In California, the crime of infliction of injury falls under the state’s domestic violence laws, and is sometimes referred to as spousal abuse. This crime pertains to intimate partners, defined by state statutes as girlfriends, boyfriends, spouses, divorcees, cohabitants, and people who have children together. Both homosexuals and heterosexuals are covered under the laws.

Infliction of injury occurs when an individual willfully inflicts any injury, no matter how minor, upon the body of an intimate partner. The punishment for a felony charge is up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $6,000. The charge can be brought even if the defendant barely touched his or her partner. The court will impose several mandatory penalties upon anyone convicted of infliction of injury, in addition to other penalties at the court’s discretion. One possible consequence of a conviction is a restriction on the defendant’s professional license.

According to California law, a licensing board may suspend or revoke the license of a holder if that individual has been convicted of a crime that is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the license was issued. How the conviction was secured is irrelevant ? a jury trial, a guilty plea, or a no contest plea. The suspension or revocation may occur either when the defendant is placed on probation, the conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or the deadline for filing an appeal has lapsed. Several professional licensing boards maintain their own standards and practices related to disciplining their license holders and may have consequences other than license suspension or revocation.

A qualified attorney can help prevent professional license suspension or revocation. He or she has the resources to communicate that the particular infliction of injury conviction isn’t related to the defendant’s qualifications, functions, or duties of the job. The experienced lawyer will determine whether the defendant’s employer is unlawfully exercising the restriction in an effort to fire their otherwise competent employee.

When a person is faced with an infliction of injury charge or if the individual was recently convicted of the charge, securing knowledgeable counsel is critical. A trained lawyer will help fight a conviction and any ensuing professional license restriction. Attorneys at the Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended clients with infliction of injury charges and helped them keep the licensing credentials. They understand domestic violence laws and the potential consequences of a conviction. Contact the Kavinoky firm today and protect against professional licensing restrictions.