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. Riverside County Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Riverside County, California
| Riverside County Domestic Violence Attorney | |
| Banning Domestic Violence Attorney | Lake Elsinore Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Beaumont Domestic Violence Attorney | La Quinta Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Blythe Domestic Violence Attorney | Menifee Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Calimesa Domestic Violence Attorney | Moreno Valley Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Canyon Lake Domestic Violence Attorney | Murrieta Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Cathedral City Domestic Violence Attorney | Norco Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Coachella Domestic Violence Attorney | Palm Desert Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Corona Domestic Violence Attorney | Palm Springs Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Desert Hot Springs Domestic Violence Attorney | Perris Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Eastvale Domestic Violence Attorney | Rancho Mirage Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Hemet Domestic Violence Attorney | Riverside Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Indian Wells Domestic Violence Attorney | San Jacinto Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Indio Domestic Violence Attorney | Temecula Domestic Violence Attorney |
| Jurupa Valley Domestic Violence Attorney | Wildomar Domestic Violence Attorney |
About Riverside County
Riverside County is one of 58 counties in the U.S. state of California. The name was taken from the city of Riverside, which is the county seat. Rectangle-shaped, Riverside County covers 7,208 square miles (18,670 km2) in Southern California. Riverside County lies inland of Los Angeles County and is bordered on the west by Orange County; on the east by La Paz County, Arizona; on the southwest by San Diego County; on the southeast by Imperial County; and on the north by San Bernardino County. Together, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties have been dubbed the Inland Empire.
The population of Riverside County was 2,189,641 in 2010. It is the fourth-most populous county in California and among the fastest-growing areas of the United States in the past fifty years (since 1960). There is a high concentration of sprawling house tract communities around Riverside and along the Interstate 10, 15, and 215 freeways.
Geographically, the county is mostly desert in the central and eastern portions of the county and is a Mediterranean climate in the western portion of the county. Most of Joshua Tree National Park is located in the county.
The resort cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, and Desert Hot Springs are all located in the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County. Large numbers of Los Angeles area workers have moved to the county in recent years to take advantage of relatively affordable housing. Alongside neighboring San Bernardino County, it was one of the fastest growing regions in the state prior to the recent changes in the regional economy. In addition, smaller, but significant, numbers of people have been moving into Southwest Riverside County from the San Diego-Tijuana metropolitan area. The cities of Temecula and Murrieta accounted for 20% of the increase in population of Riverside County between 2000 and 2007.
more ...$2390 Domestic Violence Attorney Promotion. Payment Plans Available.
Toll Free 1(888) 603-4069
Available 7 Days a Week 7am to 9pm
