U.S. Domestic Violence Laws

Cases of domestic violence have in the recent past been so rampant in the U.S., with the case of Sarah and her boyfriend being amongst the few reported cases. In the U.S., victims of such domestic violence enjoy protection under both the state and federal laws. In the instance of Sarah’s case, she might file a lawsuit against her boyfriend for both assault and battery. Various domestic violence laws protect victims of domestic violence in the U.S.Domestic violence laws of U.S. protects an individual from being harmed or has been threatened to be hurt by his/her intimate partner. In our case, there are two applicable domestic violence laws, i.e., Penal Code 273.5, and Penal Code 243(e) (1). Under the Penal Code 273.5, of the U.S., domestic violence laws, it is a crime to inflict corporal injury on an intimate partner with the corporal injury being both major and minor injuries. Penal Code 243(e) (1) on the other hand, protects an individual from both wrong and offensive touch by an intimate partner unlawfully.  In this situation, Sarah’s boyfriend will be charged under both the penal codes as the evidence shows that he had inflicted corporal injury and offensively touched Sarah.

Property Crimes versus Personal Crimes

Property crime is a type of crime in which an individual seeks to damage or unlawfully derive benefit from another individual’s property without any threat to use force or using force. The property crimes in most instances include theft, burglary, vandalism, shoplifting, and arson. Property crime, therefore, is termed as crimes against property. On the other hand, personal crimes are a category of crimes where crimes are always committed against an individual. Personal crimes include battery, assault, homicide, rape, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. Unlike property crimes, some personal crimes such as the battery, assault, kidnapping, and rape might involve the use of force during the perpetration of such crimes. Both property crimes and personal crimes are also charged under both the federal and U.S. state laws(Morgan & Kena, 2017).

Property and personal crimes are both related to domestic violence within theU.S. in various ways. Personal crimes such as assault and battery might be perpetrated on an individual with whom the perpetrator of the offense has an intimate relationship with. For instances, Sarah’s boyfriend is answerable to cases of personal crimes as there is enough evidence that he had assaulted Sarah and inflicted corporal injury on her, both minor and major injuries.  Also, domestic violence, in most instances, has led to property crimes such as arson and vandalism of property. In the case of Sarah versus her boyfriend, there are no cases of property crimes recorded. Therefore, one commits domestic violence; he or she might in some scenarios be charged with cases of personal crimes and property crimes in case they are committed. Whenever such crimes occur, the victim might always seek restraining orders from the court. The restraining orders ones granted, the accused might be denied either temporary or permanent access to the victim’s residence or property.

Rights of Domestic Violence Victims

Under the domestic violence laws of the U.S., victims of domestic violence enjoy various rights during and after the hearing and judgment of the victim’s court cases. The U.S. Constitution provides victims of domestic violence with enumerated rights including the right to be accorded with reasonable protection from both the accused and the persons acting on behalf of the accused. Besides, the victim has the right to be treated fairly and to both his dignity and privacy, and protected from intimidation during his or her justice process. The victim also has a right to a speedy trial and quick conclusion of the court proceedings or any proceedings after the court judgments. In terms of social responsibility, the victim has the right to have the safety of the victim’s family, and the public at large should be considered before any decision is made. Also, the victim has the right to the prompt return of property that is no longer needed in the proceedings as evidence(Zeoli et al., 2017).

Criminal Behavior of Domestic Violence

Various efforts to curb domestic violence have been primarily focused on the police, legal institutions, and society. Therefore, it’s their responsibility to help in preventing such acts of domestic violence to prevent them from occurring. In cases of domestic violence, the courts must always be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused behaved in a way likely to commit such crime. In our case, Sarah’s boyfriend tried to flee the crime scene knowing very well that he had committed the crime.

History and the Future of Domestic Violence Laws

Domestic violence laws have both historical and modern origins. In the ancient past, the victims of domestic violence used to seek guidance and protection from various institutions such as the family, members of the community and the church. In the early day, the domestic violence laws were derived from symbolic affirmations of the community beliefs and biblical principles. In the past years, there has been a lot of interest in the legal procedures and mobilization against domestic violence. These mobilization and legal interests from various stakeholders have impacted positively in the enactment of multiple domestic violence laws that are currently used in the different states of the U.S., including the state of California. Since the early the 19th century, the state governments started paying keen attention to domestic violence, and various laws were enacted to curb the vice. In the modern world, the U.S. has multiple acts that protect partners from domestic violence, and even severe penalties have been instituted to help punish those who commit such offenses.

References

Morgan, R. E., & Kena, G. (2017). Criminal victimization, 2016. Bureau of Justice Statistics. NCJ, 251150.

Zeoli, A. M., McCourt, A., Buggs, S., Frattaroli, S., Lilley, D., & Webster, D. W. (2017). Analysis of the strength of legal firearms restrictions for perpetrators of domestic violence and their associations with intimate partner homicide. American journal of epidemiology, 187(7), 1449-1455.

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