Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Co-Habitant: PC 273.5

Emotional involvement in intimate relationships or marriages can trigger serious disagreements that sometimes result in physical force and injuries. California PC 273.5 recognizes the threat of these disagreements, so it protects spouses or dating partners from obtaining injuries from their partners. The statute prohibits the illegal act of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or a cohabitant and imposes severe penalties on those found guilty.

Unfortunately, even a false accusation from a spouse after a disagreement can result in a wrongful conviction for corporal injury. A lawyer is essential to protect your rights and prevent a wrongful conviction. At the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum, we have extensive knowledge defending against these domestic violence cases. We are suitable to contest the charges for you in San Diego.

Corporal Injury Legal Definition

Penal Code 273.5 prescribes corporal injury as the infliction of bodily pain or injuries on someone else. When you are arrested or charged under this statute, it means your spouse, dating partner, or cohabitant has suffered a traumatic situation because of your use of physical force. The offenses are the same as domestic battery, only that the bodily injuries under corporal injury must be actual or real. Under domestic battery, the prosecutor does not have to prove that the alleged plaintiff suffered actual injuries for you to be guilty.

The conditions that define an intimate relationship under this statute include:

• The parties, the victim and defendant, are former spouses
• The parties to the case are former or current registered domestic partners
• The parties share a child or children
• The parties are or have previously been in a committed relationship
• The parties were or are presently cohabiting
• The parties are engaged or ex-fiancés

Cohabiting in this statute means living together. Some of the aspects the court considers to determine that you were living together with the victim are:

• The relationship’s duration
• The relationship’s continuity
• Sexual relationships during the time of living together
• Statements or holding yourself in a manner that suggests you are married or in a committed relationship with the victim
• Sharing property ownership or use
• Sharing income or costs

If any of these conditions apply to your case, you are in an intimate relationship. If you cause the other partner visible injuries, severe or small, you risk charges for causing corporal injuries.

Elements the District Attorney Must Prove

A charge for spousal corporal injury alone does not make you guilty of the crime. The law presumes you are innocent until the DA demonstrates otherwise. The state holds the burden of proof and must present compelling evidence that eliminates all doubt that you committed the crime. So, they must prove all the case’s facts, leaving no room for imaginable doubt. If the facts presented are open to some doubt, the court will find you not guilty.

California Criminal Jury Instructions 840 prescribe the elements of corporal injury to an intimate partner or spousal. The DA should prove with an abiding conviction that the allegations are factual. These facts are:

• You purposely, willfully, or deliberately caused physical harm or injuries
• The harm was caused to a present or ex-dating partner
• The injuries led to a traumatic situation or condition

Understanding the unique terms and concepts spelled out under PC 273.5 is crucial for a better understanding of these elements.

Willfully or Purposefully

The law deems you to have acted willfully or purposely when you engage in an intentional act. For purposes of PC 273.5, a willful act does not need to be planned. For example, in the heat of an argument with your wife, you grab her arm to prevent her from leaving. Sadly, she ends up twisting her elbow. Even though you did not plan to hurt her, you purposely grabbed her hand, leading to the elbow twist.

Traumatic Situation or Condition

When you apply direct physical force or contact with an intimate partner, any injuries or harm stemming from the contact is a traumatic incident. The physical contact that the law spells out includes:

• Breaking your partner’s bone
• A strike on your intimate partner that leads to a concussion
• Twisting your partner’s limb, causing a sprain
• Punching your better half, causing internal bleeding
• Causing bruises in your partner’s body by squeezing them
• Injury to your partner through suffocation

When physical contact results in these injuries on an intimate partner, you are deemed to have inflicted them with a traumatic condition.

Causation

The DA will tie your direct physical force application leading to an injury to the traumatic condition if:

• The traumatic situation was a natural and direct source of the injury
• The injury is directly and substantially related to the victim’s traumatic situation
• Were it not for the physical injury, the traumatic situation would not have happened

For example, you are fighting with your spouse, and she wants to leave, but you grab her arm to prevent her from leaving. You squeeze the arm firmly so that she cannot go, but she finally manages to remove your hand from her arm. Unfortunately, as she rushes down the stairs out of the house, she slips, hitting her head, which results in a concussion. Under the circumstances, you are not guilty of corporal injury because your spouse’s concussion, which is a traumatic circumstance or situation, was not directly caused by your grabbing of her arm but rather by her hasty walk down the stairs.

Corporal Injury Penalties

Causing corporal injury to a dating partner is a wobbler, allowing the prosecutor to file the crime as a felony or misdemeanor, contingent on your criminal record and the circumstances of the case.

If, after a thorough examination of your case’s facts, the DA discovers that your victim sustained substantial injuries and that you have been previously charged or convicted of domestic violence or other acts of violence, they will prefer felony charges against you. Apart from these circumstances, this crime is usually filed as a misdemeanor.

