Domestic Violence - Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney

The government’s prosecution of domestic violence cases has taken some significant turns. Penal Code §836, for example, now requires police officers to arrest offenders who violate domestic violence restraining orders, and temporary restraining orders against the arrestee are generally issued after arrest.

The California Penal Code enables Domestic Violence felony (Penal Code §273.5(a)) or misdemeanor (Penal Code §243 (e) (1)) charges to be brought when there is “willful infliction of corporal punishment” in a domestic incident. Such an “incident” involves a victim who is a spouse, a person with whom the defendant is cohabitating, a person who is the parent of the defendant’s child, a former spouse, a fiancé or fiancée, or a person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating relationship.” Felonies carry the threat of imprisonment in California State Prison, while domestic violence misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in the Orange County jail system.

It wasn’t that long ago, of course, that domestic violence was almost always a case of a man being arrested for violence against his wife or former wife, a live-in lover or parents, or even a parent-in-law. In many locales it was a typical Saturday night event that saw the man hauled off to jail. This was often followed by the wife’s Sunday morning visit to ask the police to drop charges.

Today, however, prosecutors are becoming much more reluctant to drop charges – even when the victim recants her story. As a reflection of the times, by the way, it can also involve the domestic violence or abuse victim recanting his story. Most Orange County District Attorneys no longer defer to the alleged victim’s wishes to “drop the charges”.

DARYL ANTHONY, Orange County Domestic Criminal Defense Attorney, understands the many complex issues involved in domestic violence law. He is experienced in all aspects of this area of law and will apply his experience in skillfully presenting your defense to domestic violence charges.