Banuelos-Ayon v. Holder (PUB)
July 14, 2010
**Crime of violence, domestic violence/CPC section 273.5(a)**
A conviction under California Penal Code § 273.5(a) is categorically a crime of domestic violence because it requires more than a simple battery. Unlike § 242, which criminalizes the use of “force or violence,” § 273.5(a) contains no differentiating provision. CPC § 273.5(a) requires that the defendant “willfully inflict . . . corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition.” The commonsense reading of this language is that § 273.5(a) requires the use of violence. None of the cited unpublished cases concern conduct punished under § 273.5(a) that might be characterized as “the least offensive touching.” Further, United States v. Laurico-Yeno, 590 F.3d 818 (9th Cir. 2010), held that § 273.5 is a categorical crime of violence in the criminal context.
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