If you’ve been charged with inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant in the state of California, then you likely already know that you’re facing a serious charge. If convicted, you could be looking at up to four years in prison and fines of as much as $6,000. The good news is that you have Law Office of Michael L. Fell to defend you. Read on to learn more about some of the potential defenses for this and other domestic violence charges then contact us at (949) 585-9055 for your free legal consultation.

Showing that the allegations are not true

It’s common for domestic disputes to get out of hand. It’s not uncommon for a person to call the police simply because they’re mad at their spouse. If you’ve been falsely accused of domestic violence then we will work tirelessly to show that the allegations against you are not based on fact. We will demand that all charges against you are dropped and will do everything possible to ensure that’s what happens.

Showing that you were acting in self-defense or were defending someone else

If you did inflict injury on your spouse but you only did so to protect yourself, or to protect someone else, then we will work to show that you had a legal reason to take the actions you took. According to California law, you have the right to use what’s known as “reasonable force” to defend yourself if you’re being attacked. How much force is considered “reasonable” will vary based on the situation.

California Jury instructions state that reasonable self-defense should be considered if the jury believes you:

• You reasonably thought you were in danger of being killed or injured
• You reasonably thought that you had to use force to keep that from happening
• You didn’t use more force than was necessary

Take this example: If a person was being attacked with a knife, then the law says they can use deadly force to defend themselves. However, if a person is pushed, then it’s not legal to use deadly force to defend themselves.

Showing that the incident was an accident

Accidents happen all the time, especially when emotions are running high. It may be that your spouse fell down or that you threw an object at the floor and it bounced up to hit them in the face. If the situation was an accident, then will argue that. For this defense to be successful, we’ll have to show that you had no intent to injure or strike your spouse.

No matter what the situation is, if you’ve been accused of or arrested for corporal injury on a spouse then we recommend you contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 sooner rather than later. We are here to offer a free legal consultation and to let you know what your options are. You do not want to fight these charges without a qualified attorney on your side. Call us today.