California Penal Code. California
women’s shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under subdivision (e), the court shall make a determination of the defendant’s ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make payments to a battered women’s shelter be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 311. Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.)
273.7.
(a) Any person who maliciously publishes, disseminates, or otherwise discloses the location of any trafficking shelter or domestic violence shelter or any place designated as a trafficking shelter or domestic violence shelter, without the authorization of that trafficking shelter or domestic violence shelter, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “domestic violence shelter” means a confidential location that provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for victims of sexual assault, spousal abuse, or both, and their families.
(2) For purposes of this section, “trafficking shelter” means a confidential location that provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for victims of human trafficking, including any person who is a victim under Section 236.1.
(3) Sexual assault, spousal abuse, or both, include, but are not limited to, those crimes described in Sections 240, 242, 243.4, 261, 261.5, 262, 264.1, 266, 266a, 266b, 266c, 266f, 273.5, 273.6, 285, 288, and 289.
(c) Nothing in this section shall apply to confidential communications between an attorney and his or her client.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 538, Sec. 499. Effective January 1, 2007.)
273.75.
(a) On any charge involving acts of domestic violence as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 13700 of the Penal Code or Sections 6203 and 6211 of the Family Code, the district attorney or prosecuting city attorney shall perform or cause to be performed, by accessing the electronic databases enumerated in subdivision (b), a thorough investigation of the defendant’s history, including, but not limited to, prior convictions for domestic violence, other forms of violence or weapons offenses and any current protective or restraining order issued by any civil or criminal court. This information shall be presented for consideration by the court (1) when setting bond or when releasing a defendant on his or her own recognizance at the arraignment, if the defendant is in custody, (2) upon consideration of any plea agreement, and (3) when issuing a protective order pursuant to Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, in accordance with subdivision (h) of that section. In determining bail or release upon a plea agreement, the court shall consider the safety of the victim, the victim’s children, and any other person who may be in danger if the defendant is released.
(b) For purposes of this section, the district attorney or prosecuting city attorney shall search or cause to be searched the following databases, when readily available and reasonably accessible:
(1) The California Sex and Arson Registry (CSAR).
(2) The Supervised Release File.
(3) State summary criminal history information maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
(4) The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s nationwide database.
(5) Locally maintained criminal history records or databases.
However, a record or database need not be searched if the information available in that record or database can be obtained as a result of a search conducted in another record or database.
(c) If the investigation required by this section reveals a current civil protective or restraining order or a protective or restraining order issued by another criminal court and involving the same or related parties, and if a protective or restraining order is issued in the current criminal proceeding, the district attorney or prosecuting city attorney shall send relevant information regarding the contents of the order issued in the current criminal proceeding, and any information regarding a conviction of the defendant, to the other court immediately after the order has been issued. When requested, the information described in this subdivision may be sent to the appropriate family, juvenile, or civil court. When requested, and upon a showing of a compelling need, the information described in this section may be sent to a court in another state.
(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 54, Sec. 10. Effective January 1, 2015.)
CHAPTER 2.5. Spousal Abusers [273.8 — 273.88]
(Chapter 2.5 added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1122, Sec. 1.)
273.8.
The Legislature hereby finds that spousal abusers present a clear and present danger to the mental and physical well-being of the citizens of the State of California. The Legislature further finds that the concept of vertical prosecution, in which a specially trained deputy district attorney, deputy city attorney, or prosecution unit is assigned to a case after arraignment and continuing to its completion, is a proven way of demonstrably increasing the likelihood of convicting spousal abusers and ensuring appropriate sentences for those offenders. In enacting this chapter, the Legislature intends to support increased efforts by district attorneys’ and city attorneys’ offices to prosecute spousal abusers through organizational and operational techniques that have already proven their effectiveness in selected cities and counties in this and other states.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 2. Effective September 16, 1994.)
273.81.
(a) There is hereby established in the Department of Justice a program of financial and technical assistance for district attorneys’ or city attorneys’ offices, designated the Spousal Abuser Prosecution Program. All funds appropriated to the Department of Justice for the purposes of this chapter shall be administered and disbursed by the Attorney General, and shall to the greatest extent feasible, be coordinated or consolidated with any federal or local funds that may be made available for these purposes.
The Department of Justice shall establish guidelines for the provision of grant awards to proposed and existing programs prior to the allocation of funds under this chapter. These guidelines shall contain the criteria for the selection of agencies to receive funding and the terms and conditions upon which the Department of Justice is prepared to offer grants pursuant to statutory authority. The guidelines shall not constitute rules, regulations, orders, or standards of general application.
(b) The Attorney General may allocate and award funds to cities or counties, or both, in which spousal abuser prosecution units are established or are proposed to be established in substantial compliance with the policies and criteria set forth in this chapter.
(c) The allocation and award of funds shall be made upon application executed by the county’s district attorney or by the city’s attorney and approved by the county board of supervisors or by the city council. Funds disbursed under this chapter shall not supplant local funds that would, in the absence of the California Spousal Abuser Prosecution Program, be made available to support the prosecution of spousal abuser cases. Local grant awards made under this program shall not be subject to review as specified in Section 10295 of the Public Contract Code.
(d) Local government recipients shall provide 20 percent matching funds for every grant awarded under this program.
(Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 3. Effective September 16, 1994.)
273.82.
Spousal abuser prosecution units receiving funds under this chapter shall concentrate enhanced prosecution efforts and resources upon individuals identified under selection criteria set forth in Section 273.83. Enhanced prosecution efforts and resources shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(a) (1) Vertical prosecutorial representation, whereby the prosecutor who, or prosecution unit that, makes all major court appearances on that particular case through its conclusion,