Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence Defense Lawyers

Serving San Diego County

When someone is charged with domestic violence, it is almost never a simple situation. But the laws and police want to treat every situation as if it is the same. Attorneys Timothy J. Richardson of San Diego Criminal Defense, can get the authorities to realize the complexities of your incident, while demonstrating why you don't deserve serious punishment. Contact us for a free confidential consultation.

The Truth about Domestic Violence Charges

Politicians and pressure groups act as if every incident of alleged domestic violence is a brutal beating. This is simply not true. Sometimes the actual contact is little more than a slap to the face, no different that what you have seen in countless old movies.

In more than 30 years of combined experience, our attorneys have successfully handled hundreds of domestic violence charges. In that time, we have found that a majority of cases involve mutual combat, in which a couple will get into an argument and start pushing, shoving, and possibly hitting. Then one person calls the police. And when the police show up on a domestic violence call, someone will likely be arrested.

Possible Consequences

In California, domestic violence charges are classified as “wobblers”, which means they can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor. (See our Court Process page for more about "wobblers.")

Usually this is determined by the seriousness of the injuries. Severe cuts and broken bones will almost always result in a felony charge. Prior acts of physical abuse by the person charged may also factor into the prosecutor’s decision to file it as a felony. Cases involving no injury or slight injury will be charged as misdemeanors.

The punishments for felony and misdemeanor charges are as follows:

• Felony: If charged as a felony, the defendant could serve at least 2 years or more in the state prison.
• Misdemeanor: If charged as a misdemeanor, the punishment is not more than 1 year in the county jail.

Also, the law requires that any domestic violence defendant complete a 52 week domestic violence program, involving a series of classes. Most likely there will also be a stay away order, which prohibits the defendant from having any contact with the alleged victim.

What We Can Do

Regardless of how serious the incident was, our attorneys can always do something to help. For a serious incident, we can work toward keeping you out of jail or minimizing your sentence. For less serious incidents, which make up the majority, we can work toward keeping it as a misdemeanor or even get the charge lessened to disturbing the peace, which would involve just a fine and no domestic violence class.

See our Domestic Violence FAQs for more information.

Legal Definition

Technically, domestic violence is not in itself the name of a crime -- it is a general term that involves violence or threats of violence upon either a:

1. 1. Spouse (husband or wife); or
2. 2. person with whom he/she is cohabitating; or
3. 3. person who is the mother/father of his/her child.
4. 4. other family members, such as children (see Child Abuse )

Typical criminal offenses that are charged in a domestic violence case are:

• PC 273.5—Spousal Abuse
• PC 242-243(e)(1)—Battery
• PC 240-241(a)—Assault
• PC 422—Criminal Threats
• PC 653m(a)—Threatening phone call
• PC 591—Damage phone/cable/ or TV line
• PC 136.1(B)(1)—Intimidating a witness or victim

Contact Us

To get our lawyers' help with a domestic violence charge in San Diego County, call 619.231.6577 or email us through our contact page. We can meet with you in a free confidential consultation during weekdays, weekends or evenings, and we have a 24-hour answering service ready to take your call.