Battery, when prosecuted as a California crime of domestic violence, occurs when an individual uses force or violence upon his or her intimate partner. Within the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, an intimate partner is one’s partner or former partner in a civil union, the person with whom one has children, the person with whom one lives or lived or the person whom one is or was dating. This charge may be filed against an individual even if he or she only used the slightest force, as any unwanted touching could lead to a battery accusation.

In order for a judge or jury to find a defendant guilty, the prosecutor must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. To do this, it is required that each independent fact - or element - of the crime must be proven separately. If even one element isn’t proven, the defendant must be acquitted. In addition, in a criminal jury trial, all twelve jurors must find the defendant guilty in order to convict him or her of the charge. To find the accused guilty of battery, as an intimate partner abuse crime, the prosecutor must prove three elements.

The first element is that the accused used force or violence upon another. Note that this element doesn’t say anything about injury. This is because a battery is simply any unwanted touching and has nothing to do with whether or not an injury was sustained by the offended party. The jury must only find that the defendant actually touched his or her accuser.

The second element is that the use of the force or violence was willful. “Willful” means that the individual had the willingness or desire to use force. Willingness has nothing to do with the amount of force used or the physical result of the force, it only deals with the willingness to simply do the act. In a situation where the accused willfully used the force in self-defense or in the defense of others, he or she is not guilty of a battery. It is the prosecutor’s burden to prove that the willful force was unlawful and not for self-defense or in the defense of others.

The final element that must be proven is that the accused and the accuser were intimate partners at the time of the alleged offense. This means that as long as the parties met the definition of “intimate partners” as defined above at the time of the battery, the defendant may be convicted of this charge.

In a domestic abuse battery case where the victim suffered from serious bodily injury, there is an additional element that must be proven. The prosecutor must be able to show that the injury that the victim sustained was a result of the force or violence that was used by the accused. In other words, it must be proven that the injury wasn’t self-inflicted or caused as the result of an accident.

Facing a battery charge is difficult enough. One’s reputation and freedom are placed in jeopardy the minute the arrest is made. Facing the charge as a member of the GLBT community is even more difficult, as many attorneys, judges and jurors aren’t comfortable with same sex relationships and may be quick to judge an individual based on certain stereotypes instead of on the evidence presented to them. This is why is it imperative that a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individual accused of battering his or her intimate partner should immediately contact one of the gay-friendly attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm. They will do their best to make sure that the judge and jury see their client in a way that negates any negative biases that they may hold in order to ensure that their client receives a fair trial. The attorneys at the Kavinoky Firm are devoted to protecting the rights of any individual accused of a domestic violence crime. Contact them today for a free consultation and for the best representation.