Professional Licensing Restrictions and Infliction of Injury

Willful infliction of injury is a California domestic violence charge, sometimes referred to as spousal abuse, which applies to intimate partners. These partners may be married or divorced, living together or formerly living together or have children in common. The laws apply to both heterosexual couples and same-sex partnerships. If an individual willfully inflicts any injury, no matter how minor, upon the body of an intimate partner, he or she can be charged with a felony, punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $6,000. A defendant can face this charge even if he or she barely touched the intimate partner.

When an individual is convicted for this domestic abuse crime, there are several mandatory penalties that will be imposed and other penalties that may be imposed. One of the possible consequences that a defendant convicted of infliction of injury may face is a restriction on his or her professional license.

Under California law, a licensing board may suspend or revoke a license if the license-holder has been convicted of a crime, if the crime is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties of the business or profession for which the license was issued. It does not matter whether the conviction was the result of a jury trial, a guilty plea, or a no contest plea. This suspension or revocation may take place once the defendant is placed on probation, once the conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or once the timeframe within which to file an appeal has ended. In addition, there are several professional licensing boards that maintain their own standards and practices related to disciplining their license-holders that may be even more restrictive.

In order to defend against a professional license restriction, it helps to have an attorney to argue against its application. An attorney has the knowledge and available resources to articulate why an infliction of injury conviction (under most circumstances) is not substantially related to the accused's "qualifications, functions, or duties" of his or her job. In addition, the skilled attorney may recognize when the defendant's employer is unlawfully imposing such a restriction in an effort to inappropriately fire their otherwise competent employee.

If either facing an infliction of injury charge or if recently convicted of that charge, hiring an experienced, knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer to help guard against a conviction and/or a possible professional license restriction is by far the smartest defense strategy. The skilled attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm have successfully defended countless individuals who have been charged with intimate partner abuse and have helped them keep their families, careers, freedom and dignity intact. When things are at their worst, the attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm are at their best! To discuss a potential professional licensing restriction, or any other legal matter, click here for a free consultation.