California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 16

Introduced by Assembly Member John A. Pérez

December 3, 2012

An act to amend Section 273.5 of the Penal Code, relating to domestic violence.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 16, as introduced, John A. Pérez. Domestic violence: corporal injury.

Under existing law, any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, is guilty of a crime, punishable as specified.

This bill would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiancé or fiancée of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 273.5 of the Penal Code, as amended by
Section 16 of Chapter 867 of the Statutes of 2012, is amended to
read:

273.5.  

(a) Any person who willfully inflicts begin delete upon a person end delete
begin delete who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former end delete
begin delete cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, end delete corporal
injury resulting in a traumatic condition begin insert upon a victim described end insert
begin insert in subdivision (b) end insert is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two,
three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year,
or by a fine of up to six thousand dollars ($6,000) or by both that
fine and imprisonment.

begin insert

(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply if the victim is or was one or
more of the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) The offender’s spouse or former spouse.

end insert begin insert

(2) The offender’s cohabitant or former cohabitant.

end insert begin insert

(3) The offender’s fiancé or fiancée, or someone with whom the
offender has, or previously had, a dating or engagement
relationship.

end insert begin insert

(4) The mother or father of the offender’s child.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert c) end insert  Holding oneself out to be the husband or wife of the person
with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute
cohabitation as the term is used in this section.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert d) end insert  As used in this section, “traumatic condition” means 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.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert e) end insert  For the purpose of this section, a person shall be considered
the father or mother of another person’s child if the alleged male
parent is presumed the natural father under Sections 7611 and 7612
of the Family Code.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert f) end insert  (1) Any person convicted of violating this section for acts
occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under
subdivision (a), or subdivision (d) of Section 243, or Section 243.4,
244, 244.5, or 245, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county
jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, four, or five years, or by both imprisonment and a
fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(2) Any person convicted of a violation of this section for acts
occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under
subdivision (e) of Section 243 shall be punished by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail
for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert g) end insert  If probation is granted to any person convicted under
subdivision (a), the court shall impose probation consistent with
the provisions of Section 1203.097.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert h) end insert  If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a
sentence is suspended, for any defendant convicted under
subdivision (a) who has been convicted of any prior offense
specified in subdivision begin delete (e) end delete begin insert (f) end insert , the court shall impose one of the
following conditions of probation:

(1) If the defendant has suffered one prior conviction within the
previous seven years for a violation of any offense specified in
subdivision begin delete (e) end delete begin insert (f) end insert , it shall be a condition thereof, in addition to
the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that he or she be
imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 15 days.

(2) If the defendant has suffered two or more prior convictions
within the previous seven years for a violation of any offense
specified in subdivision begin delete (e) end delete begin insert (f) end insert , it shall be a condition of probation,
in addition to the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that
he or she be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 60 days.

(3) The court, upon a showing of good cause, may find that the
mandatory imprisonment required by this subdivision shall not be
imposed and shall state on the record its reasons for finding good
cause.

begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (i) end insert  If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of
subdivision (a), the conditions of probation may include, consistent
with the terms of probation imposed pursuant to Section 1203.097,
in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(1) That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s
shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000),
pursuant to Section 1203.097.

(2)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable
costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court
finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.

begin delete

For

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For end insert any order to pay a fine, make payments to a battered
women’s shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation
under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the
defendant’s ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make
payments to a battered women’s shelter be made if it would impair
the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim
or court-ordered child support. Where the injury to a married person
is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her
spouse in violation of this section, the community property may
not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for
restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as
operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a
shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents,
required by this section, until all separate property of the offending
spouse is exhausted.

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert j) end insert  Upon conviction under subdivision (a), the sentencing court
shall also consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from
any contact with the victim, which may be valid for up to 10 years,
as determined by the court. It is the intent of the Legislature that
the length of any restraining order be based upon the seriousness
of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations,
and the safety of the victim and his or her immediate family. This
protective order may be issued by the court whether the defendant
is sentenced to state prison, county jail, or if imposition of sentence
is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation.

begin delete

(j)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert k) end insert  If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of this
section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of
his or her right to make a citizen’s arrest pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 836.

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.