Domestic Violence Arrest & Case Sealed (PC 851.91) Torrance

Our client, age 33, and his wife, age 30, got into an argument while driving back from shopping at South Coast Plaza.  His wife wanted a certain piece of jewelry and our client did not want to buy it for her.  She accused him of being cheap and not earning enough, although he was a former investment banker and graduated from a highly regarded business school.

As a result of their argument, she told him she would spend the afternoon with her mom at her house, which was nearby.

Our client then stayed at home, watching football and drinking beer.  He drank three or four IPA beers and went to sleep early.

He was awakened about 1:45 a.m. by his wife returning to the couple’s townhome in Torrance, at which time she turned on all the lights in the bedroom to get ready for bed.  Our client regarded this as extremely rude and expected her to quickly turn on the bathroom light only for lighting, but she did not.  She left all the lights on, enraging him.  He got out of bed and told her he was leaving to get some sleep somewhere else, i.e., a local hotel.

The wife tossed his key toward him, as well as his cell phone, which he interpreted as equally rude.  He responded by allegedly slinging her makeup bag at her.  This bag, which was about ten inches by five inches, contained a few heavy makeup items, so it weighed at least a pound.

As luck would have it, the bag hit her in the face, causing her lip to bleed.  Our client did not intend to hit her with the bag, but he intended to toss it in a way like she tossed his phone and wallet toward him.

The wife immediately called her parents, not the police.  The parents then called the Torrance Police, who came to the home.  The wife’s parents also came to the home.  It was now about 2:00 a.m.

The Torrance Police were dubious that our client had not punched his wife, but they had no evidence that his wife or our client were not telling the truth.

When the client got out of jail, he signed a promise to appear in the Torrance Courthouse in about two and a half months.

The client did not call Greg Hill & Associates until about 11:00 a.m. on the day of his arraignment.  The client had gone to court and believed he could just tell his side of the story and the case would be dismissed, as there was no criminal intent to cause a battery.

However, he did not seem to have any luck with this, so he called Greg Hill & Associates and discussed the case with Greg Hill, hiring our office shortly thereafter.

Greg then rushed over to the Torrance Courthouse by 1:30 a.m. and discussed the case with the Torrance City Prosecutor assigned to the case.

Eventually, after three hearings, the Torrance City Prosecutor’s office agreed to “DA Diversion,” wherein our client would earn a dismissal if he attended 52 batterer’s classes, performed eight hours of community service, paid a court fine and otherwise obeyed all laws.

At the end of the year, the case indeed was dismissed.

Greg then asked the client if he wanted to have his arrest report and the case file sealed via a Petition to Seal, as provided for under Penal Code § 851.91.  The client said he did, as he was hoping to change jobs soon and did not want his criminal history ruining his employment future.

Greg then explained the process and how he would have been disqualified from sealing if there had been a “pattern” of domestic violence arrests or convictions in his past, as defined at Penal Code § 851.91(c)(2)(A)(i)(I), but for him, there was no such pattern.  Greg also explained that once the judge signs the order to seal the arrest report and the case file, the record is not immediately deleted or removed.  It takes several weeks, even two months.

Our office then filed the petition to seal the arrest report and the criminal case.  The judge assigned to the case granted the petition, which made our client very happy.