1. Penalties for a Misdemeanor

When the DA proves all the case’s facts using circumstantial and direct evidence, leaving the fact finder with an abiding conviction that the misdemeanor corporal injury counts are true, you will attract the following penalties:

• No more than twelve months of jail sentence
• And/or court financial fines of at most $6,000

During sentencing, your defense lawyer will present mitigating factors in your favor to compel the fact finder to impose a more lenient punishment. If the facts presented by your attorney convince the judge, they can impose informal or summary probation in place of the twelve-month jail sentence. However, you should know that the probation persists for twelve to thirty-six months and comes with strict terms that you should obey. Disregarding these terms results in probation revocation. You will return to jail to serve your original sentence when this happens.

2. Felony Penalties

The penalties for a felony corporal injury conviction are steeper than those for a misdemeanor. They include:

• State prison incarceration for 24, 36, or 48 months
• Monetary court fines of at most $6,000
• Both imprisonment and incarceration
• Formal or felony probation instead of the prison sentence

You will face penalty enhancement if you have been convicted of domestic or spousal battery within the last 84 months. The felony penalty enhancement will be as follows:

• 24, 36, or 48 months in prison
• Court-imposed fines of at most $10,000

Additionally, having prior convictions for certain offenses with seven years can increase the penalties for your current felony offense to:

• 24, 36, or 60 months of state imprisonment
• Court fines of no more than $10,000

These prior offenses that increase your penalties for felony corporal injury are:

• Corporal injury to an intimate partner
• Assault/battery leading to great bodily injury (GBI)
• Assault or battery utilizing a caustic chemical
• Assault utilizing a deadly weapon
• Sexual battery
• Assault using a stun gun

You should know that when corporal injury to an intimate partner results in GBI or significant bodily harm, you will risk an additional and subsequent sentence of 36, 48, or 60 months of prison incarceration under PC 12022.7 sentence enhancement.

3. Corporal Injury Probation

Depending on the mitigating circumstances in your case and your criminal past, the fact finder can suspend the jail or prison sentence and instead impose probation. Summary probation goes on for twelve to thirty-six months, while formal probation goes on for 36 to 60 months, sometimes with a requirement to serve twelve months in jail.

The probationary terms you should comply with are:

• Victim restitution for all the losses or expenses stemming from the traumatic situation
• Full payment of court-imposed fines
• Contributing at most $5,000 toward a battered women’s shelter
• Enrolling and finishing a fifty-two-week DV program
• Finishing your community hours and duties assigned
• Obeying protective or restraining court orders
• Avoiding crime during the probationary period
• At least fifteen days of a jail sentence for an assault or DV conviction in seven years or at least sixty days of jail incarceration if there are more than two priors.

Violation of these terms can result in a probation violation proceeding. If there is convincing proof that a breach of the terms happened, the fact finder can:

• In rare cases, continue probation
• Revise the existing terms and impose harsher ones
• Cancel the probation and send you to jail or prison to serve the original maximum sentence

You need an experienced attorney to defend you in the probation violation proceeding to avoid the revocation of the suspended sentence.

4. Immigration Consequences

Federal statutes classify the offense of causing corporal injury to an intimate partner as a deportable violation because it is an offense of moral turpitude and an aggravated felony. Therefore, if you are in the United States, a conviction could lead to deportation. The violation is also an inadmissible crime:

• You could be denied entry when you leave the country
• You will miss out on becoming a United States Citizen
• You could become ineligible for permanent residency or the right to adjust your status from an unlawful to a lawful alien

When hiring a legal representative to fight these charges, look for one with knowledge of immigration laws. After a guilty verdict, you will require help fighting deportation or inadmissibility.

5. Consequences Under the Three Strike Statutes

Corporal injury causing GBI is a serious felony and could result in an additional strike on your record. You will add a second strike on your record for a subsequent felony conviction. When the court categorizes you as a second striker, you will face double the penalties provided for your felony offense under the law. A third strike for a third felony sentence will result in serving 25 years to life in prison.

Fighting Corporal Injury Charges

False accusations are rampant in domestic violence cases, and without the legal representation of an experienced criminal lawyer, you risk a wrongful conviction. Nonetheless, with the help of an attorney, you can prove the case’s facts and poke holes in the DA’s proof for a charge reduction or case dismissal.

At the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum, we understand all corporal injury cases are unique and, therefore, will not apply general defenses to your case. We will investigate the allegations independently, gather evidence, and examine the prosecutor’s proof to craft legal defenses tailored to your case’s circumstances. The practical legal defenses that will mount in your case are:

You were Lawfully Defending Yourself or Someone Else

Most DV cases are two-way street. During an argument, your spouse can become threatening. If, under the circumstances, you reasonably believe you or someone else in the room is in imminent danger of harm, the law allows you to strike in defense to repel the threat, using reasonable force. The court will drop the charges if your attorney demonstrates that the direct physical contact that led to the allegations was an act of self-defense or you were defending someone else.

The evidence your attorney will use to support the arguments includes surveillance footage of the alleged incident, testimony from eyewitnesses, or an audio recording of the victim proving their violent nature. With this proof, the fact finder will doubt whether the crime was committed, meaning the case will not meet the evidentiary standard for criminal cases, leading to a dismissal or not guilty verdict.

