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. Live Oak Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Live Oak, California
About Live Oak
Live Oak is an incorporated city in Sutter County, California, United States. It is part of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistical Area within the Greater Sacramento CSA, and includes a hamlet historically named Stafford. The population was 8,392 at the 2010 census.
Live Oak's climate usually consists of hot, dry summers and prolonging wet, cool winters, a Mediterranean climate. Summers are hot, sunny and dry but a delta breeze occurs at times. This cools the temperature but doesn't last long. Heat waves occur during the summer months, lasting for 3–5 days on average. Temperatures range from 105 to 110 degrees.[citation needed] Dry months range from mid to late May to early to mid September where rainfall is rare. The hottest month is July with temperatures averaging around 96 to 100 degrees with no rain but it isn't rare for some rain to arrive from the Southwest Monsoon. Winters are prolonging wet, cool and foggy. Wet months range from mid October to mid April where rainfall becomes constant. January is the wettest and coolest month with rainfall averaging between 4 to 6 inches but during El Niño season, rainfall averages 10 to 12 inches which causes major flooding. During the La Niña season, rainfall averages 4 inches or below, causing drought problems during summer. In the winter, temperatures average 45 to 50 degrees. Foggy and cloudy weather can last up to 2 to 4 weeks, also known as Tule fog. Snow occurs rarely. The record amount of snow was 3.8 inches in 2002.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Live Oak had a population of 8,392. The population density was 4,491.3 people per square mile (1,734.1/km²). The racial makeup of Live Oak was 4,491 (53.5%) White, 138 (1.6%) African American, 130 (1.5%) Native American, 978 (11.7%) Asian, 17 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 2,173 (25.9%) from other races, and 465 (5.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,093 persons (48.8%).
In the state legislature, Live Oak is in the 4th Senate District, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa, and in the 2nd Assembly District, represented by Republican Jim Nielsen.
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