Domestic Violence/Domestic Battery
PEN § 243(e)(1), 273.5, 368, 591, 601, 646.9, 647, 653, 13700 - Wobbler
- Maximum fine: 1Y/4Y
- Maximum term: $1000/$10,000
- Probation/parole at home eligible: Y
- Community service eligible: Y
Defined in Domestic Violence Civil Laws
Citation: Fam. Code §§ 6203; 6320
The term 'abuse' means any of the following:
• Intentionally or recklessly causing or attempting to cause bodily injury
• Sexual assault
• Placing a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury
• Engaging in any behavior that has been or could be enjoined pursuant to § 6320
Abuse is not limited to the actual infliction of physical injury or assault.
The court may enjoin a party from molesting; attacking; striking; stalking; threatening; sexually assaulting; battering; harassing; telephoning, including making annoying telephone calls; destroying personal property; contacting, either directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise; coming within a specified distance of; or disturbing the peace of the other party.
The term 'disturbing the peace of the other party' refers to conduct that destroys the mental calm of the other party. This conduct may be committed directly or indirectly, including through a third party, and by any method, including, but not limited to, telephone; online accounts; text messages; internet-connected devices, including connected devices as defined in § 22948.30 of the Business and Professions Code; or other electronic technologies. This conduct includes, but is not limited to, coercive control, which is a pattern of behavior that, in purpose or effect, unreasonably interferes with a person's free will and personal liberty. Coercive control includes, but is not limited to, unreasonably engaging in any of the following:
• Isolating the other party from friends, relatives, or other social support
• Depriving the other party of basic necessities
• Controlling, regulating, or monitoring the other party's movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services
• Compelling the other party by force, threat of force, or intimidation, including threats based on actual or suspected immigration status, to engage in conduct from which the other party has a right to abstain from or to abstain from conduct in which the other party has a right to engage in
• Engaging in reproductive coercion, which consists of control over the reproductive autonomy of another through force, threat of force, or intimidation, and may include, but is not limited to, unreasonably pressuring the other party to become pregnant, deliberately interfering with contraception use or access to reproductive health information, or using coercive tactics to control, or attempt to control, pregnancy outcomes
A 'connected device' means any device or other physical object that is capable of connecting to the internet, directly or indirectly, and that is assigned an internet protocol address or Bluetooth address or enables a person to remotely obtain data from or send commands to a connected device or account, which may be accomplished through a software application that is designed to be operated on a mobile device, computer, or other technology.
Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a victim described in the section below is guilty of a felony.
As used in this section, the term '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.
Citation: Fam. Code § 6211; Penal Code § 273.5
In civil law: 'Domestic violence' is abuse perpetrated against any of the following persons:
• A spouse or former spouse
• A cohabitant or former cohabitant, as defined in § 6209
• A person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship
• A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child of the female parent under the Uniform Parentage Act
• A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child to be protected
• Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree
In criminal law: Section 273.5(a) shall apply if the victim is or was one or more of the following:
• The offender's spouse or former spouse
• The offender's cohabitant or former cohabitant
• The offender's fiancé or someone with whom the offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating relationship
• The mother or father of the offender's child
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.
Domestic Battery (PEN §243(e)(1)) is use force or infliction of violence upon an intimate partner. In its felony form, punishment for Domestic Battery can include up to four (4) years in a state prison and/or a fine of as much as $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars).
Elder Abuse law in California (PEN §368) makes it illegal to: 1) Inflict physical abuse; 2) Inflict emotional abuse; 3) Neglect; 4) Endanger; or, 5) Expose an elder person to financial fraud. The law applies to persons aged sixty-five or older. The Elder Abuse law is a “wobbler” punishable by up to four (4) years in state prison and/or a fine of as much as $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars).
Stalking law (PEN §646.9) criminalizes harassing or threatening another person. The threat or harassment must cause that person to fear for his or her safety or the safety of family members. As a “wobbler,” Stalking can be punished by up to five (5) years in a state prison and/or a fine of as much as $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars).
Criminal Threats are made illegal under PEN § 422. Generally, the law criminalizes threatening anyone with serious harm. It is another form of “wobbler.” It may be punished by up to four (4) years in a state prison (including a potential one-year enhancement) and/or a fine of as much as $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars). Furthermore, since Criminal Threats is a form of “serious felony,” conviction counts as a “strike” under California law. If you accrue three “strikes,” you'll serve a minimum of twenty-five (25) years in a state prison.
ix) Aggravated Trespass
PEN §601 criminalizes making an illegal threat and then entering a home or workplace to carry out the threat within thirty days of its making. As a form of “wobbler,” you face up to three (3) years in a state prison and/or a fine of as much as $2,000 (two-thousand dollars) for a conviction under this Section.
x) Posting Harmful Information On The Internet (“Cyberstalking”)
Posting Harmful Information On The Internet (PEN §653.2) (also known as “Cyberstalking”) involves making available harmful information about someone else by posting or emailing the material. It is a misdemeanor. You must intend on causing other people to harass that person through or with the posting. If you are convicted, you face up to one (1) year in a county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000 (one-thousand dollars).
xi) “Revenge Porn”
“Revenge Porn” (a crime under PEN §647) is actually a form of harassment involving intentional distribution of a sexual image of another person. You must intend on causing emotional distress with the disclosure of the image. “Revenge Porn” is punished with a maximum possible sentence of one (1) year in a county jail and/or a fine of up to $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars).
xii) Damaging A Telephone Line
Damaging A Telephone Line (PEN §591) occurs whenever anyone intentionally cuts or damages a phone line or telephone related equipment. It's also a “wobbler.” If you're convicted of the felony form, you face up to three (3) years in a state prison and/or a fine of as much as $10,000 (ten-thousand dollars).