Long Beach, 243(e)(1), Court Fees & DV Fund Fines Stayed

Our client, age 31, was married to a woman, age 27, who he knew had cheated on him while they were dating before being married. She admitted to this, and he forgave her, but he still could not get over it emotionally even years later. He wrested with her admission and her anger that he continued to dwell on it.

Every little issue that led to an argument was a way of reminding himself that he should have called off the wedding due to her infidelity.

He thought, with time, he would get over it and forget about it, but he could not.

Exacerbating problems, her job as a preschool teacher barely paid for even the utilities and his job paid the majority of all other expenses. He resented paying for so much. The couple lived in Long Beach.

One day, he was home from work early and was drinking. He thought about what a mistake he had committed by marrying this woman and began breaking furniture in frustration. After he broke one item, he broke another and another.

Neighbors upstairs in an apartment above our client’s apartment heard the commotion and went downstairs to check on our client, who assured the neighbor that it was just him, not a burglar or a vandal.

At some point our client’s wife returned home from work and saw the mess he had created. She also immediately saw that he had been drinking.

She tried to talk to him to calm him down and get him to vent his obvious frustration. This apparently did not work, as the neighbor above heard yelling and more furniture breaking. He went downstairs and knocked on the couple’s apartment door to verify everyone was alright, but to also tell our client that if he heard any more arguing or other noise that disturbed others, he would call the police.

Minutes later, according to the neighbor, he heard more yelling and went down the stairs to see our client pushing his wife against the wall repeatedly and hitting her on her forearms and she attempted to cover her face. The neighbor immediately called the Long Beach Police, who arrived in minutes.

Police spoke with the neighbor and immediately arrested our client. Police also spoke with our client’s wife, who corroborated what the neighbor witnessed. Both interviews were captured on a police officer’s body-cam video and on the 911 call.

Our client’s wife had no visible injuries, as bruises from such impacts would take time to become visible. Our client was arrested therefore for violating Penal Code § 243(e)(1), domestic violence without a traumatic condition to the victim.

After the client was released from custody, after posting a $20,000 bond (bail for a 243(e)(1) arrest charge), he called Greg Hill & Associates. He described what had happened and asked whether he would spend any more time in jail, as he worked a lot and his income was vital for the young family.

Greg explained that because there were no visible injuries (Greg knew this from the arrest charge) and because the client had no prior domestic violence history, Greg told the client he would most likely not serve any time in jail, but would be placed on three years of informal probation with certain obligations.

Greg explained that such obligations would include attending fifty-two sessions of an approved batterers class, payment of a $500 “contribution” to a victims of domestic violence fund, payment of court fines and fees of $220 and performance of at least eight hours of approved community service. As the client had been found drinking heavily during the incident, Greg explained that the plea bargain may also include a minimum number of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings to attend as well.

Greg then appeared at the arraignment with the client in the Long Beach Superior Court and discussed the case facts with the prosecutor, who had not even read the police report. The first offer to the client was exactly what Greg had told the client it most likely would be. However, since alcohol was a factor, perhaps, in the incident, the judge ordered our client to attend two AA meetings per week as a condition of release while the case was pending.

Greg later received the 911 call recording and the body-cam footage of each officer involved in the arrest. There was over ten hours of video because there were many officers that were called to the arrest. In two of the videos, which the prosecutor had not reviewed, the neighbor described quite vividly what had happened that he saw from only about ten feet away and the video of our client’s wife was equally dramatic.

The client watched the same videos and understood a jury would have no problem convicting him, so he accepted the minimum term plea bargain offered. At sentencing, Greg asked the judge to stay imposition of the $500 “contribution” and the $220 in court fees based on the client’s inability to pay. The judge agreed, pending our client’s completion of the 52 week batterers program. Greg also asked the prosecutor to credit the hours our client attended AA meetings toward the 40 hours of community service and the prosecutor agreed, deleting this portion of the probation conditions.

The client was happy to know what the videos and the 911 call revealed and happy with how Greg had the judge stay collection of the court fees and fines and the $500 contribution due to his financial inability, although he may pay these fees later, but not now.