Southern California Defense Blog

When the police are called to the scene of a domestic dispute, the likelihood is that someone will be arrested and taken to jail if there is any accusation of a physical struggle - even if it mutual or here was no aggressor. This will lead to the posting of up to $50,000 bail, the arrestee vacated from the family residence, and a no-contact protective order being issued upon the arrestee. This will be devastating to the family environment, the children and the marital relationship.

The DA's office will then get involved and will go through a decision-making process re charges. The filing DA could file a felony corporal injury on a spouse charge, a misdemeanor domestic violence charge or file nothing at all. The felony charge of corporal injury does not require a substantial injury. It only needs to be traumatic in some way. Simple bruising, lacerations, scrapes, scratches, etc., will suffice. A felony corporal injury charge will have serious consequences such as prison, parole, jail, probation, fines, batterer's treatment classes, and protective orders. The DA has much discretion in this area and the decision in any given case can vary from county-to-county, court-to-court and prosecutor-to-prosecutor. The final decision will directly affect you and your family's future.

Thus the importance to consult with and hire a criminal defense attorney who is well-versed in corporal injury cases. An attorney who can contact the prosecutor immediately in an attempt to influence the prosecutor's decision-making process.

Get the competent representation you will need for your defense. Wallin & Klarich has been handling Corporal Injury Against a Spouse cases for decades. Contact the attorneys at Wallin & Klarich to represent you in this difficult and stressful time in your life. Visit our website at www.wklaw.comand feel free to cal us at 888-280-6839. We will be here when you call.

If you have been charged with battery on a spouse under California Penal Code Section 243, you should immediately contact an experienced criminal defense attorney. An experienced criminal defense attorney will know how to examine all the circumstances surrounding your case to secure the most favorable result. Under Penal Code Section 243, battery is any willful and unlawful touching in a harmful or offensive manner upon a spouse, a cohabitant, or any person in which the defendant has been dating.

There are many possible defenses to the charge of battery on a spouse. Self-defense can be used as a defense if the defendant was protecting himself or herself. Also, it is not battery on a spouse if the spouse consented to the harmful or offensive touching.

If you are facing a domestic violence charge, it is critical that you talk to a California criminal defense attorney about the possible defenses. A conviction of battery on a spouse is a misdemeanor and can be punishable by up to one year in county jail and two thousand dollars ($2,000) in fines. If probation is granted, the defendant will be required to enroll in and complete a batterer’s treatment program. The conditions of probation may also include, in lieu of a fine, that the defendant make payments to a battered women’s shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollar ($5,000), or that the defendant reimburse the victim the reasonable costs of counseling, or both.

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