California’s domestic violence laws apply to all crimes that are committed against one’s intimate partner. With respect to the GLBT community, intimate partners are those who are or were civilly united, those who are or were living together, those who are or were dating and those who have children together. It therefore follows that if an individual touches his or her intimate partner in a sexual manner against the will of that partner, he or she may be charged with sexual battery as a crime of domestic abuse. If convicted of this crime, the accused faces up to one year in jail and a possible $2,000 fine if the charge was filed as a misdemeanor or up to four years in prison and a possible $10,000 fine if the charge was prosecuted as a felony.

Prior convictions, however, take away the possibility of being charged with a misdemeanor offense. If the defendant has a prior conviction for sexual battery and, in the pending case, the accused commits a sexual battery while the intimate partner is unlawfully restrained, institutionalized, seriously disabled, medically incapacitated or unconscious and the intimate partner was a minor (a person under 18) at the time of the alleged offense, he or she will automatically be charged with a felony punishable by at least two years in state prison and possibly up to four and a maximum $10,000 fine. It must also be noted that an individual who commits a sexual battery against a minor will likely face additional criminal charges for child abuse and should immediately contact an attorney for legal advice upon such an accusation.

Prior convictions, unfortunately, not only affect one’s possible sentence but may also affect the outcome of the trial. This is because the jury will also receive information about the defendant’s prior intimate partner abuse convictions. In order to prevent a jury from the incorrect assumption that a defendant’s prior conduct can be direct evidence of a pending charge, California has ruled that prior criminal acts are inadmissible in most criminal trials. However, an exception to that rule applies to cases involving domestic violence. In these types of cases, the jury will be allowed to hear that the defendant committed similar offenses in the past, regardless of whether they were prior acts of sexual battery or other acts of intimate partner violence. As a result, they may jump to the conclusion that he or she must have done so again. This is another reason why it is imperative for an individual accused of a sexual battery crime (who also has prior DV crimes on his or her record) to hire a California domestic violence lawyer who specializes in criminal defense. Only an attorney who has experience with these types of cases will know what arguments to make that may persuade a judge to exclude this type of evidence as being unfairly prejudicial to the defendant. The possibility of losing two to four years of one’s life in prison is too important to trust to an inexperienced attorney.

The LGBT supportive attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended countless individuals from the devastating consequences that are imposed in domestic violence cases. They pride themselves on keeping up with the latest trial strategies and evidentiary rulings and, as a result, know the most effective ways to defend their clients. They recognize a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender individual facing a sexual battery charge who also has prior D.V. convictions will face an even greater challenge than his or her “straight” counterpart. The attorneys at the Law Offices of Darren Kavinoky are dedicated to protecting the rights of all their clients and will do their best to make sure that a judge and jury are able to relate to their GLBT clients in a way that will hopefully eliminate any bias or intolerance they may have otherwise had against such an individual. Contact them today for a free consultation and for exceptional representation.