Your Actions Were Accidental or Not Deliberate

Disagreements between intimate partners are highly emotive, and in the heat of passion, you could do something you did not intend to, like making physical contact with the other party, thus causing them injuries and a subsequent traumatic situation. If the touch was accidental and you never intended to harm the victim, you can argue that you did not act willfully. Willfulness is a primary element the DA proves to secure a conviction. Therefore, when there is proof that your actions were accidental, the DA court can drop the case or charge you with a lesser offense.

Your attorney will need proof to back up these assertions. Therefore, they must present eyewitnesses and video footage in the case. Additionally, the attorney can call an expert witness, like a forensic medical professional, to explain the differences between deliberately and accidentally inflicted injuries.

You are Falsely Accused

With the seriousness with which authorities take DV allegations, they could overlook facts in your favor, leading to false accusations and charges. False accusations are initiated mostly after disagreements due to anger, a need for revenge, or spite. Without proper legal representation, you could be wrongfully convicted for an offense you did not commit. Therefore, you are encouraged to hire a defense attorney even when the allegations against you are baseless.

A proficient attorney will help you by subpoenaing the claimant’s text messages and social media accounts. The attorney will also cross-examine the accuser’s family, friends, and online contacts. Background checks on the accuser and witnesses testifying against you can also help prove your innocence.

These measures by your attorney help gather evidence to impeach eyewitnesses or the accuser’s character. Also, the evidence obtained from the attorney’s investigations can uncover the accuser’s hidden motives for the false accusation. The prosecutor can lower the charges or offer a favorable plea deal with this evidence.

The Accuser’s Refusal to Testify

It is common for some accusers in DV cases to renounce their statements alleging corporal injury. Others change their minds later on and refuse to cooperate with the DA. Sadly, even if this happens, the prosecutor never drops the charges against you as they believe you emotionally manipulated, coerced, or threatened the victim. If this happens, prosecuting the case becomes highly challenging.

When a plaintiff fails to testify in court, the DA can still subpoena them to testify, but most do not show up, making it challenging to prosecute cases where the accuser is uncooperative. The court can also intervene by issuing a bench warrant for the plaintiff’s arrest so that they can be presented in court. Nonetheless, the accuser is usually out of town or hiding, making it impossible for them to appear in court.

When a victim withdraws from your PEN 273.5 violation case, and there is no way of making them testify in court, the prosecutor drops the charges as the hearsay rule takes effect. The rule states that unless the prosecutor can interview or confront the accuser in court, any statements they made outside the court are excluded from the evidence. So, if the person making the accusations does not show up in court to testify, their statements outside court are invalid, leaving the DA with a weak case that the court dismisses.

Related Offenses

Many crimes arise alongside or in place of corporal injury to a spouse. These are:

1. Domestic Battery

Per PC 243(e)(1), it is unlawful to make harmful or offensive direct physical contact with your cohabitant, your child’s biological parent, present or former fiancee, spouse, or dating partner. The violation is a crime that falls under domestic violence offenses. Nevertheless, the plaintiff does not have to obtain actual, tangible, or visible injuries for you to be guilty of the offense. The prosecutor only shows the existence of offensive physical contact.

Domestic battery is a misdemeanor whose guilty verdict attracts no more than $2,000 in court fines, at most twelve months in county jail, DV classes, and summary probation. These legal penalties are more lenient than those imposed for corporal injury, making domestic battery a lesser offense. Therefore, if you have been charged with causing corporal injury to a cohabitant or dating partner but there is no evidence of actual physical injuries or traumatic conditions, the prosecutor can offer you a plea deal where you plead guilty to domestic battery. In return, they drop the corporal injury charges against you.

2. Disturbing Peace

Per PC 415, it is unlawful to:

• Play extremely loud music
• Fight in public
• Utilize fighting or offensive words in public

The violation is a misdemeanor or infraction. As an infraction, disturbing peace is punishable by no more than $250 in court fines with no jail sentence. Misdemeanor penalties for the violation include at most 90 days of jail incarceration and at most $400 in court fines. Unlike PEN 273.5 violations, disturbing peace attracts lesser penalties and holds less stigma.

Therefore, if you and your partner had a confrontation or disagreement in public leading to corporal injury charges, your attorney can collect evidence to show the DA and court that the evidence in the case does not meet the threshold of a spousal corporal injury. Instead, you should face charges for disturbing peace.

Other related offenses include:

• Battery, which is prescribed under PC 242
• Aggravated battery, outlined under PC 243(d)
• Child endangerment under PC 273(a)
• Elder abuse
• False imprisonment

Find a Proficient Domestic Violence Defense Attorney Near Me

Accusations of causing corporal injuries to a spouse, cohabitant, or dating partner can result in life-altering consequences if the court finds you guilty. Sadly, some of these accusations are false or exaggerated, and if you are not careful to build a solid defense, the court could find you guilty. Thankfully, you can avoid a wrongful conviction or secure a charge reduction or dismissal by hiring an attorney to defend your rights and freedom.

At the Law Offices of Anna R. Yum, we know intimate relationships can be complex, and you could lose control of the situation, jeopardizing your future. So, if you have been accused of the violation in San Diego, do not hesitate to contact us at 619-493-3461 to find out how we can assist you.