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. Tehama Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Tehama, California
About Tehama
Tehama is a city in Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 418 at the 2010 census, down from 432 at the 2000 census.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Tehama had a population of 418. The population density was 526.3 people per square mile (203.2/km²). The racial makeup of Tehama was 346 (82.8%) White, 6 (1.4%) African American, 23 (5.5%) Native American, 1 (0.2%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 27 (6.5%) from other races, and 15 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57 persons (13.6%).
"Tehama" is believed to be an Indian word, but authorities disagree on the meaning, which has variously been reported as "high water", "low land", "salmon", "mother nature" or "shallow" — any of which would be an accurate description of a location where the river is normally shallow enough to ford, where fishermen are a common sight during the salmon run, and winter floods are a regular occurrence. A Nomlaki village once stood on the site of modern-day Tehama on the western bank of the Sacramento River.
Tehama (pronounced Tuh-HAY-muh) was founded by Robert Hasty Thomes, who arrived in the area that is now Tehama County in the company of Albert G. Toomes, William Chard, and Job Francis Dye. The four men travelled northward from San Francisco, and were each given land grants from the government of Mexico in 1844, with Thomes' portion being Rancho Saucos.
Tehama was one of the earliest California settlements north of Sacramento. Thomes mapped out the city in 1850, with First through Fifth Streets running north-south, and B through I Streets running east-west. First Street no longer exists; it was eroded away by the river. It was the last stop for the riverboats for a few years, and the town thrived on the riverboat traffic. When the boats started going further up the river, Red Bluff became the center of trade. When Tehama County was formed in 1856, Tehama was established as the County Seat. However, the seat was moved to Red Bluff, by county-wide election, the very next year, although various local stories have circulated about how Red Bluff "stole" its county seat status from Tehama.
Tehama had a reputation of being somewhat more liberal and freewheeling than the rest of the county, being the last town to go "dry" before Prohibition, and a center for bootleggers and gamblers.
Tehama is generally the first area in the county to flood during the rainy season, although flooding is now controlled by releases from Shasta Dam. This gives Tehama a distinctive appearance, since by city ordinance, houses must be raised above flood level, so most homes have high foundations and tall stairways to the front door.
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