PETER F. IOCONA: ORANGE COUNTY CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER

California's domestic violence laws make it a crime to harm, or threaten to harm, your current or former: spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating or intimate partner. After several law changes, the label of domestic violence has been attributed to crimes even including vandalism in some cases even if there was no injury to the current or former: spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating or intimate partner; but to their property if you were or had been in a relationship. 

Two of the most common domestic violence crimes are for Penal Code 243(e)(1) “domestic battery” (a misdemeanor) or Penal Code 273.5, “inflicting corporal injury on an intimate partner”, which can be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the fact and circumstances.

As with assault and battery,  the most common defense for assault and battery charges include: (1) You were acting in self-defense or attempting to protect someone else; (2) You did not act willfully, therefore you cannot be charged; (3) You have been wrongfully accused; or (4) You do not have the ability to actually inflict harm or force on someone else due to a physical limitation or some other limitation that would make the assault and/or battery unlikely or impossible. 

Domestic violence charges disrupt the lives of all those involved, including the accused and the victim, and sometimes children.

Typically, cases are initiated by the victim calling 9-1-1 and alerting the police to the physical, emotional or verbal abuse. Responding police officers will take statements from the victim, accused and any witnesses, take photographs of any physical injuries, and send the final report to the prosecutor’s office for further action.

A domestic violence conviction can have serious consequences that will impact you for the rest of your life. Some of these consequences could include: 

• Loss of your professional license (if applicable);
• Loss of the right to own or possess a firearm or ammunition;
• Possible changes in your immigration status;
• Loss of present or future employment opportunities;
• Loss of child custody rights.

In cases where a criminal protective order or restraining order is issued against you, you may face travel restrictions and lose the ability to work with children in the future on top of the many consequences mentioned above.

Although the circumstances of each case are unique, some of the main defenses against a domestic violence charge may include:

• I didn’t do it;
• She/he lied;
• It was an accident;
• It was self-defense;
• It can’t be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, so you can’t convict      me;
• I was provoked by his/her actions;
• You can’t press charges against me because of a faulty investigation.

To know whether any of these defenses will be applicable to your Orange County Domestic Violence case, contact Orange County Criminal Domestic Violence Lawyer Peter F. Iocona immediately for a free consultation. 

If you’ve been charged with domestic violence, contact Peter F. Iocona to help you defend against a criminal charge of Domestic Violence. Our knowledgeable team of attorneys will aggressively fight to defend your rights to either get your charges reduced or dismissed as crime of violence can have an impact on any future employment and/or professional licensing.

When a battery is committed against a spouse, a person with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent of the defendant's child, former spouse, fiancé, or fiancée, or a person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating or engagement relationship, the battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended, it shall be a condition thereof that the defendant participate in, for no less than one year, and successfully complete, a batterer's treatment program, as described in Section 1203.097, or if none is available, another appropriate counseling program designated by the court. However, this provision shall not be construed as requiring a city, a county, or a city and county to provide a new program or higher level of service as contemplated by Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.

(2) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if probation is granted, the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(A) That the defendant make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(B) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant's offense. 

For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the defendant's ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a married person is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of their spouse in violation of this section, the community property shall not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse is exhausted.

(3) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if probation is granted or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended and the person has been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision or Section 273.5, the person shall be imprisoned for not less than 48 hours in addition to the conditions in paragraph (1). However, the court, upon a showing of good cause, may elect not to impose the mandatory minimum imprisonment as required by this subdivision and may, under these circumstances, grant probation or order the suspension of the execution or imposition of the sentence.

(4) The Legislature finds and declares that these specified crimes merit special consideration when imposing a sentence so as to display society's condemnation for these crimes of violence upon victims with whom a close relationship has been formed.

(5) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of this section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of their right to make a citizen's arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.

(a) Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a victim described in subdivision (b) is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to six thousand dollars ($6,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply if the victim is or was one or more of the following:

(1) The offender's spouse or former spouse.

(2) The offender's cohabitant or former cohabitant.

(3) The offender's fiancé or fiancée, or someone with whom the offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating relationship, as defined in paragraph (10) of subdivision (f) of Section 243.

(4) The mother or father of the offender's child.

(c) Holding oneself out to be the spouse of the person with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute cohabitation as the term is used in this section.

(d) As used in this section, “traumatic condition” means a condition of the body, such as a wound, or external or internal injury, including, but not limited to, injury as a result of strangulation or suffocation, whether of a minor or serious nature, caused by a physical force. For purposes of this section, “strangulation” and “suffocation” include impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying pressure on the throat or neck.

(e) For the purpose of this section, a person shall be considered the father or mother of another person's child if the alleged male parent is presumed the natural father under Sections 7611 and 7612 of the Family Code.

(f)(1) Any person convicted of violating this section for acts occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under subdivision (a), or subdivision (d) of Section 243, or Section 243.4, 244, 244.5, or 245, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or five years, or by both imprisonment and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(2) Any person convicted of a violation of this section for acts occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under subdivision (e) of Section 243 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

(g) If probation is granted to any person convicted under subdivision (a), the court shall impose probation consistent with the provisions of Section 1203.097.

(h) If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a sentence is suspended, for any defendant convicted under subdivision (a) who has been convicted of any prior offense specified in subdivision (f), the court shall impose one of the following conditions of probation:

(1) If the defendant has suffered one prior conviction within the previous seven years for a violation of any offense specified in subdivision (f), it shall be a condition of probation, in addition to the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that the defendant be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 15 days.

(2) If the defendant has suffered two or more prior convictions within the previous seven years for a violation of any offense specified in subdivision (f), it shall be a condition of probation, in addition to the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that the defendant be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 60 days.

(3) The court, upon a showing of good cause, may find that the mandatory imprisonment required by this subdivision shall not be imposed and shall state on the record its reasons for finding good cause.

(i) If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (a), the conditions of probation may include, consistent with the terms of probation imposed pursuant to Section 1203.097, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(1) That the defendant make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), pursuant to Section 1203.097.

(2)(A) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant's offense.

(B) For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the defendant's ability to pay. An order to make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program shall not be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a person who is married or in a registered domestic partnership is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of their spouse or domestic partner in violation of this section, the community property may not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse or domestic partner for restitution to the injured spouse or domestic partner, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse or domestic partner and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse or domestic partner is exhausted.

(j) Upon conviction under subdivision (a), the sentencing court shall also consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, which may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. It is the intent of the Legislature that the length of any restraining order be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim and their immediate family. This protective order may be issued by the court whether the defendant is sentenced to state prison or county jail, or if imposition of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation.

(k) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of this section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of their right to make a citizen's arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.