California Criminal Defense Blog

There are essentially three levels of injury that are addressed under California’s battery laws: minor injury, serious bodily injury, and great bodily injury.

If you are convicted of Penal Code 242 PC battery…and you caused the alleged victim to suffer a minor or moderate injury (or even no injury at all)…you face a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in a county jail.

If you are convicted of Penal Code 243(d) PC California’s “battery causing serious bodily injury” law, you face up to four years in the California State Prison. Under Penal Code 243(d) PC California’s “battery causing serious bodily injury” law, a “serious bodily injury” is one that causes a serious impairment to one’s physical condition. There is no specific injury that necessarily qualifies as a serious bodily injury; it’s simply something that is determined on a case-by-case basis.

If you are convicted of a battery that causes a great bodily injury, you face a three to six-year state prison sentence in addition and consecutive to the penalty you face for the underlying battery. A “great bodily injury” is a significant or substantial physical injury. And again, what qualifies as a great bodily injury is determined on a case-by-case basis.

The problem is that the same injury could essentially be found to be moderate, serious, or great, depending on the mood of the jury. And the resulting injustice is that different people who inflict the same injury could be punished in very different ways.

As you can see, how the injury is classified is critical to your case. If you’ve been charged with a battery that causes an injury, it is advisable that you immediately consult with a California attorney who specializes in defending California battery cases.

Earlier this month, a San Francisco jury acquitted a man of battery on a code enforcement officer following a two-day trial. The facts revealed that, upon seeing a “meter maid” approaching a parked car, the defendant decided to be a Good Samaritan and fed the expired meter for the owner. The parking enforcement officer became irate and began yelling at the defendant. After still issuing the ticket, the officer drove away when the defendant spit on the meter maid’s vehicle.

Had he been convicted under California’s misdemeanor “Battery on a Peace Officer” law, he would have faced up to one year in a county jail and a maximum $2,000 fine.

Fortunately, the jury recognized that, although the defendant’s act may have technically qualified as a misdemeanor battery on a peace officer…since a battery is any unwanted, unjustified, or offensive use of force on another person or on something closely connected to the person…they obviously didn’t feel he deserved to be punished for the alleged offense.

Kudos to a jury who allowed common sense to factor into their verdict!

People quite often refer to an assault as an “assault and battery”. While it’s definitely possible to commit an “assault and battery” the two are, in fact, separate crimes. Here’s the distinction…

A California Penal Code 240 PC “assault” takes place when you attempt to harm or injure another person. As long as you have the ability and desire to inflict an injury on someone, the crime is completed as soon as you attempt to injure that person.

It doesn’t matter whether you actually make contact with the individual or whether you actually injure that person. If you attempt to contact a person in a way that is likely to inflict harm, you have committed a California Penal Code 240 PC assault.

A battery, on the other hand, takes place when that attempt is completed…which is why battery is sometimes referred to as a “completed assault”. A battery necessarily involves physical contact. The contact doesn’t have to result in an injury (any unwanted or offensive touching will suffice).

This means that if you take a swing at someone during a fight, you could be guilty of assault. If you connect your punch, you could be guilty of assault and battery.

California’s legal definition of “great bodily injury” is a significant or substantial injury.
Otherwise known as “GBI” or “great bodily harm”, great bodily injury is a sentencing enhancement. This means that when a defendant is convicted of a California criminal offense…and during that offense, he caused another person to suffer great bodily injury...he faces a greater penalty than he otherwise would have.

Great bodily harm is only supposed to be alleged under the most severe circumstances. When charged and proven, it subjects an offender to a three to six year California State Prison sentence in addition and consecutive to the sentence he/she will serve for the underlying offense.

The problem is that overzealous prosecutors charge this enhancement almost routinely anytime someone is injured. Even injuries as insignificant as scratches, red-marks, or simple bruises are being labeled “great bodily injuries”.

Fortunately, good California criminal defense lawyers understand that GBI is more severe than the type of injury that would normally result from a violent act…and know how to effectively convey that message to a judge and jury.

California self-defense laws allow people to use reasonable force (and even violence) to protect themselves against an attacker. The threat must be immediate and a person must use no more force than is reasonably necessary to thwart the attack.

But what if someone starts a fight? Can he claim self-defense as a legal defense against criminal charges?

For example, suppose Sam walks up and starts punching Robbie. Robbie starts punching back. Sam continues his attack, claiming now that he's defending himself. Can he do this?

Well, first of all, Sam's initial attack was clearly not self-defense...so for that he could get prosecuted for assault and battery at the least. But once Robbie starts fighting back, does the defense of self-defense kick in?

California law allows self-defense by an aggressor, but only if two conditions are met. First, Sam must actually and in good faith try to stop fighting. Second, he must communicate to Robbie that he wants to stop (or has stopped) fighting. If Sam does both of these and Robbie continues to fight, Sam can now fight back in lawful self-defense.

Continue reading "Can a Bully Claim Self-Defense?" »

The Bible tells us that "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."(Proverbs 13:24). But in California, adhering to this Scripture can land a parent in jail.

Stated in Penal Code 273d, California child abuse law makes it a crime to "inflict on a child any cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or injury resulting in a traumatic condition." The law defines a "traumatic condition" simply as any visible injury, whether serious or slight.

Unfortunately, Penal Code 273d doesn't give parents a great deal of guidance as to when a justifiable "spanking" or "belting" crosses the line into criminal child abuse. Whipping an 8-year-old for misbehavior may seem proper parenting to one person, but cruel and abusive to another.

This quandary is made all the more difficult by our society's vast differences in cultures, religious beliefs and traditions...all of which influence peoples' views on this topic. Some groups within our society embrace corporal punishment as appropriate and even a moral duty...while others feel that an adult should never be allowed legally to beat a child.

Continue reading "When Does a Spanking Become a Crime?" »

On April 23, two deputies from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office plead guilty to beating a San Dimas firefighter. All three men were off-duty at the time of the attack. One of the deputies plead guilty to California misdemeanor assault under Penal Code 240, the other to California misdemeanor battery under Penal Code 242. The firefighter underwent several weeks of medical treatment for his injuries that were sustained when he was beaten and kicked by his assailants.

The details of the attack weren’t reported, although it can be assumed that the firefighter wasn’t fighting a fire or otherwise engaged in the “performance of his duties” based on the fact that the Sherriff deputies were only charged with misdemeanors. Even though he was “off-duty”, if he had been in the act of trying to either save someone/something or fight a fire, the deputies would have most likely faced felony counts of assault and battery.

This is because firefighters, peace officers, doctors, nurses and a host of others receive special protection under California Penal Code sections 243 (b) and (c) when they are (1) engaged in the performance of their duties…whether on or off-duty, and (2) their assailant(s) knew or should have known that they were engaged in the performance of those duties.

If the fireman fit into that category, the deputies would have faced up to four years in the California State Prison and a possible “strike” on their records under Three Strikes Law, depending on how severely the firefighter was injured. As it was, both men were assigned community service and one of the deputies was additionally ordered to attend a year’s worth of AA meetings. Both deputies were relieved of duty without pay and are pending investigations to determine their final status within the department.