§ 273.5 PC – “Corporal Injury” to a Spouse or Cohabitant

California Penal Code § 273.5 PC prohibits causing physical injury to your spouse, cohabitant, dating partner, or parent of your child through an act of domestic violence. This offense is also called domestic abuse, spousal battery, or corporal (physical) injury to a spouse or cohabitant.

The language of PC 273.5 (a) states that:

Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting 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.

Corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant is one of California’s domestic violence crimes. It is similar to domestic battery under PC 243(e)(1), except that domestic battery does not require an actual injury.

Violating PC 273.5 is a wobbler, meaning prosecutors can file the charge as a misdemeanor or felony, as the following table shows:

A domestic violence conviction carries additional consequences, such as:

• Being subject to a domestic violence restraining order,
• The potential loss of a professional license (such as the right to practice law), and
• Loss of the right to own or possess a firearm.

In this article, our California criminal defense lawyers discuss the following topics re. corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant:

• 1. Elements of 273.5 PC
• 2. Penalties
• 3. Defenses
• 4. What if the accuser refuses to testify?
• 5. Related Crimes
• Additional Resources

1. Elements of 273.5 PC

California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) 840 spells out the elements of corporal injury to a spouse or intimate partner. For you to be convicted of violating 273.5 PC, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following three elements:

1. You willfully inflicted a physical injury,
2. on a current or former intimate partner, and
3. the physical injury causes a “traumatic condition.” ¹

Let’s take a closer look at these terms.

“Willfully” Meaning

You act “willfully” when you do something intentionally. You do not need to have intended to break the law.²

Example: During an argument over child custody, Rob grabs Maureen’s arm and twists it, dislocating her elbow. Even though he did not intend to injure her, he did act willingly by twisting her arm.

“Traumatic Condition” Meaning

A traumatic condition is any wound or other bodily injury caused by the direct application of physical force. It does not need to be serious: A minor wound or injury will suffice.³

“Causation” Meaning

To prove a case under Penal Code 273.5 PC, the prosecutor must show that your actions caused the victim to suffer a traumatic condition.⁴

A traumatic condition is the result of an injury if:

1. The traumatic condition was a natural and probable result of the injury,
2. The injury was a direct and substantial cause of the traumatic condition, and
3. The condition would not have happened without the injury.⁵

Example: Kim pushes her boyfriend Saul several times. Saul turns to walk away from Kim but trips, ending up with a cut. Kim is not guilty of corporal injury—because Saul’s “traumatic condition” (his cuts) is the result of his walking away and not of her pushing him.⁶

“Intimate Partner” Meaning

Penal Code 273.5 requires an injury to an intimate partner, which includes a current or former:

• Spouse,
• Registered domestic partner,
• Live-in boyfriend or girlfriend (a “cohabitant”),
• Fiancé(e),
• Parent of your child, or
• A person with whom you have a serious “dating relationship.”⁷

Some factors that may determine whether you are cohabiting (living together) include:

• Sexual relations between you while sharing the same residence,
• Sharing of income or expenses,
• Joint use or ownership of property,
• Holding yourselves out as being in a serious relationship,
• The continuity of the relationship, and
• The length of the relationship.⁸

It is possible to cohabit with more than one person at the same time.⁹

Example: Nelson and Paul lease an apartment together. Nelson then gets romantically involved with Alfred and moves in with him. However, he and Paul still continue their romantic relationship. Even though Nelson primarily lives with Paul, Nelson is considered to be “cohabiting” with Alfred as well.

For additional discussion, see our article on the difference between corporal injury and domestic violence.¹⁰

You violate PC 273.5 by physically injuring your spouse or intimate partner.

2. Penalties

Whether corporal injury to a spouse/intimate partner is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony in California depends on:

1. The facts of the case, and
2. Your criminal history.¹¹

A felony is more likely to be charged in 273.5 PC cases if:

• The injuries to the intimate partner are very serious, and/or
• You have a history of domestic violence complaints or other aggressive acts.

Misdemeanor Penalties

Misdemeanor penalties for infliction of corporal injury to a spouse/intimate partner can include:

• Up to 1 year in county jail and/or
• A fine of up to $6,000.¹²

Alternatively, the judge might sentence you to misdemeanor (summary) probation instead of jail time.

Felony Penalties

Basic felony penalties for corporal injury to a spouse/intimate partner are:

• 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison and/or
• A fine of up to $6,000.¹³

In certain cases, the judge may instead sentence you to felony (formal) probation.

