§ 243 PC – Penalties for the Crime of “Battery” in California

Penal Code § 243 PC provides the California penalties for battery, which is the unlawful infliction of physical force on a person such as a punch, kick, or bite.

Simple battery and domestic battery are misdemeanors that can lead to six months or one year in county jail (respectively). Meanwhile, battery on a peace officer and aggravated battery can be misdemeanors or felonies, carrying up to three or four years in jail (respectively).

Below our California criminal defense attorneys expand on the four primary battery crimes:

• 1. Simple Battery
• 2. Battery on an Officer
• 3. Aggravated Battery
• 4. Domestic Battery
• Additional Reading

1. Simple Battery

For you to be convicted of simple battery under 243a PC, California prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that:

1. You touched someone else, and
2. You did so willfully, unlawfully, and in a harmful or offensive manner.

“Offensive touching” is touching that is

• violent,
• rude,
• angry, or
• disrespectful.¹

A common defense in these cases is showing that you acted in self-defense or in the defense of others. It is not a defense that you had no intent to injure the alleged victim.

Penalties

Simple battery is a misdemeanor offense in California. The crime is punishable by:

• Up to 6 months in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $2,000.²

Most violations of Penal Code 243b and 243c (battery on a peace officer) are misdemeanors.

2. Battery on an Officer

In California, battery on a police officer in violation of 243b PC or 243c PC occurs when:

1. You inflict unlawful physical force on a peace officer or other protected person performing their duties, and
2. When you acted, you knew – or reasonably should have known – that the alleged victim was a peace officer or other protected person engaged in the performance of their duties.

“Other protected persons” include:

• custodial officers,
• firefighters,
• EMTs or paramedics,
• California highway patrolman,
• lifeguards,
• animal control officers,
• private security guards,
• process servers,
• employees of a probation department, and
• doctors and nurses providing emergency medical care.³

Penalties

Battery on a peace officer is usually a misdemeanor in California, punishable by:

• Up to 1 year in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $2,000.

Though if the officer requires medical treatment, then the battery becomes a wobbler. A wobbler is a crime that a district attorney can charge as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

If charged as a misdemeanor, battery on a police officer is punishable by the above penalties. If charged as a felony, then the battery is punishable by:

• 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $10,000.⁴

Penal Code 243 PC is the California statute that sets forth battery penalties.

3. Aggravated Battery

In California, aggravated battery in violation of 243d PC is when:

1. You commit a battery, and
2. The battery causes a “serious bodily injury” to the alleged victim.

A “serious bodily injury” is any serious impairment of someone’s physical condition. However, it is not necessary that the alleged victim seek medical treatment for the injury.

Physical injuries that are considered serious may include (but are not limited to):

• loss of consciousness,
• concussions,
• bone fractures,
• protracted loss or impairment of a function of any body part or organ,
• wounds requiring extensive suturing, and
• serious disfigurement.⁵

Penalties

Aggravated battery is a wobbler in California. The misdemeanor penalties are:

• Up to 1 year in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $1,000.

Aggravated battery as a felony carries:

• 2, 3, or 4 years in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $10,000.⁶

4. Domestic Battery

In California, a prosecutor must prove the following to convict you of domestic battery:

1. You committed a battery, and
2. The alleged victim and you were intimate partners.

“Intimate partners” under include:

• spouses or former spouses,
• cohabitants,
• engaged persons (either currently or formerly engaged),
• parents of a child, and
• persons in a dating relationship, or sexual or intimate relationship (either currently dating or formerly dating).⁷

Penalties

Domestic battery under 245e1 PC is a misdemeanor in California, carrying:

• Up to 1 year in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $2,000.

Note that the judge may grant you summary probation instead of jail where you would have to complete a batterer’s intervention program.⁸

You may also be subject to a domestic violence restraining order requiring you to refrain from contacting the alleged victim.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Assault and Battery – Injury Sustained in Prize Fight – Consent as a Bar to Civil Liability – Vanderbilt Law Review.
• Territorial Aggression – Expanding California’s Penal Code Regarding Assault and Battery of Code Enforcement Officers – McGeorge Law Review.
• Aggravated Battery – The Fist or Teeth as a Dangerous Weapon – Louisiana Law Review.
• Territorial Aggression – Expanding California’s Penal Code Regarding Assault and Battery of Code Enforcement Officers – McGeorge Law Review.
• What’s Reasonable: Self-Defense and Mistake in Criminal and Tort Law – Lewis & Clark Law Review.
• Defending Battered Women’s Self-Defense Claims – Oregon Law Review.
• Assault and Battery – Injury Sustained in Prize Fight – Consent as a Bar to Civil Liability – Vanderbilt Law Review.