Best Orange County Child Abuse Attorney

Child abuse accusations in Orange County require immediate aid from the best Orange County child abuse attorney. There is a lot to learn about these charges with plenty of jargon that would best be navigated by someone who understands the law. You can find that person at Johnson Criminal Law Group.

The best Orange County child abuse attorney will navigate through these charges with the goal being to get you to the other side safely. The California Penal Code defines child abuse in Penal Code 273d PC as imposing physical injury or cruel punishment on a minor under the age of 18. These charges cover a wide array of situations and could be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony with up to 6 years in jail or prison. However, parenting requires a bit of punishment at times so the question is, where is the line drawn? Some easy examples to consider include hitting a child with enough strength to leave a mark, punching a child, or even hitting a child with an object with enough strength that is considered to be harder than reasonable. There is also the mandatory reporting law that is specific to California.

The best Orange County child abuse attorney will know that there is more to child abuse laws that deal with more than just the child and the accused abuser. California has a mandatory reporting law that requires all school personnel and anyone who works with children to report any signs of abuse to the proper authorities. These people who work with our children must look for warning signs before reporting anything to anyone. However, they are not just looking for physical abuse. In fact, California’s mandatory reporting laws cover emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. The law requires them to report all known or suspected cases of child abuse in any of the aforementioned categories.

It is important for your Orange County child abuse attorney to know the difference between a misdemeanor and felony child abuse charge. That makes Penal Code 273d PC a “wobbler offense” which means it is up to the prosecutor to decide if it is a misdemeanor or a felony charge. The prosecutor must use the facts of the alleged offense and the defendant’s criminal history to make that decision. Misdemeanor child abuse charges carry possible punishments including up to 1 year in jail and/or a fine of up to $6,000. Felony child abuse charges carry punishments of 2,4, or 6 years in jail, an additional 4 years if the defendant has a prior felony child abuse conviction within the last 10 years, and/or a fine of up to $6,000. There are other punishments that could be included depending on the circumstances of the specific allegations. For example, people may also need to have mandatory drug testing during probation or parole if the case had drug abuse involved in any way.

Your Orange County child abuse attorney at Johnson Criminal Law Group has one job, to fight your case. This is best done by looking at what the prosecutor must accomplish in these types of cases. For example, the prosecutor must prove the elements of the crime like did the defendant willfully inflict harm or inhuman punishment on a minor? Did the punishment cause traumatic physical conditions or was the punishment reasonable? It is important that you tell your attorney about any history with these charges if any. Priors can make a significant difference as it pertains to the prosecution but also to the defense. Prior acts of corporal injury are not only admissible, but they should also be expected to be brought up by the prosecution. There is a lot to learn about these accusations, charges, and the many different unique aspects of each child abuse crime. It is important to contact us immediately after being accused of the crime.