Willful And Unlawful Use Of Domestic Violence In California

Sometimes, passions boil over during discussions or arguments between married couples or family members. When things become physical, or there is the threat of physicality, however, people in Northern California, and elsewhere, it could be considered domestic violence. In such cases, people could face serious criminal charges with potentially severe penalties.

According to the Judicial Council of California, domestic violence is a threat of abuse or actual abuse involving people who have an intimate or familial relationship. In general, there are two criminal offenses that people may be charged with following a violent domestic dispute – spousal battery or corporal injury to a spouse.

What is spousal battery?

The California Penal Code defines battery as the “willful and unlawful use of force or violence against the person of another.” Spousal battery, then, occurs when people use force or violence against their spouses, former spouses, children, fiancé or fiancée, or some other person with who they cohabitate. An alleged victim does not have to be physically injured in order for a person to be charged with this offense. Rather, they may be charged in any case when forceful or unwanted contact occurred.
In more serious cases, people may be charged with corporal injury to a spouse. California’s Penal Code criminalizes domestic abuse in situations when a person’s alleged willful conduct causes “corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition.” Essentially, the term corporal injury refers to any physical injury. State law defines a traumatic condition as any injury to the body, whether internal or external, that is caused by physical force.

Restraining