How the Irvine Police Department Investigates California Domestic Violence Allegations

The Irvine domestic violence attorneys at Wallin & Klarich collectively have decades of experience defending people accused of domestic violence and arrested by the Irvine Police Department. People charged with domestic violence offenses in California require aggressive, experienced and knowledgeable criminal defense attorneys. If you are charged with domestic violence in Irvine, your freedom depends upon choosing such an attorney. Wallin & Klarich, has been successfully defending people accused of domestic violence offenses in Irvine for over 40 years. Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation.

What the Irvine Police Department Looks for When Investigating Domestic Violence Charges

California Penal Code section 13701 provides that all law enforcement offices in California are required to enact policies as to how officers go about investigating allegations of domestic violence. The policies are required to “encourage the arrest of domestic violence offenders” and discourage “dual arrests.” Police officers are instructed to avoid arresting both the husband and the wife. Which one do they pick?

Police officers are told to identify the “dominant aggressor.” The law says the dominant aggressor is “the person determined to be the most significant, rather than the first, aggressor. In identifying the dominant aggressor, an officer shall consider the intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from continuing abuse, the threats creating fear of physical injury, the history of domestic violence between the persons involved, and whether either person acted in self-defense.”

Are Men Unfairly Prosecuted For Domestic Violence?

The answer is YES. The police must determine which individual is the “dominant aggressor.” This is often determined by who is the larger individual capable of causing the most injury. In a high percentage of situations the male is the larger of the two participants and ends up getting arrested unfairly.

Who Will Be on my Side if I am Falsely Accused of Domestic Violence?

If you are falsely accused of domestic violence, pretty much no one is on your side – except maybe your family. Not the police. Not prosecutors. Not the criminal court judges. Not the family court judges. Your only friend in court is a qualified California domestic violence attorney.

According to the law, California police departments are required to seek the “input of local domestic violence agencies” in making their policies. They are also encouraged to consult what the law calls “experts” in the field, identified specifically as “the staff of the local shelter for battered women and their children.” The law does not “require” or “encourage” the police to consult with, for instance, any California criminal defense lawyers, California family law attorneys or the Orange County Public Defender’s Office in order to learn different ways people might be falsely accused of domestic violence and the reasons why. Why doesn’t the law consider these professionals to be “experts” too? In our experience, lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and police officers often take a close-minded approach to handling allegations of domestic violence.

Why are There so Many False Arrests for Domestic Violence?

Unless you have an aggressive domestic violence attorney on your side, courts will routinely ignore the possibility that an allegation of domestic violence might be false. Why might someone make up such an allegation? As we say, false allegations of abuse are a high reward, low risk play for an accuser in divorce and child custody cases. We call them low risk because police, prosecutors, and courts generally will not hold people who make false accusations accountable for their criminal behavior – even if the falsely accused person spends years in prison for a crime he/she did not commit

Domestic violence allegations are considered high reward because of control and money. An allegation of domestic violence will result in the accuser gaining exclusive or near exclusive custody of the couple’s children. Since child support awards are often determined by how much time the children spend with each parent, a judge’s order giving the accuser exclusive custody of the children will mean a larger amount of child support. Of course, it also results in alienating a loving parent from his/her children.

Men Can Be Victims of Domestic Violence

The law requires and encourages the police to consult with staff at battered women’s shelters but says nothing of familiarizing themselves with how to handle a man who has been victimized. The law is gender neutral and all, but only getting perspectives from one the staff at a battered women’s shelter seems one-sided. At Wallin & Klarich, we have represented countless male victims of domestic violence who have been improperly charged by the police as perpetrators. We’ve seen firsthand how men can be victimized, not only by their abuser, but also by the backward thinking of police, prosecutors and judges. We have the experience necessary to help people unfortunate enough to find themselves in this situation.

How Does the Law Define Domestic Violence in California?

The types of domestic violence under California law include domestic battery under Penal Code section 243(e)(1), and Inflicting Injury on Spouse, Cohabitant or Fellow Parent Resulting in Traumatic Condition under Penal Code section 273.5.

What is Domestic Battery under Penal Code Section 243(e)(1)?

Domestic battery is the same as a simple misdemeanor battery, except the alleged victim is either “a spouse, a person with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent of the defendant’s child, former spouse, fiancé or fiancée, or a person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating or engagement relationship.”

A “simple misdemeanor battery” under California law is defined as when one person touches another in a harmful or offensive way. The law provides that “the slightest touching can be enough to commit a battery if it is done in a rude or angry way. Making contact with another person, including through his or her clothing, is enough. The touching does not have to cause pain or injury of any kind.”

Example: You and your girlfriend have an argument and she starts to walk away. You gently grasp her arm or the sleeve of her jacket and say, “Please don’t go. I love you.” That may constitute domestic battery.

Punishment for Spousal Battery PC 243(e)(1)

If you are convicted of domestic battery, you can be fined up to $2,000 and sent to Orange County Jail for up to one year. In lieu of a lengthy jail sentence, the court will typically grant probation and will require the offender, among other things, to attend a 52-week domestic violence prevention class.

What is Inflicting Injury on Spouse, Cohabitant or Fellow Parent Resulting in Traumatic Condition under Penal Code Section 273.5?

Anyone who causes their spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant or the mother or father of their child to suffer a “corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition” is guilty of violating Penal Code section 273.5.

The law states that “A [corporal injury causing a] traumatic condition is a wound or other bodily injury, whether minor or serious, caused by the direct application of physical force.” Under this definition, the injury can be anything from bruises or red marks to broken bones or loss of consciousness.

Inflicting Injury on spouse, cohabitant or fellow parent resulting in traumatic condition can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. Generally, if the Irvine Police Department arrests a person for this crime, the person will be charged with a felony. After the accused person is brought to court, the prosecutor or judge might decide to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor.

Punishment for Corporal Injury on Spouse in California PC 273.5

If charged as a felony, corporal injury on a spouse crime is punishable by imprisonment in California state prison for two, three or four years. If charged as a misdemeanor, the crime is punishable by up to one year in Orange County Jail. The crime is also punishable by a fine of up to $6,000.

In lieu of jail or prison, courts will often sentence people convicted of this charge to a term of probation and will require them to attend a 52-week domestic violence prevention class.

Call a Irvine Domestic Violence Attorney

Wallin & Klarich’s team of criminal defense attorneys have decades of combined criminal defense experience. We have helped countless people charged with domestic violence offenses and we’re confident we can help you. Contact us at (877) 466-5245 today.