California Penal Code - California

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significant law and motion litigation, trial, and sentencing.

      (2) Vertical counselor representation, whereby a trained domestic violence counselor maintains liaison from initial court appearances through the case’s conclusion, including the sentencing phase.

      (b) The assignment of highly qualified investigators and prosecutors to spousal abuser cases. “Highly qualified” for the purposes of this chapter means any of the following:

      (1) Individuals with one year of experience in the investigation and prosecution of felonies.

      (2) Individuals with at least two years of experience in the investigation and prosecution of misdemeanors.

      (3) Individuals who have attended a program providing domestic violence training as approved by the Office of Emergency Services or the Department of Justice.

      (c) A significant reduction of caseloads for investigators and prosecutors assigned to spousal abuser cases.

      (d) Coordination with local rape victim counseling centers, spousal abuse services programs, and victim-witness assistance programs. That coordination shall include, but not be limited to: referrals of individuals to receive client services; participation in local training programs; membership and participation in local task forces established to improve communication between criminal justice system agencies and community service agencies; and cooperating with individuals serving as liaison representatives of local rape victim counseling centers, spousal abuse victim programs, and victim-witness assistance programs.

      (Amended by Stats. 2013, Ch. 352, Sec. 403. Effective September 26, 2013. Operative July 1, 2013, by Sec. 543 of Ch. 352.)

      273.83.

      (a) An individual shall be the subject of a spousal abuser prosecution effort who is under arrest for any act or omission described in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 13700.

      (b) In applying the spousal abuser selection criteria set forth in subdivision (a), a district attorney or city attorney shall not reject cases for filing exclusively on the basis that there is a family or personal relationship between the victim and the alleged offender.

      (c) In exercising the prosecutorial discretion granted by Section 273.85, the district attorney or city attorney shall consider the number and seriousness of the offenses currently charged against the defendant.

      (Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 5. Effective September 16, 1994.)

      273.84.

      Each district attorney’s or city attorney’s office establishing a spousal abuser prosecution unit and receiving state support under this chapter shall adopt and pursue the following policies for spousal abuser cases:

      (a) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts shall be made to resist the pretrial release of a charged defendant meeting spousal abuser selection criteria.

      (b) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts shall be made to persuade the court to impose the most severe authorized sentence upon a person convicted after prosecution as a spousal abuser. In the prosecution of an intrafamily sexual abuse case, discretion may be exercised as to the type and nature of sentence recommended to the court.

      (c) All reasonable prosecutorial efforts shall be made to reduce the time between arrest and disposition of charge against an individual meeting spousal abuser criteria.

      (Amended by Stats. 2000, Ch. 135, Sec. 131. Effective January 1, 2001.)

      273.85.

      (a) The selection criteria set forth in Section 273.84 shall be adhered to for each spousal abuser case unless, in the reasonable exercise of prosecutor’s discretion, extraordinary circumstances require departure from those policies in order to promote the general purposes and intent of this chapter.

      (b) Each district attorney’s and city attorney’s office establishing a spousal abuser prosecution unit and receiving state support under this chapter shall submit the following information, on a quarterly basis, to the Department of Justice:

      (1) The number of spousal abuser cases referred to the district attorney’s or city attorney’s office for possible filing.

      (2) The number of spousal abuser cases filed for prosecution.

      (3) The number of spousal abuser cases taken to trial.

      (4) The number of spousal abuser cases tried that resulted in conviction.

      (Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 7. Effective September 16, 1994.)

      273.86.

      The characterization of a defendant as a “spousal abuser” as defined by this chapter shall not be communicated to the trier of fact.

      (Added by Stats. 1985, Ch. 1122, Sec. 1.)

      273.87.

      The Department of Justice is encouraged to utilize Federal Victims of Crimes Act (VOCA) funds or any other federal funds that may become available in order to implement this chapter.

      (Amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 8. Effective September 16, 1994.)

      273.88.

      Administrative costs incurred by the Department of Justice pursuant to the Spousal Abuser Prosecution Program shall not exceed 5 percent of the total funds allocated for the program.

      (Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 599, Sec. 9. Effective September 16, 1994.)

      CHAPTER 4. Child Abduction [277 — 280]

      (Chapter 4 repealed and added by Stats. 1996, Ch. 988, Sec. 9.)

      277.

      The following definitions apply for the purposes of this chapter:

      (a) “Child” means a person under the age of 18 years.

      (b) “Court order” or “custody order” means a custody determination decree, judgment, or order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction, whether permanent or temporary, initial or modified, that affects the custody or visitation of a child, issued in the context of a custody proceeding. An order, once made, shall continue in effect until it expires, is modified, is rescinded, or terminates by operation of law.

      (c) “Custody proceeding” means a proceeding in which a custody determination is an issue, including, but not limited to, an action for dissolution or separation, dependency, guardianship, termination of parental rights, adoption, paternity, except actions under Section 11350 or 11350.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or protection from domestic violence proceedings, including an emergency protective order pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 6240) of Division 10 of the Family Code.

      (d) “Lawful custodian” means a person, guardian, or public agency having a right to custody of a child.

      (e) A “right to custody” means the right to the physical care, custody, and control of a child pursuant to a custody order as defined in subdivision (b) or, in the absence of a court order, by operation of law, or pursuant to the Uniform Parentage Act contained in Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 12 of the Family Code. Whenever a public agency takes protective custody or jurisdiction of the care, custody, control, or conduct of a child by statutory authority or court order, that agency is a lawful custodian of the child and has a right to physical custody of the child. In any subsequent placement of the child, the public agency continues to be a lawful custodian with a right to physical custody of the child until the public agency’s right of custody is terminated by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction or by operation of law.

      (f) In the absence of a court order to the contrary, a parent loses his or her right to custody of the child to the other parent if the parent having the right to custody is dead, is unable or refuses to take the custody, or has abandoned his or her family. A natural parent whose parental rights have been terminated by court order is no longer a lawful

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