The California criminal system holds persons found guilty for offenses responsible to face various consequences, including incarceration and payment of hefty fines. Thus, upon being accused of committing battery on a peace officer, you want to prepare your defenses adequately to increase your chances of beating the charges in court. Ultimately, this will help you avoid the penalties and a criminal record if the case results positively. Even when you are held guilty for the offense, having an experienced attorney by your side throughout the trial process can help you receive a more lenient sentence. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we provide the best criminal defense services to our clients, helping them prepare for upcoming trials for their charges. Our wealth of experience in criminal law has made us the preferred choice for hundreds of clients in Santa Ana, California, looking to fight charges involving committing battery on a peace officer.
The Nature of the Offense
The law in California includes provisions to protect its citizens, including persons working as peace officers throughout the state. As a result, section 243 of the Penal Code provides an offense stated as committing battery on a peace officer. It attracts penalties of various severity levels depending on the circumstances surrounding a case.
Further, the prosecutor must have established that the guilty party engaged in all elements of the crime necessary before conviction, as required under the criminal procedure provisions. Typically, the offense is charged when the suspect engages in violent behavior coupled with aggression against a peace officer.
The classification of a violent attack on a peace officer is termed a battery because the offense requires physical contact between the perpetrator and the victim. Subsequently, the peace officer should have been within the line of contact with the alleged suspect’s violent approaches, as further discussed below.
Elements of Crime for Committing Battery on a Peace Officer
Usually, criminal cases are handled by the state prosecutor, as they represent the aggrieved person and the state in pursuing legal action against the offender. As a result, the prosecutor assumes the burden of proof in criminal cases to ensure that the suspect did commit the charged offense. This ensures that a fair trial ensues, whereby the accused’s rights are a considered factor.
The burden of proof requires the prosecutor to gather sufficient evidence that shows the guilty party’s involvement in all elements of the crime. A failure to prove each element sufficiently will fail the prosecutor, making you likely to be acquitted. To avoid this, the prosecutor partners with investigation officers, witnesses, and other key participants in a criminal case to consolidate the evidence.
When presenting the different elements of crime, the prosecution team will also engage various tactics that ensure the judge sees your guilty involvement beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, it is important to understand how the prosecutor may approach each element of crime in the offense of committing battery on a peace officer to help you prepare your defenses. The following are the main elements of the crime as described under sections 243 (b) and (c ) of the California Penal Code:
Your Actions Were Against a Peace Officer or Any Other Protected Person
Firstly, the prosecutor should establish that your actions targeted a peace officer or any other protected person. This is because the case would be wrongfully prosecuted under section 243 PC if the attack was against a civilian. Providing the required proof is generally straightforward, as the prosecutor only needs to contact the alleged victim to acquire their certifications as a peace officer.
It is noteworthy that peace officers are tasked with their duties under statutory provisions, meaning they are also protected from attack under the law. Some of their duties may allow them to use force or restraint against persons involved in riots or violence to reinstate peace.
Peace officers can range from regular police officers to border patrol officers and investigators. Furthermore, prosecutors and members of the secret service are also classified as peace officers because they play a significant role in consolidating information necessary to stop or reduce criminal offenses from prevailing.
Additional peace officers include persons working at borders and airports as immigration officers and border patrol personnel. State troopers also play an integral role in maintaining peace and fall within the category.
On top of this, the offense is chargeable when the victim was a protected person who is not necessarily recognized as a peace officer but undertakes duties to help maintain peace. Examples include:
Firefighters and Lifeguards
Although firefighters and lifeguards do not have the same mandates as peace officers, they play an integral role in ensuring that citizens remain safe and avoid suffering injuries and additional harm. Therefore, attacking the professionals amounts to an impediment to peace and safety restoration, especially during emergencies. For example, if you are pushing off a firefighter to prevent them from entering a burning building, you may be answerable for the charge.
Highway Patrol Personnel
Further, patrol personnel may be deployed on various highways to monitor suspicious activities or ensure that all motorists drive within the expected guidelines. They may stop you for questioning and require you to provide some details in the interest of maintaining peace and order. Thus, they fall within the protected person category, and committing battery on them may amount to facing an arrest and a charge.
Probation Officers
Similarly, probation officers help the court keep track of convicted persons who receive a probation sentence. They play a supervisory role and expect the convicted persons undertaking probation to comply with their requirements consistently. Since their line of work may make them interact with persons convicted of violent offenses, they are protected from the battery, and attacking them is unlawful.
Paramedics and Process Servers
Doctors, nurses, and paramedics working under emergency medical treatment mandates also have statutory protection from facing attacks from the public. Committing battery on this category of professionals may occur during a crowded situation where some parties may want to condemn them for any reason. For example, if paramedics arrive at an accident scene late, committing battery against them in protest is unlawful and attracts penalties.
