California Penal Code 273.5 - Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Cohabitant

What You Need to Know About California Penal Code 273.5 – Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Cohabitant

Corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, a charge commonly associated with domestic violence, is a serious crime in California. Here’s everything you need to know about California Penal Code 273.5 – corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.

California Penal Code 273.5 prohibits willfully inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. California statute defines corporal injury as any physical injury, regardless of being major or minor. Suffocation and strangulation are also considered corporal injuries under California law. In California, corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant is a wobbler offense, meaning it can be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the circumstances. The circumstances and nature of the injury will also determine whether the assailant serves state prison time, county jail time is subjected to fines, restitution, probation, or parole.

Legal Defenses To Corporal Injury

If you have been charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, your attorney can argue:

You acted in self-defense or in defense of another individual.

In California, individuals cannot be prosecuted for acting in self-defense. You can claim self-defense relating to the criminal offenses of murder under penal code 187, domestic battery under penal code 243e1, and assault under penal code 240.

The accuser’s injury was a result of an accident.

If the inflicted injury was accidental, you cannot be charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. Penal code 273.5 reads, “Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury,” this rules out accidental occurrences.

The allegations are false.

This is very common in domestic violence cases. Spouses often seek revenge upon their current, divorcing, or ex-partners by making false domestic violence allegations. If this is the case, there are several steps to take to protect yourself. You should not contact the accuser if at all possible. If you end up around them, you should have a reliable witness to attest to the situation. Furthermore, pay attention to your social media as your posts can be evidence. The most important step is to find a defense attorney and start compiling evidence that will clear your name.

Legal Definition of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Cohabitant

California Penal Code 273.5 states that if the following elements are present, the defendant can be charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant:

The defendant willfully inflicted a physical injury
On a current or former intimate partner
AND the physical injury causes the victim a “traumatic condition”

It is important to understand the exact meaning of the applicable Penal Code’s legal diction. If you and your attorney can argue that the PC’s legal diction does not match the elements of your case, your case would likely be void, and charges can be immediately dropped by the prosecutor or dismissed by the court.

Definition of “willfully”

According to California law, “willfully” is legally defined as intentionally committing an action. In order to be charged, the act of injury must be intentional, but the defendant does not need to intend to break the law. This wording excludes any injury you cause by accident, slipping and knocking someone over or a situation that forces you to cause an injury to another.

What is a Traumatic Injury?

California law defines traumatic injury as “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.”

The law considers the following injuries “traumatic conditions”:

A broken bone,
A bruise
A concussion,
A sprain, AND/OR
Internal bleeding

The traumatic injury must indefinitely be a result of the defendant’s physical force. The traumatic injury is considered a result of the defendant’s physical force if:

The condition was a probable result of the inflicted injury
The inflicted injury was the main cause of the traumatic condition
The traumatic condition would not be present if the inflicted injury did not occur

Definition of “intimate partner”

Under Penal Code 273.5, an intimate partner includes a current or former:

Spouse
Registered domestic partner( PC 13700 (b) defines this as any unrelated adult living with another with an intimate relationship that has exits in a permanent nature.)
Cohabitant (boyfriend or girlfriend that lives with you)
Fiancé
Serious boyfriend or girlfriend
The assumed natural father of a child even if under the care of another
OR if the defendant shares a child with the accuser

Legal Penalties of Corporal Injury on a Spouse or Cohabitant

The legal penalties of a corporal injury conviction depend on whether the case was charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.

Misdemeanor

If convicted of a misdemeanor, a defendant can be sentenced to

Up to one year in county jail AND/OR
A maximum fine of $6,000

The judge could also sentence the defendant to misdemeanor probation instead of jail time, depending on the circumstances.

Felony

If convicted of a felony, a defendant can be sentenced to

Two, three, or four years in state prison AND/OR
A maximum fine of $6,000

If the defendant has been previously convicted of similar violent crimes, the penalties can be much more severe.

Parole

If given parole instead of jail time, one could be required to do pay one or both of the following:

Payments to a battered women’s shelter up to $5,000
Repayment to the victim for any treatment of lost wages caused by the corporal injury

However, these payments will be scaled to what the defendant can afford as determined by the court and they will not interfere with child support payments

Immigration Consequences

If convicted of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, your immigration status can be changed. California Penal Code 273.5 is a deportable offense, meaning if you are convicted of it, you may not be allowed to:

Re-enter the United States after leaving
Ever become a U.S. citizen
Apply for a green card

Examples of Corporal Injury On a Spouse or Cohabitant

Mike and Arnie, a same-sex couple that lives together, get into a serious argument. In a fit of rage, Mike strikes Arnie in the face, fracturing Arnie’s jaw upon impact. Mike can be charged with corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant.

Sophie discovers that her fiancé, Gabriel, is cheating on her. Sophie confronts Gabriel, repeatedly pushing him and using obscene language to describe him. Gabriel walks away to leave the argument and trips and falls while doing so. As a result of the fall, Gabriel fractures his pelvis. Sophie cannot be charged with corporal injury because she did not directly cause the accident. Gabriel’s traumatic condition is the result of him walking away and falling.However, if Sophie pushed Gabriel, she would then be responsible because her physical force resulted in Gabriel falling.

Contact Pride Legal

If you or a loved one has been charged with corporal injury on a spouse of a cohabitant, we invite you to contact us at Pride Legal for legal counseling or any further questions. To protect your rights, hire someone who understands them.