When You Have Prior Convictions

If you have a prior conviction in the last seven years for domestic battery of a spouse under PC 243(e), the felony penalties for corporal injury to a spouse are:

• 2, 3, or 4 years in state prison and/or
• A fine of up to $10,000.¹⁴

Meanwhile, if you have a prior conviction in the last seven years for either:

• Corporal injury to a spouse under PC 273.5,
• Assault/battery resulting in serious bodily injury under PC 243(d),
• Assault/battery with a caustic chemical under PC 244,
• Assault with a stun gun under PC 244.5,
• Assault with a deadly weapon under PC 245(a)(1), or
• Sexual battery under PC 243.4,

then the felony penalties for corporal injury of a spouse/intimate partner increase to:

• 2, 4, or 5 years in state prison and/or
• A fine of up to $10,000.¹⁵

Corporal Injury with “Great Bodily Injury”

If you seriously injure a spouse or intimate partner, you may face a “great bodily injury” sentencing enhancement under California Penal Code 12022.7.

“Great bodily injury” is any “significant or substantial physical injury.”¹⁶ A PC 12022.7 enhancement adds an additional and consecutive prison sentence of three, four, or five years.¹⁷

Probation

California judges sometimes have the discretion to suspend your sentence and grant you probation instead.¹⁸

Misdemeanor (summary) probation – which can be granted in misdemeanor cases – typically lasts between one and two years.

Felony (formal) probation – which can be granted in felony cases – lasts three to five years and may include serving up to a year in county jail. It will typically be granted only when:

• You are a first-time offender or
• There are significant “mitigating factors.”

Probation Conditions

As a condition of remaining out of jail while on probation, you will be required to comply with certain conditions. These can include:

• Paying a fine,
• Paying victim restitution to reimburse the victim for counseling and other reasonable expenses,
• Paying up to $5,000 to a battered woman’s shelter,
• Attending a 52-week domestic violence class,
• Completing community service or Caltrans roadside work,
• Not violating any laws,
• Complying with a restraining order or protective order that prohibits contact with the victim for up to 10 years, and/or
• A minimum jail stay of:
  • 15 days if you have a prior conviction in the past seven years for an offense involving assault or domestic violence, or
  • 60 days if you have two or more of such priors.

What happens if I violate probation?

If you fail to comply with any conditions of probation, the judge will schedule a probation violation hearing. If the violation is proved, the judge can then:

• Continue probation as before,
• Impose newer (often harsher) conditions, or
• Revoke probation and send you to jail or prison to serve up to the maximum sentence.

Immigration Consequences

Corporal injury to a spouse/intimate partner is a crime of domestic violence under federal immigration law.¹⁹ Therefore, non-citizens convicted of violating Penal Code 273.5 face deportation.²⁰

If you are a non-citizen charged with any domestic violence offense, it is vital you retain an attorney to try to get the charged dismissed or reduced to a non-deportable crime. It may be your only way of remaining in the U.S.

Non-citizens convicted of domestic violence face deportation after they finish their sentence.

 Penal Code 273.5 as a”Strike” Offense

If you commit PC 273.5 – and it results in “great bodily injury” to the victim – it is both:

• A “serious felony” and,
• A “strike” under California’s “Three Strikes” law.²¹

Therefore if you are convicted of a serious felony and later charged with another serious felony (or violent felony), you will be considered a “second striker.” As a second striker, you face a sentence that is twice as long as the penalty otherwise required by law.²²

If you have two prior strike offenses, a subsequent serious (or violent) felony conviction can lead to a sentence of 25 years to life.²³

For more information, read our article, Is Penal Code 273.5 a strike?

No Penalty Enhancements in Los Angeles County

As of December 8, 2020, prosecutors in Los Angeles County are no longer pursuing sentencing enhancements in PC  273.5 cases. For example, if a husband gets charged with corporal injury to a spouse in Los Angeles for breaking his wife’s arm, prosecutors cannot bring the “great bodily injury” enhancement under PC 12022.7.

In short, causing a serious injury is prosecuted the same as causing a bruise, and it would not count as a strike offense either.²⁴

California makes it a felony or misdemeanor to commit spousal corporal injury.

3. Defenses

Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people facing PC 273.5 charges. In our experience, the following three defenses have proven very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries at getting these charges reduced or dismissed.

1) You Acted in Lawful Self-Defense or Defense of Others

Self-defense/defense of others applies when all of the following are true:

1. You reasonably believed that you or someone else was in imminent danger of bodily injury,
2. You reasonably believed that the immediate use of force was necessary to defend against that danger, and
3. You used no more force than was reasonably necessary to defend against that danger.²⁵

If you prove all of the above facts, you should be found not guilty of corporal injury to an intimate partner.

Example: Michelle catches her husband Jason in bed with her sister Leah and charges them with a knife. Jason is forced to wrestle her to the ground. In doing so, he causes her to hit her head. He should be able to argue that he was acting in self-defense and in defense of Leah.