As your hearing proceeds, the prosecutor will consolidate the required documents to show that the victim in your case was a peace officer. The documents should reveal when the person was recruited to perform their duties and the specific role.
The Peace Officer or Protected Person was Performing Their Duties
Upon showing that the victim was a peace officer, the prosecutor will then demonstrate that the officer was in the process of performing their duties when you attacked them. Proving this element is crucial to your case, as it distinguishes the case circumstances from any other occurrence made against an officer in their civilian capacity.
Since the peace officer may undertake unconventional duties, the prosecutor should also show that their activities are authorized under the law and are not arbitrary operations meant to suppress the public. The prosecution team may refer to various statutes or policies to justify the type of duty that the peace officer or protected person was involved with.
Further, witnesses may be present to testify on the victim’s behalf, especially other peace officers deployed to perform the same duties during the attack period. The presiding judge then notes their statements and refers to them later when making the final determination.
The prosecutor may also present footage showing the nature of your actions against the peace officer during their working hours. For example, if you disagreed with an immigration officer while reviewing your travel documents, it is easy for the prosecutor to pin the element as required, meaning that you are answerable for your actions.
You Knowingly and Wilfully Made Contact with the Peace Officer
Acting willfully and knowingly is also an essential element for the prosecutor to show in your case, as it prevents the accused person from relying on the defense of acting under coercion or mistake. Although proving that a person acted intentionally sounds straightforward, it often requires the prosecutor to rely on circumstantial evidence in most cases. It is hard to prove an offender’s mental state when breaking the law.
Hence, various sources of circumstantial evidence will play a significant role in determining the best-case outcome for the accused. To do this, the prosecutor primarily relies on witnesses who can vividly describe your actions and whether you appeared to be aware of what you were doing. Further, their statements should show that you acted on purpose, which can be further derived from what you said when committing battery.
Focusing on your utterances is a strategic approach for the prosecutor, as words often reveal your intentions. Therefore, you want to remain keen as the prosecutor presents your case to avoid making inaccurate statements. If anything sounds exaggerated or completely false based on what you said at the crime scene, your attorney can raise the point in court when presenting your defenses.
Your Contact with the Officer was Offensive or Harmful to them
Body contact varies, depending on the intention aimed at the other party. For example, it cannot be considered harmful or offensive if you were about to fall and grasp a peace officer’s arm. Hence, the prosecutor should ensure that your actions were contextual, meaning that you intended to extend violence on the peace officer.
Examples of harmful or offensive actions include shoving the officer or pushing them away out of anger. Additionally, you may use your hands to slap, hit or strike them, often interpreted as offensive to the officer.
You should note that since battery requires physical contact between the attacker and the victim, the prosecutor should also prove that you managed to touch the alleged victim. The court considers any level of contact, so even the slightest touch can result in your arrest and prosecution as long as it was offensive or harmful.
Further, you do not have to contact the victim directly using your body. Cases have been decided against the offender where they used items targeting the peace officer to cause physical harm. For example, throwing stones, a hard glass bottle, sticks, or any other item that would cause harm to the victim is a punishable offense under the context.
You Knew the Person was a Peace Officer or a Protected Person When Making the Harmful Contact
Finally, your case will only proceed tutorial if the prosecutor can show that you knew the victim of your attack was a peace officer undertaking official duties. Presenting this crime element helps solidify the case presented against you because you were aware you were committing an offense if you knew of the victim’s identity and capacity.
When handling this crime element, the prosecutor is also likely to rely on circumstantial evidence indicating your knowledge of the peace officer’s identity and role during the attack. For example, if the peace officer was in their official uniform as a police officer, identifying them is pretty straightforward. Hence, the prosecutor will only need to provide evidence showing that you saw the officer in uniform and that you proceeded to commit battery.
Even if the peace officer were not in uniform, they would identify themselves to persons surrounding the area where their services are required. They do this to ensure that the general public does not deny them access to different locations or information as they undertake their duties. Thus, the prosecutor will build on this point because the peace officer identified themselves to you, yet you still committed battery against them.
They may source evidence to support their case from various avenues, including video footage from nearby witnesses or security cameras near the area where the offense occurred. Witness testimonies are also admissible to support the prosecutor's case, primarily from the victim, because they can elaborate on different points that show their identity was clear to you.
Defenses for Committing Battery Against a Peace Officer
After the prosecutor closes their case, your criminal defense lawyer will then present counterarguments as defenses to the claims laid out against you. Doing this ensures that you cast reasonable doubt on the prosecutor’s arguments, limiting their chances of succeeding in their case. However, your defenses should be well supported to prevent instances where your credibility is put to question based on seemingly false arguments.
