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. Lindsay Domestic Violence Attorney – Experienced & Aggressive Lawyer and Lawyers Fighting for You in Lindsay, California
About Lindsay
Lindsay is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 11,768 at the 2010 census. Lindsay is located southeast of Visalia and north of Porterville and is considered part of the Visalia-Porterville Metropolitan Area and the Porterville Urban Area by the United States Census Bureau.
The Yandanche tribe of Native Americans came to hunt and fish at the future site of Lindsay for centuries. Future Military Governor of California John C. Fremont passed through twice by way of the Stockton - Los Angeles Road and the later Butterfield Overland Mail route on two of his four exploration trips. Julius Orton, a seventh generation descendant of Thomas, served as security for a pack train headed for Placerville, a booming California gold mining town, motivated by his futile search for gold. In 1859, with his wife and two small daughters, and driving a small herd of cattle, walked more than 200 miles (320 km) from the coast near Sacramento, to a homestead along the Tule River, southwest of Lindsay. In the 1880s, Julius Orton homesteaded another (160 acres (0.65 km2)) piece of land bordering on the property of pioneers Lewis and John Keeley, brothers who had taken on a homestead just a few miles southwest of Lindsay in the mid-1870s.
In 1889, the founder of the City of Lindsay, Captain Arthur Hutchinson, moved to California because of his ill health. He moved to the Lindsay area and bought 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) to found the Lindsay Land Company. When the Southern Pacific Railroad came through the area in 1889, development of the Lindsay townsite was begun. Hutchinson laid out the plan for the township, and named the community for his wife, Sadie Lindsay Patton Hutchinson.
In the state legislature Lindsay is located in the 16th Senate District, represented by Democrat Dean Florez, and in the 34th Assembly District, represented by Republican Connie Conway. Federally, Lindsay is located in California's 21st congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +13 and is represented by Republican Devin Nunes. Its Mayor is Ramona Padilla, Mayor Pro Tempore is Daniel Salinas. Rosanna Sanchez-Arevalo,Pam Kimball,and Steven A. Mecum also serve on the city council.
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