Common evidence we rely on are surveillance video, eyewitness accounts, and recorded communications from the “victim” that indicate violent tendencies. As long as there is a reasonable doubt, criminal charges cannot stand.

2) You Did Not Act Willfully

You can be convicted under PC 273.5 only if you willfully injured the victim. This means that an accidental injury – even one that occurs during a heated argument – is not enough.

In these cases, we also rely on surveillance video and eyewitness accounts as evidence. In addition, we can call upon a forensic medical expert who may be able to distinguish between wounds that are willfully inflicted and those that are accidental.

3) You Were Falsely Accused

California law enforcement takes allegations of domestic violence seriously. As a result, people are often wrongly arrested based upon false allegations initiated out of anger, jealousy, or a desire for revenge.

We fight such baseless allegations by:

• Subpoenaing the accuser’s emails, text messages and social networking accounts,
• Interviewing the accuser and their family, friends, co-workers and online contacts, and
• Conducting a thorough background check on the accuser and any alleged witnesses.

In cases we handle, an investigation often reveals that a domestic violence accuser had a hidden agenda. When we present this evidence to the prosecutor, the charges may get dropped or reduced through a plea bargain.²⁶

4. What if the accuser refuses to testify?

Often in domestic violence cases, the accuser recants their allegations or ignores the prosecutors altogether.²⁷ Unfortunately, prosecutors usually continue to press charges because they believe the alleged victim is being:

• Threatened,
• Coerced, or
• Manipulated.²⁸

When accusers refuse to cooperate with prosecutors however, it makes the prosecutors’ job much harder. They can subpoena the victim to testify at court, but that does not mean they will show up.²⁹

When victims are a no-show, there is a good chance the prosecutor will not be able to continue with a Penal Code 273.5 case. This is because of the hearsay rule: Any out-of-court statements your accuser made must be excluded unless you have a chance to confront and cross-examine them at trial.

So if the complaining witness cannot be brought into court, the case will often fall apart, resulting in a dismissal of the charges.

Alleged domestic violence victims who refuse to testify at trial increase the odds of the case getting dismissed.

5. Related Crimes

• Penal Code 236 – false imprisonment: Unlawfully restricting someone’s freedom of movement against their will. It can be a felony or a misdemeanor.
• Penal Code 240 – assault: Unlawful attempt, along with the present ability, to cause a violent injury to another person. It can be a felony or a misdemeanor.
• Penal Code 242 – battery: Unlawful infliction of force upon another. It can be a misdemeanor or a felony.
• Penal Code 243(d) – aggravated battery: Touching or striking someone in a harmful or offensive manner and thereby causing the person to suffer a serious injury. It can be a misdemeanor or a felony.
• Penal Code 243(e)(1) – domestic battery: The harmful or offensive touching of an intimate partner. It is a misdemeanor and a less serious domestic violence offense than corporal injury.
• Penal Code 273a – child endangerment: Putting a child at risk of harm. It can be a felony or a misdemeanor.
• Penal Code 368 – elder abuse: Willfully or negligently imposing unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering on a person 65 or older. This can be a felony or a misdemeanor.
• Penal Code 415 – disturbing the peace: Fighting someone in public, making unreasonable noise so as to disturb others, or directing fighting words to another in public. This is also a misdemeanor.

Additional Resources

If you are a victim of domestic violence, you can find help and information here:

• California Partnership to End Domestic Violence – List of domestic violence organizations throughout California.
• DomesticShelters.org – Directory of domestic violence shelters in California.
• WomensLaw.org – List of advocates and shelters for domestic violence victims.
• Blue Shield of California Foundation – Resources for survivors, advocates, and allies.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline – 24/7 hotline to profile information and help for domestic violence victims.

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 Legal References:

1. California Penal Code Section 273.5 PC:
   

   (a) Any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting 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 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 spouse of the person with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute cohabitation as the 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 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 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 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 defendant convicted under subdivision (a) who has been convicted of any 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 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 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 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 person who is married or in a registered domestic partnership is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her spouse or domestic partner in violation of this section, the community property may not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse or domestic partner for restitution to the injured spouse or domestic partner, 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 or domestic partner and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse or domestic partner 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.
   This section is often referred to by a variety of names. Some of the most common include: Corporal injury on a spouse, corporal injury on an intimate partner, corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, domestic violence, domestic abuse, willful infliction of corporal injury, intentional infliction of corporal injury, and/or spousal abuse.

