all right i'm here to tell you about the ten commandments of a domestic violence case if you've been arrested or a loved one has been arrested for domestic violence you need to know these ten rules i think it's ten we'll see number one the prosecutor is the one who presses charges and not the victim so some people say oh i don't want to press charges for example they're mad at their boyfriend during a fight they call the police out of anger and pissed off then once they cool down they say i don't want to file charges well it's too late because the prosecutor files the charges and you're just a vic you're just a witness to the prosecutor they go on despite you they have their own agenda number two a rec that's called a recanting victim and the prosecutors consider that fake that now you're changing your mind but a recanting victim can still be helpful to the defendant because the recanting victim has rights in a domestic violence case including the right not to testify under uh civil code section 1219 b number three once a case is filed the judge will issue a protective order which is essentially a restraining order restraining the defendant from talking to the victim a lot of times these are two people that love each other husband wife girlfriend boyfriend but they can't talk to each other after that first court date which is called arraignment that's why it's important to coordinate if they're interested in working together they have to coordinate their defense prior to the first court date number four penal code section 273.5 corporal injury to a spouse is is or cohabited is a wobbler that means it could be charged either as a felony or a misdemeanor so just because you're arrested on a felony which people usually are doesn't mean the case is going to be charged as a felony number five there's various legal defenses that could you can be used if you do have to go to court one is self-defense two it never happened three they can't prove that it happened beyond a reasonable doubt that's the prosecutor's burden of proof seven yeah seven's not important let's skip to eight other charges related to pc 273.5 corporal injury is pc243 e1 domestic battery usually that's charged when there's no injuries or very very minor injuries compared to 273.5 pc 273-h child endangerment is often charged with domestic violence if there's kids around who witness the fight pc 368 elder abuse if the victim is over 65 years of age and domestic violence isn't always between you know two significant others it could be a son and a mom family members a brother or sister so if it's an older parent for example or older uncle that's the victim elder abuse could be charged and a lot of times uh we've been successful in reducing domestic violence to pc 415 disturbing the peace which is a very minor crime number nine importantly you couldn't if you're if you're convicted of domestic violence you could lose your gun rights in california for life at least for 10 years and potentially for life so if you are a gun enthusiast make sure you don't plead guilty to 273.5 number 10 if you were not a citizen you could be deported and the authorities look at domestic violence very seriously when considering domestic immigration consequences so keep that in mind hopefully that was ten rules those are the ten commandments for domestic violence cases now let's get after it