47.30 °F (8.50 °C). Temperature variations between night and day tend to be moderate during summer with a difference that can reach 24 °F (−4 °C), and moderate during winter with an average difference of 22 °F (−6 °C). The annual average precipitation at Maywood is 15.07 inches (383 mm). The wettest month of the year is February with an average rainfall of 3.75 inches (95 mm). Maywood-area historical tornado activity is significantly above California state average. It is 75% smaller than the overall U.S. average. On November 7, 1966, a category 2 (max. wind speeds 113-157 mph) tornado 6.2 miles (10.0 km) away from the Maywood city center injured 10 people and caused between $50,000 and $500,000 in damages.
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