California · Penal Code

PEN §273.85: (a) The selection criteria set forth in Section 273.

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute sets prosecutorial policies for spousal abuse cases and requires district attorneys and city attorneys to report quarterly statistics on case referrals, filings, trials, and convictions to the Department of Justice.

Read the full statutory text

(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.

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