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The term corporal injury to spouse refers to a criminal charge for willfully inflicting a physical injury upon one’s husband or wife. Most states apply the law not just to spouses, but also to intimate partners (which can include co-parents, cohabitants, fiancés, fiancées, and current and former dating partners).
Domestic violence charges in general do not necessarily require there to be a physical injury. The corporal injury makes the offense more severe. The penalties for a conviction are higher, and there are potential sentencing enhancements.
The difference between domestic violence and corporal injury is that corporal injury means that there was a physical injury inflicted. This means that the crime of corporal injury to a spouse is a certain type of domestic violence offense.
In California, there are numerous domestic violence crimes, such as:
Not all of these domestic violence crimes require a corporal injury to be inflicted on the victim. Some of them are unlawful, even though there was no injury.
This means that domestic violence is a wide range of criminal offenses. Corporal injury crimes are only a small subset of these domestic violence offenses. Because they lead to an injury, though, they are generally the most severe kinds of domestic violence.
A corporal injury is a physical injury that causes a traumatic condition.
California is one of the few states that use the term “corporal injury.” Under California law, an injury is a corporal one if:
Some examples include:
Some injuries and other losses that are not corporal injuries include:
A traumatic condition is any type of bodily injury that was directly caused by physical force. The amount of force and the severity of the injury are irrelevant. It also includes any injuries that were caused by suffocation or strangulation.2
For example: Meghan slides her hand over a rough wooden beam and gets a splinter. This is a traumatic condition because physical force caused a small cut on her hand.
Domestic battery is a crime of domestic violence in California. The difference between this offense and causing a corporal injury on a spouse is the corporal injury, itself. Using force or violence against an intimate partner is domestic battery. If that force or violence causes a corporal injury, the offense is heightened, accordingly.
The difference is significant because of the potential penalties for a conviction on these charges.
Domestic battery is a misdemeanor. Convictions carry up to:
Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, though, is a wobbler. Prosecutors can pursue either
If pursued as a felony, a conviction can carry up to:
These penalties can increase if the defendant has a prior conviction in the last 7 years for:
If the corporal injury is considered a “great bodily injury,” there is another sentencing enhancement. California Penal Code 12022.7 PC adds an additional and consecutive sentence of 3, 4, or 5 years in state prison.5
These offenses are also considered a “serious felony” and count as a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes Law. However, prosecutors in Los Angeles County have stopped pursuing this enhancement for corporal injury cases.6
Because both criminal charges involve domestic violence, there are also likely going to be other penalties, as well. These include:
These penalties for a domestic violence conviction can be life-altering. Having a criminal history, alone, can be difficult to overcome. By hiring a criminal defense lawyer from a reputable law firm, defendants can protect their future.
An intimate partner is the class of victims who can turn a criminal offense into a crime of domestic violence. Under California’s domestic violence laws, someone is an intimate partner with the defendant if the victim and defendant are:
The law protects these people because of their close relationship with the defendant. Those close ties to the defendant make it less likely that the victim can protect themselves by severing the relationship.
There are 3 common legal defenses to an allegation of domestic violence, including to domestic abuse causing a corporal injury. These are:
There are other legal defenses, as well. However, these are the most commonly raised defense strategies. By establishing an attorney-client relationship with a criminal defense attorney, defendants can choose the right one for their particular domestic violence charge. This is especially important when the spousal abuse case involves a corporal injury. In these cases, the stakes are even higher.
Violent crimes, like assault, domestic violence, and even murder, can be justified if the defendant acted out of self-defense or in the defense of someone else.
In California, this requires showing the following elements in a domestic violence case:
It is up to the district attorney to prove that the defendant did not act out of self-defense.9 However, there has to be substantial evidence of self-defense for the jury to consider it.10
Domestic violence, including violence that causes corporal injury, requires willful conduct. If the defendant can raise reasonable doubts that suggest that the injury was accidental, it can be a strong defense.
Many domestic violence accusations are falsely made by the alleged victim. The alleged victim may be trying to gain leverage over the defendant or acting out of vengefulness. Showing that this is the case can be a strong defense.
If the corporal injury is considered a “great bodily injury,” there is another sentencing enhancement. California Penal Code 12022.7 PC adds an additional and consecutive sentence of 3, 4, or 5 years in state prison.5
These offenses are also considered a “serious felony” and count as a “strike” under California’s Three Strikes Law. However, prosecutors in Los Angeles County have stopped pursuing this enhancement for corporal injury cases.6
Because both criminal charges involve domestic violence, there are also likely going to be other penalties, as well. These include:
These penalties from a domestic violence conviction can be life-altering. Having a criminal history, alone, can be difficult to overcome. By hiring a criminal defense lawyer from a reputable law firm, defendants can protect their future.
See, for example, People v. Flores (Court of Appeal of California, First Appellate District, Division Three, 2022) 75 Cal. App. 5th 495. See also State v. Cruz-Nava (Court of Appeals of Washington, Division Three, 2018) No. 35114-9-III.
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.