Our Cerritos domestic violence criminal defense lawyers wrote last week about dropped spousal abuse charges for an Orange County prosecutor and his wife. We were surprised to see another report about a local prosecutor's domestic violence arrest in the Daily Pilot March 16. Newport Beach City Attorney David Hunt was arrested March 14 after what the newspaper described as a family fight that ended with injuries to his wife. He posted $50,000 bail and was released early March 15. The Orange County District Attorney's office is considering whether to file charges, and the Newport Beach City Council will meet privately next week to discuss the matter.
Hunt lives in Santa Ana, so the Santa Ana police responded in the incident. That department told the Daily Pilot that the incident started with an argument between Hunt and his 18-year-old son. Neither the son nor the wife was named in media reports. When Hunt's wife intervened, he shoved her to the ground. As she fell, she hit a table and then the floor, resulting in a bump on her head and a cut to her arm and hand. Hunt's son called the police. The Daily Pilot said the city of Newport Beach could officially sanction Hunt if it believes he committed misconduct that relates to his duties for the city. But the mayor, Keith Curry, said the council would support Hunt taking time off to address these problems.
As Tustin domestic violence criminal defense attorneys, we think taking that time will be important if prosecutors decide to file charges against Hunt. Spousal abuse can be a felony or a misdemeanor in California, according to the prosecutor's discretion. Typically, it's charged as a felony when there was a serious injury or a hospitalization. That doesn't seem to describe the incident in the article, which makes us wonder whether prosecutors will follow through with the felony charge. In fact, from the description, we wonder if Hunt really intended to push his wife. In some domestic cases we've seen, the victim was actually trying to stop a fight between two other people, and got in the way or was rebuffed more violently than intended. This is hardly a situation that calls for a felony charge, and under some circumstances, may not even merit a misdemeanor charge.
Howard Law, P.C. understands that not every fight between a couple or a family rises to the level of a crime. In many of the domestic violence cases we've seen, there's no long-term, systematic abuse -- a fight got out of hand. But because the police were involved, and because police officers tend to be cynical after years of breaking up domestic abuse, one or both people ends up charged with domestic violence. Our Chino domestic violence defense attorneys help people caught in this situation defend themselves from the serious penalties they face. In addition to prison or jail, those penalties include fines, probation, anger management classes, sometimes substance abuse classes and possible restraining orders.
If you're charged with spousal abuse, child abuse or other domestic violence charges in California, you should call Howard Law, P.C. right away. To set up a free, confidential evaluation of your case, send us a message online or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.
