What Charge Is Infliction of Corporal Injury on Spouse/Cohabitant?

Inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant is a felony under California Penal Code 273.5, punishable by up to four years in state prison for a first offense and up to five years if the defendant has a qualifying prior conviction.¹ The statute is a “wobbler,” meaning prosecutors can file it as a misdemeanor in less serious cases. Either way, a conviction reaches well past jail time: lifetime firearms bans, mandatory counseling, protective orders lasting up to a decade, and durable damage to employment, custody, and immigration status.

Who the Statute Protects

Penal Code 273.5 covers more relationships than most people assume. The alleged victim does not need to be a current spouse, and the two people do not need to be living together now. The statute applies when the victim is or was any of the following:¹

A spouse or former spouse
A cohabitant or former cohabitant, meaning two people who lived together as more than roommates, whether or not they held themselves out as married
A fiancé, fiancée, or someone the defendant has or had a dating relationship with
The parent of the defendant’s child

The dating-partner category catches people off guard. You do not need to have lived together, shared finances, or been engaged. A former boyfriend or girlfriend qualifies.

What the Prosecution Must Prove

Three elements, each beyond a reasonable doubt.

The act has to be willful. “Willful” means the defendant intended the physical act that caused the injury, not that the defendant intended a specific wound. Accidental contact during an argument does not satisfy this element.¹

The injury has to produce a “traumatic condition.” The statute defines that as a bodily condition caused by physical force, including wounds, bruises, internal injuries, strangulation, and suffocation.¹ The injury can be minor or severe, but it has to be physical. Purely emotional distress does not count. Prosecutors typically prove this with medical records, photographs, and officer testimony.

The qualifying relationship has to be established. Marriage certificates, shared leases, utility bills in both names, and witness testimony are the usual proof.

Misdemeanor or Felony

Because the charge is a wobbler, the district attorney chooses between misdemeanor and felony filing. The decision usually turns on the severity of the injury, whether a weapon was used, and the defendant’s criminal history. A visible bruise and no prior record may draw a misdemeanor; broken bones, strangulation, or a history of violence will almost always draw a felony.

A misdemeanor conviction carries up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $6,000, or both.¹

A felony conviction carries two, three, or four years in state prison, a fine of up to $6,000, or both. California’s triad sentencing lets the judge pick the low, middle, or high term based on aggravating and mitigating factors, with the middle term as the starting point.¹

When Penalties Climb

Prior Conviction Within Seven Years

If the new offense occurs within seven years of a prior conviction for corporal injury to a spouse, battery, sexual battery, assault with caustic chemicals, assault with a deadly weapon, or similar violent offenses, the prison exposure rises to two, four, or five years and the maximum fine doubles to $10,000.¹

Great Bodily Injury Enhancement

When a felony domestic violence offense causes great bodily injury, the court adds three, four, or five extra years in state prison, served consecutively on top of the base sentence.² “Great bodily injury” means significant or substantial physical harm beyond what the offense itself inherently involves. Broken bones, concussions, injuries requiring surgery, and permanent disfigurement all qualify. A single count with this enhancement can reach nine years.

Probation Instead of Prison

Probation in a domestic violence case is not light duty. Penal Code 1203.097 sets mandatory conditions for every grant of probation on these charges:³

A minimum probation term of 36 months, with no early termination below that floor
A batterer’s intervention program of at least one year, with weekly two-hour sessions, completed within 18 months, and progress reports to the court every three months
A criminal protective order shielding the victim from violence, threats, stalking, and harassment, potentially including stay-away and move-out terms
Court-designated community service with proof of completion
A $500 fee, which the court can reduce or waive for inability to pay

The batterer’s program itself typically runs between $650 and $1,340 out of pocket, on top of the statutory fee and any restitution. A missed session or new arrest can trigger a revocation hearing, and the judge can then impose whatever jail or prison term was originally suspended.

