Corporal injury to spouse – Is it same as domestic violence?

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.

What is the difference between domestic violence and corporal injury?

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:

• spousal battery (Penal Code 243(e)(1) PC),
• child endangerment (Penal Code 273(a) PC),
• corporal injury on a child (Penal Code 273d PC), and
• corporal injury on a spouse (Penal Code 273.5 PC).

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.

What is a corporal injury?

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:

• the traumatic condition was the natural and probable consequence of the physical injury,
• the injury was a direct and substantial factor in causing the traumatic condition, and
• but for the injury, the traumatic condition would not have happened.¹

Some examples include:

• a bullet wound,
• a broken bone or fracture,
• a bruise,
• a concussion,
• a sprained ligament or strained muscle,
• a cut or laceration, or
• internal bleeding.

Some injuries and other losses that are not corporal injuries include:

• emotional distress,
• post-traumatic stress,
• property damage, or
• pain from physical contact that did not leave a mark or cause internal injuries.

What amounts to a traumatic condition?

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.

What is domestic battery in California?

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:

• 1 year of jail time in county jail, and/or
• $2,000 in fines.³

Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, though, is a wobbler. Prosecutors can pursue either

• misdemeanor or
• felony charges.

If pursued as a felony, a conviction can carry up to:

• 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison, and/or
• $6,000 in fines.⁴

These penalties can increase if the defendant has a prior conviction in the last 7 years for:

• infliction of a corporal injury on a spouse (Penal Code 273.5 PC),
• domestic battery (Penal Code 243(e) PC),
• assault causing a serious bodily injury (Penal Code 243(d) PC),
• assault with a caustic chemical (Penal Code 244 PC),
• assault with a stun gun (Penal Code 244.5 PC),
• assault with a deadly weapon (Penal Code 245 PC), or
• sexual battery (Penal Code 243.4 PC).

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:

• probation,
• protective orders or restraining orders,
• completing counseling or a batterer’s treatment program,
• community service,
• alcohol or drug treatment program,
• child custody complications,
• social stigmatization, and
• a serious blemish on the defendant’s criminal record.

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.

Corporal injury on a spouse can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or felony.

What is an intimate partner?

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:

• spouses or former spouses,
• living together as cohabitants, or were former cohabitants,
• engaged or formerly engaged to be married,
• parents of the same child, or
• in a sexual, intimate, or dating relationship, or were in one, before.⁷

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.

What are some legal defenses?

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people accused of domestic abuse, including domestic violence causing a corporal injury. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries.

You acted in self-defense

Violent crimes, like assault, domestic violence, and even murder, can be justified if you 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:

• you reasonably believed that you or someone else was in imminent danger of suffering a bodily injury or being touched unlawfully,
• you reasonably believed that the immediate use of force was necessary to prevent that danger, and
• you used no more force than was reasonably necessary.⁸

Once we raise the self-defense argument, it is up to the district attorney to prove that you 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

Evidence we rely on to prove self-defense includes:

• eyewitness accounts,
• video surveillance footage,
• text messages/voicemails/etc. from the alleged victim indicating their guilt or their intention of hurting you,
• medical records of you and the alleged victim, and
• expert medical testimony showing that any injuries you caused were in line with defensive actions.

The incident was an accident

Domestic violence, including violence that causes corporal injury, requires willful conduct. If you can raise reasonable doubts that suggest that the injury was accidental, it can be a strong defense.

Evidence we rely on to show your actions were accidental is similar to those for proving self-defense: video, witnesses, recorded communications, and medical records. We can also hire an accident reconstruction expert to demonstrate to the jury how the accident could have happened, and that any injuries you caused are in line with accidental – not intentional – actions.

You were falsely accused

Many domestic violence accusations are falsely made by the alleged victim. The alleged victim may be trying to gain leverage over you or acting out of vengefulness.

We typically see cases of false accusations when our client and the alleged victim are in the midst of a divorce and child custody battle. Our client’s ex will fabricate a domestic violence incident in order to get the upper hand in family court.

The best way to show you were falsely accused is to impeach the accuser’s credibility. In many cases, we can use the content of the accuser’s past text messages and voicemails against them. Once the prosecutors see the accuser has a motivation to lie, they may drop the charges.

Additional resources

Resources and information for survivors of domestic violence include: