In California, you can be arrested and prosecuted for Domestic Violence even if the victim does not want you arrested and/or prosecuted. Only the Prosecutor can drop charges because the victim is merely a witness in a government prosecution.

Some common domestic violence charges in California:

•Domestic Battery: When a battery is committed against a spouse, a person with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent of the defendant’s child, former spouse, fiance, or fiancee, or a person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating or engagement relationship.  A misdemeanor.  California Penal Code § 243(e)

•Willful Infliction of Corporal Injury: When someone willfully inflicts upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition. A wobbler which can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony with a maximum sentence of four years in prison. California Penal Code § 273.5