Corporal Injury Upon a Spouse  - Prosecution (PC 273.5)

Prosecution of Corporal Injury Upon a Spouse Charges

What the Prosecution Must Prove

There are several key elements that the prosecution must prove in order to convict you

1. You inflicted a corporal injury on your spouse, former or current cohabitant or the mother or father of your child. Cohabitants are defined as "two unrelated persons living together for a significant time period that results in some degree of permanency of the relationship." Factors considered when determining whether or not cohabitation exists include:

• Sexual relations between the two people within the same residence;
• The sharing of expenses or income, joint use of property or ownership;
• The two parties representing themselves as domestic partners or husband and wife; and
• The length and continuity of the relationship.

2. You willfully inflicted that injury; and

3. A traumatic condition (a wound or other injury to the body caused by physical force, regardless of whether the wound is minor or serious) resulted from the injury.

Jury Instructions that will be Given to Jury if Your PC 273.5 Case Goes to Trial

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California Jury Instructions Relating To Penal Code 273.5 Case.

Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instruction 840: Inflicting Injury on Spouse, Cohabitant, or Fellow Parent Resulting in Traumatic Condition (Penal Code § 273.5(a)).

BENCH NOTES

AUTHORITY

• Elements. Pen. Code, § 273.5(a).

• Traumatic Condition Defined. Pen. Code, § 273.5(c); People v. Gutierrez (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 944, 952 [217 Cal.Rptr. 616].

• Willful Defined. Pen. Code, § 7, subd. 1; see People v. Lara (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 102, 107 [51 Cal.Rptr.2d 402].

• Cohabitant Defined. People v. Holifield (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 993, 1000 [252 Cal.Rptr. 729]; People v. Ballard (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 311, 318–319 [249 Cal.Rptr. 806].

• Direct Application of Force. People v. Jackson (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 574, 580 [91 Cal.Rptr.2d 805].

• Duty to Define Traumatic Condition. People v. Burns (1948) 88 Cal.App.2d 867, 873–874 [200 P.2d 134].

• Strangulation and Suffocation. Pen. Code, § 273.5(c).

• General Intent Crime. See People v. Thurston (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1050, 1055 [84 Cal.Rptr.2d 221]; People v. Campbell (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 305, 307–309 [90 Cal.Rptr.2d 315]; contra, People v. Rodriguez (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 1398, 1402 [7 Cal.Rptr.2d 495] [dictum].

• Simultaneous Cohabitation. People v. Moore (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 1323, 1335 [52 Cal.Rptr.2d 256].

LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSES

• Attempted Infliction of Corporal Punishment on Spouse. Pen. Code, §§ 664, 273.5(a); People v. Kinsey (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 1621, 1627, 1628 [47 Cal.Rptr.2d 769] [attempt requires intent to cause traumatic condition, but does not require a resulting "traumatic condition"].

• Misdemeanor Battery. Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243(a); see People v. Gutierrez (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 944, 952 [217 Cal.Rptr. 616].

• Battery Against Spouse, Cohabitant, or Fellow Parent. Pen. Code, § 243(e)(1); see People v. Jackson (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 574, 580 [91 Cal.Rptr.2d 805].

• Simple Assault. Pen. Code, §§ 240, 241(a); People v. Van Os (1950) 96 Cal.App.2d 204, 206 [214 P.2d 554].

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