E. BA TTER Y
(i) Causing Injury
925 . Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury (Pen. Code, §§ 242,
The defendant is charged [in Count ] with battery causing serious
bodily injury [in violation of Penal Code section 243(d)].
T o prove that the defendant is guilty of this charge, the People must
prove that:
1. The defendant willfully [and unlawfully] touched
2.
result of the force used(;/.)
r easonable discipline.> 3. The defendant did not act (in self-defense/ [or] in defense of someone else/ [or] while reasonably disciplining a child).] Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose. It is not requir ed that he or she intend to break the law , hurt someone else, or gain any advantage. Making contact with another person, including thr ough his or her clothing, is enough to commit a battery . [A serious bodily injury means a serious impairment of physical condition. Such an injury may include[, but is not limited to]: (loss of consciousness/ concussion/ bone fracture/ protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ/ a wound requiring extensive suturing/ [and] serious disfigurement).] [ Notes> is a serious bodily injury .] [The touching can be done indirectly by causing an object [or someone else] to touch the other person.] New January 2006; Revised February 2013 BENCH NOTES Instructional Duty The court has a sua sponte duty to give an instruction defining the elements of the If there is suf ficient evidence of self-defense or defense of another , the court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on the defense. Give bracketed element 3, the bracketed words “and unlawfully” in element 1, and any appropriate defense instructions. (See CALCRIM Nos. 3470-3477.) If there is suf ficient evidence of reasonable parental discipline, the court has a sua sponte duty to instruct on the defense. Give bracketed element 3, the bracketed words “and unlawfully” in element 1, and CALCRIM No. 3405, Par ental Right to Punish a Child . Whether the complaining witness suf fered a serious bodily injury is a question for the jury to determine. If the defendant disputes that the injury suf fered was a serious bodily injury , use the first bracketed paragraph. If the parties stipulate that the injury suf fered was a serious bodily injury , use the second bracketed paragraph. Give the final bracketed paragraph if indirect touching is an issue. • Elements. Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243(d); see People v . Martinez (1970) 3 Cal.App.3d 886, 889 [83 Cal.Rptr . 914] [harmful or offensive touching]. • Serious Bodily Injury Defined. Pen. Code, § 243(f)(4); People v . Burroughs (1984) 35 Cal.3d 824, 831 [201 Cal.Rptr . 319, 678 P .2d 894] [serious bodily injury and great bodily injury are essentially equivalent elements], disapproved on other grounds in People v . Blakeley (2000) 23 Cal.4th 82, 89 [96 Cal.Rptr .2d 451, 999 P .2d 675]; People v . T aylor (2004) 1 18 Cal.App.4th 1 1, 25, fn. 4 [12 Cal.Rptr .3d 693]. • W illful Defined. Pen. Code, § 7(1); People v . Lara (1996) 44 Cal.App.4th 102, 107 [51 Cal.Rptr .2d 402]. • Defense of Parental Discipline. People v . Whitehurst (1992) 9 Cal.App.4th 1045, 1051 [12 Cal.Rptr .2d 33]. • Medical T reatment Not an Element. People v . W ade (2012) 204 Cal.App.4th 1 142, 1 148-1 150 [139 Cal.Rptr .3d 529]. LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSES • Assault. Pen. Code, § 240. • Battery . Pen. Code, § 242. Assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury is not a lesser included of fense. (Pen. Code, § 245; In r e Jose H. (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1090, 1095 [92 Cal.Rptr .2d 228].) CALCRIM No. 925 ASSAUL TIVE AND BA TTER Y CRIMES SECONDAR Y SOURCES 1 W itkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against the Person, §§ 13-15, 39. 5 Millman, Sevilla & T arlow , California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 91, Sentencing , § 91.35 (Matthew Bender). 6 Millman, Sevilla & T arlow , California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 142, Crimes Against the Person , § 142.12 (Matthew Bender). ASSAUL TIVE AND BA TTER Y CRIMES CALCRIM No. 925 Page last reviewed May 2024 Kathryn Robb, National Director of the Children’s Justice Campaign at Enough Abuse, discusses Vice President Kamala Harris’s unusual mention of child sexual abuse during her Democratic National Convention speech and its broader implications for addressing this issue in America. Lawyers - Get Listed Now! Get a free directory profile listing
