Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Your question does not address when the sheriff came to speak with the husband. It may have been to obtain more information so the DA will file a complaint. She should immediately retain an attorney to represent her. Also she should not discuss this matter with anyone but her attorney. She should discuss the possibility of obtaining a domestic violence restraining order against him. Acting quickly is important in these cases. The general rule is that domestic violence escalates unless the abusive party receives counseling to deal with this situation.

Since the D.A. has already rejected the case (assuming that info is accurate), I tend to believe that the D.A. directed the police to investigate the husband's battery. This could happen if your friend gave a statement to the police and told them what really happened. If the kids are old enough to tell the police that mommy did not hit them, this would strengthen the case against the husband.

Lastly, please tell your friend that the arrest record is highly damaging. It can affect future job, career, professional licensing, being able to serve as a Girl Scouts den mother, credit applications, insurance rates, and child custody disputes. She is an excellent candidate for getting her arrest record sealed and physically destroyed. For more info on this process, she can go here:

http://lawyer-expungement.com/petition.htm

and

http://lawyer-expungement.com/results.htm

Good luck to her.