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. Guadalupe Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Guadalupe, California
About Guadalupe
Guadalupe is a small city located in Santa Barbara County, California. According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the city has a population of 7,080. Guadalupe is economically and socially tied to the city of Santa Maria, which is about ten miles to the east.
Rancho de Guadalupe was established in the 1840s as part of a Mexican land grant and was settled by pioneers of many unique backgrounds, such as European, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and Mexican. The small town was incorporated as the city of Guadalupe on May 19, 1946. The city name honors Our Lady of Guadalupe, the title given to the Virgin Mary.
Guadalupe is located in the northwestern extremity of Santa Barbara County, immediately south of the Santa Maria River. The landscape in the vicinity of the town is mostly flat, with the predominant land use being agriculture and oil production. Hills rise to the south of the town; on the other side of the hills is Vandenberg Air Force Base. West of town, both in Santa Barbara County and north in adjacent San Luis Obispo County, is the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, a large region of dune habitat along the Pacific Ocean shore. Filmmakers have used this region as a setting for several films, including Cecil B. DeMille's 1923 Ten Commandments and in 1998The Odd Couple II. Scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Hidalgo have also been filmed here. The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center serves as the education and research facility for the natural area.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Guadalupe had a population of 7,080. The population density was 5,385.3 people per square mile (2,079.3/km²). The racial makeup of Guadalupe was 3,395 (48.0%) White, 74 (1.0%) African American, 103 (1.5%)Native American, 279 (3.9%) Asian, 5 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 2,783 (39.3%) from other races, and 441 (6.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,103 persons (86.2%).
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