With a skilled criminal defense lawyer, choosing strong defenses becomes easier for you. This is because your attorney understands the rules to follow when building on the counterarguments and can identify the crucial points to focus on.
It is also noteworthy that not all defenses discussed below are suitable to your matter, as the prosecutor’s presentation sets the blueprint for your responses. Thus, you want to gauge the validity of each argument and ensure that it helps paint you in a good light before the judge.
The following are useful defenses to consider when fighting ‘battery against peace officer’ accusations:
Your Actions Against the Peace Officer Were not Wilful
Wilful actions are characterized by your knowledge of what you are doing and knowing it is wrong. Therefore, you can raise this defense to challenge the prosecutor’s presentation on your willful action by showing that you did not mean to commit battery.
You also want to ground your argument on credible reasons, to help the judge consider your point of view in dispelling the prosecutor’s claim. For example, if you were pressured or threatened to attack a peace officer by a malicious third party, you want to provide as much information as possible on your compromised position.
Additionally, you want to consider providing further details on the third parties who forced you into committing the offense for their interests. In doing you, you may need to reveal their identity and help in their arrest process. Hence, you want to ensure that you give an accurate narrative of what happened to avoid any possibility of creating doubt.
Your criminal defense attorney will need to conduct thorough research on the details before presenting them in court. Therefore, your participation by giving as many details as you can remember is necessary to help you establish a solid defense.
The Case is Founded on a False Police Report
Additionally, some complaints have arisen in the past concerning police misconduct that wrongly frames arrested persons as guilty of their offenses. Therefore, if you strongly believe that you were wrongfully accused based on a false police report, you want to raise the issue as soon as possible through your criminal defense lawyer.
When presenting the defense in court, ensure that all evidence you intend to rely on is verified, as any contradictory statements can result in negative outcomes. Consequently, you may face additional charges for perjury and false accusations against an officer.
To avoid this, your attorney should conduct in-depth research to find all the required details on the processes involving false police report production. For example, if a witness was present when a few officers were plotting to create a false narrative against you, your attorney should engage them and have them testify on your behalf in court. Their testimony can play a pivotal role in helping you avoid conviction.
Your Actions Were in Self Defense
Acting in self-defense is also a good counterargument for committing battery against a peace officer. This is because all citizens have the liberty to protect themselves using reasonable retaliation tactics.
If you choose to rely on this defense, you want to ensure that your actions fall within the two requirements of self-defense arguments under the law. Firstly, you should have faced a serious threat from the peace officer. This means that attacking a peace officer who did not indicate any violence against you is unwarranted, as it provokes the person. Therefore, any action taken after the officer reacts cannot be merited as self-defense.
Secondly, your actions should have been proportional to the type of threat you faced. This means that you should not have reacted in excessive force that seriously harmed the peace officer, as it may attract harsh penalties.
The Peace Officer Was Not Conducting Official Duties
Lastly, you may argue that the peace officer was not acting within their capacity when you allegedly battered them. If so, the current charges will have been wrongfully imposed on you, meaning that your defense can prevent you from facing the penalties listed in the penal code.
Nevertheless, while the defense is valid, it may not be useful in absolving you of the charges completely. This is because you will still have engaged in violent behavior, which requires the courts to take further action against you.
Penalties for Committing Battery Against a Peace Officer
If found guilty of the offense, the presiding judge will proceed to issue a penalty in a separate court proceeding known as the sentencing hearing. Typically, committing battery against a peace officer is classified as a misdemeanor. Thus, offenders may face a jail sentence for up to one year or a fine payment of up to $2000.
However, some circumstances may cause the charge to be classified as a wobbler crime. This is common where your actions resulted in the serious physical injury of the peace officer, causing them to require urgent medical attention. If so, you may face either misdemeanor charges or felony charges. When charged with a felony, you may spend up to three years in jail or a fine of $10000.
Contact a Santa Ana Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
When you or a loved one is accused of committing battery on a peace officer, you may be unsure of the best steps to prepare for the subsequent trial. Since your future may be at stake, you want to ensure that you receive legal assistance from skilled and experienced professionals who understand the best approaches in building strong defenses. At California Criminal Lawyer Group, we work hard to ensure that our clients’ needs are adequately met by providing comprehensive criminal defense services. We believe in the value of hard work and transparency when working on your case to help you remain confident in the assistance you receive. Further, we are ready to represent you in court as your case proceeds to help you articulate your position accurately. The team is equipped to provide criminal defense services to clients in Santa Ana, California, facing battery on peace officer charges. For more details on the services you will receive, call us today at 714-844-4151.