Protective Orders

Several kinds of orders can stack in one case. Law enforcement can request an Emergency Protective Order from a judge, often the night of the arrest, lasting five to seven days to bridge until the victim decides whether to pursue longer protection.⁴ The victim can then seek a Temporary Restraining Order that extends similar protections for weeks or months until a full hearing.

At sentencing, the judge can issue a criminal protective order lasting up to 10 years. It can prohibit all contact with the victim, require the defendant to stay a specified distance from the victim’s home and workplace, and ban firearm possession for the life of the order.⁵ That order survives even if the underlying conviction is later dismissed through expungement.⁶

Firearms Bans

Federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing or purchasing firearms or ammunition. There is no expiration, and no carve-out for law enforcement officers or military personnel.⁷ Violating this ban is a federal felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.⁸

California layers its own restrictions on top. Any felony conviction bars firearm ownership for life under state law. Criminal protective orders separately require the defendant to surrender all firearms, and possessing one while subject to such an order is a separate offense.⁵ For anyone whose work depends on carrying a firearm, this is often the most career-ending part of the case.

Restitution to the Victim

California law requires the court to order restitution for the full amount of the victim’s economic losses, and the judge has to impose it unless there are extraordinary reasons not to. Restitution covers medical and hospital expenses, counseling, lost wages, and property damage. Even losses already covered by the victim’s insurance can be included.⁹ Restitution orders are enforceable as civil judgments, so the victim can pursue wage garnishment or liens for unpaid amounts.

Common Defenses

Three defenses show up most often.

Self-defense. If the defendant responded to an immediate physical threat and used only the force reasonably necessary, the act was legally justified. Proportionality is the whole fight. Shoving back after a slap is one thing; throwing someone down a staircase is another.

Accidental injury. Because the statute requires a willful act, a genuinely accidental injury is not a crime. Most factual disputes in these cases live on the line between “accidental” and “intentional but regretted.”

False accusations. Domestic violence allegations sometimes surface during custody fights, divorces, or ugly breakups. Evidence of a motive to fabricate, together with inconsistencies between the initial police report, medical records, and later testimony, is typically the strongest defense material.

Collateral Consequences

The sentence is only part of what a conviction costs.

Employment and Professional Licenses

Background checks will show the conviction. Jobs involving vulnerable populations — childcare, healthcare, elder care, education — are especially hard to get. Licensing boards in nursing, law, real estate, and similar fields can suspend or revoke a license on the basis of a domestic violence conviction. For police officers and service members, the federal firearms ban alone usually ends the career.

Housing

Landlords routinely check criminal history. A conviction can mean denied rental applications or eviction under a lease’s criminal-activity clause. Public housing authorities also weigh the record in their screening.

Child Custody

Family courts take these convictions seriously. A conviction creates a presumption against awarding custody to the convicted parent, and the court may limit that parent to supervised visitation. Harm to the child or violence in the child’s presence sharpens the consequences further.

Immigration Consequences

For noncitizens, the immigration fallout can hit harder than the criminal sentence. Federal law makes any noncitizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence deportable, regardless of status or length of residence, and that applies to misdemeanors as well as felonies. A conviction can block a green card, prevent naturalization, and trigger removal proceedings against a lawful permanent resident of many years. Violating a protective order is its own independent ground for deportation under the same statute.¹⁰ A plea that looks reasonable from a sentencing perspective can be catastrophic for immigration, so any noncitizen facing these charges needs counsel who handles both sides.

Expungement and Its Limits

After completing probation and all its conditions, a person convicted under Penal Code 273.5 can petition for expungement under Penal Code 1203.4. If granted, the court lets the defendant withdraw the plea and dismisses the case.⁶ Unpaid restitution does not block the petition.

Expungement helps with private employment and housing applications, but it is not a clean slate. It does not restore firearm rights under federal law. It does not erase the conviction for immigration purposes. And any criminal protective order from sentencing stays in effect on its own terms, even after the conviction is dismissed.⁶

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 273.5
2
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 12022.7
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.097
4
California Courts. Guide to Protective Orders
5
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 136.2
6
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
8
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions
9
California Victim Compensation Board. Restitution
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens