BILL NUMBER: AB 545	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Melendez

                        FEBRUARY 23, 2015

   An act to amend Section 273.5 of the Penal Code, relating to
domestic violence.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 545, as introduced, Melendez. Domestic violence.
   Existing law makes it a crime, punishable by a fine, by
imprisonment, or by both a fine and imprisonment, for a person to
willfully inflict corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition
upon a person with whom the defendant has been in a specified
domestic relationship.
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 273.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   273.5.  (a)  Any   Every  person who
willfully inflicts corporal injury  resulting  
that results  in a traumatic condition upon a victim described
in subdivision (b) is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two,
three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year,
or by a fine of up to six thousand dollars ($6,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment.
   (b) Subdivision (a)  shall apply   applies
 if the victim is or was one or more of the following:
   (1) The offender's spouse or former spouse.
   (2) The offender's cohabitant or former cohabitant.
   (3) The offender's fiancé or fiancée, or someone with whom the
offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating
relationship, as defined in paragraph (10) of subdivision (f) of
Section 243.
   (4) The mother or father of the offender's child.
   (c) Holding oneself out to be the husband or wife of the person
with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute
cohabitation as  the   that  term is used
in this section.
   (d) As used in this section, "traumatic condition" means a
condition of the body, such as a wound, or external or internal
injury, including, but not limited to, injury as a result of
strangulation or suffocation, whether of a minor or serious nature,
caused by a physical force. For purposes of this section,
"strangulation" and "suffocation" include impeding the normal
breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying
pressure on the throat or neck.
   (e) For the purpose of this section, a person shall be considered
the father or mother of another person's child if the alleged male
parent is presumed the natural father under Sections 7611 and 7612 of
the Family Code.
   (f) (1)  Any   Every  person convicted
of violating this section for acts occurring within seven years of a
previous conviction under subdivision (a), or subdivision (d) of
Section 243, or Section 243.4, 244, 244.5, or 245, shall be punished
by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by
imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or five years, or by
both imprisonment and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

   (2)  Any   Every  person convicted of a
violation of this section for acts occurring within seven years of a
previous conviction under subdivision (e) of Section 243 shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four
years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine
of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment
and fine.
   (g) If probation is granted to  any   a 
person convicted under subdivision (a), the court shall impose
probation consistent with the provisions of Section 1203.097.
   (h) If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a
sentence is suspended, for  any   a 
defendant convicted under subdivision (a) who has been convicted of
 any   a  prior offense specified in
subdivision (f), the court shall impose one of the following
conditions of probation:
   (1) If the defendant has suffered one prior conviction within the
previous seven years for a violation of  any  
an  offense specified in subdivision (f), it shall be a
condition of probation, in addition to the provisions contained in
Section 1203.097, that he or she be imprisoned in a county jail for
not less than 15 days.
   (2) If the defendant has suffered two or more prior convictions
within the previous seven years for a violation of  any
  an  offense specified in subdivision (f), it
shall be a condition of probation, in addition to the provisions
contained in Section 1203.097, that he or she be imprisoned in a
county jail for not less than 60 days.
   (3) The court, upon a showing of good cause, may find that the
mandatory imprisonment required by this subdivision shall not be
imposed and shall state on the record its reasons for finding good
cause.
   (i) If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of
subdivision (a), the conditions of probation may include, consistent
with the terms of probation imposed pursuant to Section 1203.097, in
lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:
   (1) That the defendant make payments to a battered women's
shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), pursuant
to Section 1203.097.
   (2) (A) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable
costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court
finds are the direct result of the defendant's offense.
   (B) For  any   an  order to pay a fine,
make payments to a battered women's shelter, or pay restitution as a
condition of probation under this subdivision, the court shall make a
determination of the defendant's ability to pay. An order to make
payments to a battered women's shelter shall not be made if it would
impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the
victim or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a married
person is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or
her spouse in violation of this section, the community property may
not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for
restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as
operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a
shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents,
required by this section, until all separate property of the
offending spouse is exhausted.
   (j) Upon conviction under subdivision (a), the sentencing court
shall also consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from
any contact with the victim, which may be valid for up to 10 years,
as determined by the court. It is the intent of the Legislature that
the length of any restraining order be based upon the seriousness of
the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, and
the safety of the victim and his or her immediate family. This
protective order may be issued by the court whether the defendant is
sentenced to state prison or county jail, or if imposition of
sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation.
   (k) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of this
section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of
his or her right to make a citizen's arrest pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 836.