Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer – Battery on Spouse Penal Code 243

In California, a battery on spouse charge differs from other battery charges, and carries with it some potentially severe penalties. An experienced West Covina criminal lawyer can advise you regarding possible lesser charges that might be negotiated and potential defenses that may be available to you to get your charge dismissed altogether.

What Is Battery on Spouse

A battery on spouse charge, also commonly known as “domestic violence” or “spousal abuse,” occurs when a person willfully inflicts violence or force against an intimate partner. An actual injury need not have happened for a battery on spouse charge to succeed. Intimate partners include not only current or former spouses, but they also include current or former fiancés, the parent of the offender’s child, current or former persons the offender dated, and anyone living in the offender’s household. A simple battery on a spouse charge is a misdemeanor. However, if an injury occurred to an intimate partner, then the prosecutor has the option of charging it as a more serious crime such as felony aggravated battery or intentional infliction of corporal injury.

Possible Penalties for Battery on Spouse

A West Covina criminal lawyer can advise you regarding the likely penalties in your situation given the facts of your case and your criminal background (or lack thereof). In general, the penalties associated with a simple battery on spouse charge include up to one year in jail, probation for up to three years, and a maximum fine of $2000. In cases where probation is granted in lieu of jail, the offender will have to complete a minimum one-year domestic battery program (48 hours in jail will still be required regardless). Also, in lieu of the $2000 fine, a court could order payment to a battered women’s shelter of up to $5000 and/or the payment of mental health counseling for the victim, or other incident related expenses such as reimbursement for medical bills and damaged property. Obviously, the penalties get more severe if a person is convicted of the more serious crimes previously mentioned.
As an experienced West Covina criminal lawyer, I can advise you regarding what possible defenses you may have. Accidents, self-defense, and false allegations are all plausible defenses to a battery on spouse charge.  If you are facing domestic violence of spousal abuse charges, contact Daniel Cota, a dedicated West Covina criminal lawyer, today at (800) 351-6860 for a free initial consultation.