Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: battery

Domestic violence can be charged as either a misdemeanor (max one year in county jail) or as a felony (Up to 4 years in state prison sentence possible). It usually depends on the degree of injury.

If you would like to read further information on D.V. prosecutions, charges and penalties and the games these cases entail, you can review articles at:

http://lawyer-domestic-violence.com/domestic_violence.htm

and

http://lawyer-domestic-violence.com/statutes_full.htm

In addition, if the case is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can call me for a free telephone consultation and I will give you my opinion (without obligation)on what can/should be done, and what it would cost.

As always, I caution young people to do everything they can to avoid ANY convictions, no matter how tempting the deal sounds. Saving a few bucks now could handicap the accused person's income for 40 years.

Re: battery

"Domestic violence" isn't a charge. It's a general category of several charges. In order to know what the maximum is, I would need to know which code sections specifically she's charged with, whether they're filed as felonies or misdemeanors and how much (in $) the damage was.

Assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury [Penal Code section 245(a)(1)] can be either a felony or a misdemeanor. As a felony, it carries up to 4 years in state prison. As a misdemeanor, it carries up to one year in county jail.

Domestic violence - the "standard" charge is Penal Code section 273.5(a). It can be either a felony or a misdemeanor. As a felony, it carries up to 4 years in state prison. As a misdemeanor, it carries up to one year in county jail.

Vandalism over $400 is a felony - up to 3 years in state prison. Under $400 is a misdemeanor.

Re: battery

In a nutshell, if the case is based on misdemeanor charges the maximum is one year in county jail. If one of the charges is a felony, it could be either three or four years as a maximum.

If your girl friend does not have significant prior record, thinking about her case in terms of the maximum she could receive is not necessarily the right way to think about it. If no significant record, she will get probation which, however, could entail some time in county jail.

First and foremost, she needs to explore ways in which she could defend her case. She needs to call a couple of attorneys and see who might be right for her. She has a lot at stake including keeping her record clean and not spending any time in jail.

Feel free to contact my office for a free consultation if you are looking for a lawyer in Southern California.

Jacek W. Lentz, Esq.

213.250.9200

www.lentzlawfirm.com