The degree of injury to the victim will decide if a domestic violence case is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. Regardless of whether the matter is charged as a felony or a misdemeanor if the client is found guilty or pleas guilty he/she must complete a 52-week batterer’s course, 8 hours of community service and pay various fines and fees.

In order to avoid a client doing the 52-week batterer’s class an agreement must be negotiated with the District Attorney whereby a non-domestic violence charge (Disturbing the Peace, Assault) is substituted for the domestic violence charge.

Each domestic violence charge needs to be thoroughly investigated by defense counsel. Depending on the facts of the domestic violence case and the record of the client, agreements can be reached whereby even if the crime occurred attendance at an anger management class (10-weeks) or counseling can relieve a client of the normal requirements of a domestic violence charge.

Here is a recent case result:

“I was charged with Penal Code Section 243(e) (1) [Domestic Violence Battery on a Spouse]; a conviction of this crime could have caused me to spend up to 1 year in custody. This case arose from an incident whereby I was alleged to have struck my spouse causing injury. I hired William W. Bruzzo to represent me in this matter because of his effectiveness in court and his knowledge of the law. Mr. Bruzzo told me that a conviction for a violent act such as this would have been detrimental to my record and therefore my future. In addition I was told that such a conviction could cause me to lose my job. This was especially significant because I have a family to feed and my spouse does not work. Mr. Bruzzo worked hard to get the charge changed to include going to the supervising district attorney. In the end he had the charge reduced to a Penal Code Section 415 [Disturbing the Peace]. The Domestic Violence Charge was dismissed. I truly believe that without Mr. Bruzzo’s familiarity with the Orange County Courts and the law I would not have received such a good result. I would enthusiastically recommend him for any criminal matter.”  ~~JC, December 2, 2009

As Angels’ fans basked in a 4-run lead against the Yankees in the American League play-offs on Thursday night, October 23rd, there was a little more action off the field. Hoping to see Angels’ left fielder Juan Rivera do some good during his at-bat an exuberant fan was seen walking around the rock fountain area behind centerfield and eventually took a plunge in one of the stone lined pools.

The first thing that came to mind, of course, was that the guy must have had a lot more beers then the number of innings played. The surprising detail that came to light is that according to police he was not drunk and “unable to care for himself or a danger to others”. He will be charged, however with a misdemeanor trespass under Penal Code Section 602. Another possible charge could be Penal Code Section 415 disturbing the peace, also a misdemeanor. Trespass can carry a sentence of 6 months in jail while disturbing the peace can carry a sentence of 90 days. Generally, neither charge results in jail time for a first time offender.

The bottom line on this case: This Angels’ baseball fan likes his fame with a side of trespass, please!