What PC 273.5 means
Corporal injury is the domestic violence charge for an injury, any injury, to a spouse or former spouse, someone you live or lived with, someone you’re dating or used to date, or your child’s other parent. The law calls the injury a “traumatic condition,” and it covers anything from a serious wound to a minor one, including from choking.
It’s a “wobbler”: it can be charged as a felony, with up to four years in state prison, or as a misdemeanor, with up to a year in county jail. A similar conviction within the last seven years raises the stakes.
Why it’s so often a felony arrest
In my experience, almost every Sacramento law enforcement agency will find a way to arrest for the felony version if there’s even the slightest mark. Not an injury in any everyday sense: a mark, even a red mark. That’s why so many people with no record end up booked on a felony with a high bail.
The arrest isn’t the charge. The DA decides what to file, if anything: no charges, a misdemeanor, or a felony. And the DA weighs things the arrest didn’t:
- What happened before and around the incident.
- How serious the injury really is.
- Your history, or lack of one.
- What the alleged victim and any other witnesses say and want.
The first days matter most
Domestic violence cases are where I most often see early work change the outcome. Police reports are often written in minutes and leave things out. Getting the DA the information that isn’t in them, before the charging decision, can change that decision in a major way: sometimes no charges at all, often a misdemeanor instead of a felony. When the person involved wants to give a fuller account in their own words, I make sure the DA sees it.
Sometimes a felony can’t be avoided, especially with a more serious injury. Even then, early work can shape what gets filed. And if charges are already filed, the same kind of information can still get them reduced. What to do before charges are filed.
The person with the mark isn’t always the one who started it
Self-defense is the defense I see most in these cases, and it often looks like this: one person goes after the other, maybe not very hard and without hurting anyone. The other person defends themselves and, in doing so, causes a mark or a minor injury. Police arrive, see who has the mark, and arrest the other person, who was only defending themselves.
When the full story comes out, including from the person police listed as the victim, a case like that can end in a dismissal. I also look at every other kind of evidence: witnesses, 911 calls, body camera video, photos, and messages. What the evidence shows.
Extra charges, like child endangerment
When children were home, police often add a child endangerment charge. That’s one of the charges I most often work to get dropped before the DA files anything. It can be dropped later too, but then it takes negotiating leverage I’d rather spend on the main charge. That’s a big reason early work matters even when it can’t stop every charge: you don’t want to spend your bargaining power on charges that shouldn’t be there in the first place.
Getting a felony reduced
Because corporal injury is a wobbler, a felony charge can become a misdemeanor. The DA can agree to it, and the judge can reduce it before trial, including at the preliminary hearing. A misdemeanor means no felony record, no prison exposure, and a much better chance of a dismissal down the line.
From there, the goal is the same as in any domestic violence case: a dismissal, often through diversion, or a reduction to a charge that isn’t a domestic violence offense. How domestic violence cases end.
Bail and your first court date
In Sacramento, a corporal injury arrest is almost always booked as a felony, with bail starting at $50,000, or $100,000 with a similar conviction in the last 7 years. The first court date, usually about two court days after the arrest, is the first real chance to be released without bail. Domestic violence cases are heard in Department 60 at the Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice, 651 I Street. Post bail now, or wait for the judge?
The judge will usually also make a stay-away order at that first court date. How protective orders work.
Questions
Is PC 273.5 a felony or a misdemeanor?
Either. It’s a wobbler. Sacramento arrests are usually booked as felonies, but the DA can file it as a misdemeanor, and a judge can reduce a felony to a misdemeanor before trial.
What’s the difference between 273.5 and 243(e)(1)?
An injury. Domestic battery, Penal Code 243(e)(1), covers any willful and unlawful use of force against the same group of people, with no injury required, and it’s always a misdemeanor. Corporal injury requires an injury, even a minor one. More about domestic battery.
Can the alleged victim drop the charges?
No. The DA decides whether to file and whether to dismiss. But the alleged victim’s wishes can matter to the DA and the judge, and they can share them if they choose. Calling for someone who was arrested?