   See also California Criminal Jury Instructions (CALCRIM) 840. Inflicting Injury on Spouse, Cohabitant, or Fellow Parent Resulting in Traumatic Condition. See also PC 13730 and PC 13700.
2. CALCRIM 840, endnote 1: “Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose.” See also: People v. Rodriguez (1992) 5 Cal.App.4th 1398; People v. Campbell (1999) 76 Cal.App.4th 305; People v. Thurston (1999) 71 Cal.App.4th 1050; People v. Lara (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 102; People v. Anderson (2011) 51 Cal.4th 989.
3. Same. “A traumatic condition is a wound or other bodily injury, whether minor or serious, caused by the direct application of physical force.” See also: People v. Burns (1948) 88 Cal.App.2d 867; People v. Cervantes (2001) 26 Cal.4th 860; People v. Bernhardt (1963) 222 Cal.App.2d 567; People v. Reid (2024) 105 Cal. App. 5th 446.
4. Same. See also: People v. Gutierrez (1985) 171 Cal.App.3d 944; People v. Kinsey (1995) 40 Cal.App.4th 1621.
5. CALCRIM 840, endnote 1: “A traumatic condition is the result of an injury if: 1 The traumatic condition was the natural and probable consequence of the injury; 2 The injury was a direct and substantial factor in causing the condition; AND 3 The condition would not have happened without the injury. A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of the circumstances established by the evidence. A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor. However, it does not need to be the only factor that resulted in the traumatic condition.
6. Based on the facts of People v. Jackson (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 574.
7. See endnote 1. See also People v. Vega (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 706.
8. Same. See also: People v. Ballard (1988) 203 Cal.App.3d 311; People v. Holifield (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 993.
9. CALCRIM 840, endnote 1: “A person may cohabit simultaneously with two or more people at different locations, during the same time frame, if he or she maintains substantial ongoing relationships with each person and lives with each person for significant periods.” See also People v. Moore (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 1323. (“We conclude as a matter of law that for purposes of criminal liability under [Penal Code 243(e)(1), California’s law against corporal injury on a spouse or intimate partner], a defendant may cohabit simultaneously with two or more people at different locations, during the same time frame, if he maintains substantial ongoing relationships with each and lives with each for significant periods.”)
10. Based on the facts of People v. Moore, endnote 9.
11. Penal Code 273.5(a), endnote 1.
12. Same.
13. Same. See also: People v. Healy (1993) 14 Cal.App.4th 1137; People v. Thompson (1984) 160 Cal.App.3d 220.
14. Penal Code 273.5(f)(2).
15. Penal Code 273.5(f)(1).
16. Penal Code 12022.7(f)” As used in this section, ‘great bodily injury’ means a significant or substantial physical injury.” See also CALCRIM 3163. Great Bodily Injury: Domestic Violence: “[great bodily injury] is an injury that is greater than minor or moderate harm.”
17. California Penal Code 12022.7(e).
18. People v. Killion, (2018) 24 Cal. App. 5th 337 (“[T]he Legislature intended to require an initial imposition of a 36-month term of probation in domestic violence cases, but did not intend to circumscribe the court’s discretion to later reduce that term pursuant to section 1203.3 upon a showing of good cause.”)
19. 8 U.S.C § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i). See also Marquez-Carillo v. Holder (9th Cir. 2015) No. 12-70779. Morales-Garcia v. Holder (9th Cir. 2009) 567 F.3d 1058. 8 USC 1326.
20. Penal Code 677(e).
21. Penal Code 677(e).
22. Same.
23. Same.
24. LADA Special Directive 20-08 and amendments. See also Judge Determines Some of Gascón’s Edicts Are ‘Unlawful’, Metropolitan News-Enterprise (February 9, 2021)(“The prosecutor that, for example, ‘if a defendant breaks a spouse’s bones’ and a charge is filed under Penal Code §273.5 alleging a corporal injury of a spouse or cohabitant, but there is no allegation under §12022.7 of a great bodily injury—which would require an additional three-year sentence—’that conviction will not qualify as a strike prior in the future.’“).
25. CALCRIM 3470. Right to Self-Defense or Defense of Another (Non-Homicide).
26. People v. Megown (Cal. App. 4th Dist. Sep. 24, 2018) 28 Cal. App. 5th 157. (“It was proper to admit evidence of past uncharged acts of domestic violence against the cohabitant to prove the crimes against the mother because the charged offenses took place in the cohabitant’s presence and thus were crimes “involving” domestic violence for purposes of Evid. Code, § 1109. It was also proper to admit evidence that the abuse started 16 years earlier and was continuous. The evidence created a strong inference that defendant had a propensity to commit the acts described.”)
27. See, for example, Study shows why domestic violence victims drop charges, Reuters, Aug. 19, 2011.
28. Same.
29. See Penal Code 1326 – 1332 PC.