Prosecution Elements – Domestic Violence
The following is what the prosecuting attorney must prove and the instructions that the Jury will read in determining the verdict for a charge of battery under California Penal Code 242, 243(a). Note that this is the general battery crime and there are several different types of battery that can be charged. Also, be aware that if you may be charged with both assault and battery.
Corporal Injury on a Spouse – California Penal Code 273.5
The defendant is charged with inflicting an injury on [his/her] ([former] spouse/[former] cohabitant/the (mother/father) of (his/her) child) that resulted in a traumatic condition in violation of Penal Code section 273.5(a).
To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must prove that:
1. The defendant willfully [and unlawfully] inflicted a physical injury on [his/her] (spouse/cohabitant/the (mother/father) of (his/her) child);
[AND]
2. The injury inflicted by the defendant resulted in a traumatic condition.
<Give element 3 when instructing on self-defense or defense of another>
[AND
3. The defendant did not act (in self-defense/ [or] in defense of someone else).]
Definition of a Traumatic Condition
[A traumatic condition is the result of an injury if:
1. The traumatic condition was the natural and probable consequence of the injury;
2. The injury was a direct and substantial factor in causing the condition;
AND
3. The condition would not have happened without the injury.
A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of the circumstances established by the evidence.
A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor.
However, it does not need to be the only factor that resulted in the traumatic condition.]
Additional Info:
Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose.
A traumatic condition is a wound or other bodily injury, whether minor or serious, caused by the direct application of physical force.
[The term cohabitants means two unrelated persons living together for a substantial period of time, resulting in some permanency of the relationship. Factors that may determine whether people are cohabiting include, but are not limited to, (1) sexual relations between the parties while sharing the same residence, (2) sharing of income or expenses, (3) joint use or ownership of property, (4) the parties’ holding themselves out as (husband and wife/domestic partners), (5) the continuity of the relationship, and (6) the length of the relationship.]
[A person may cohabit simultaneously with two or more people at different locations, during the same time frame, if he or she maintains substantial ongoing relationships with each person and lives with each person for significant periods.]
[A person is considered to be the (mother/father) of another person’s child if the alleged male parent is presumed under law to be the natural father. <insert name of presumed father> is presumed under law to be the natural father of <insert name of child>.]