California Codes

Cal. Penal Code § 242 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section CA-LEGleginfo.legislature.ca.gov JustiaCode on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A battery is any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 479 cases (95 in the last 5 years), 1942–2026 · leading case: Roberto Ortega-Mendez v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 450 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. 2006).
Roberto Ortega-Mendez v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 450 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 12× “BERZON, Circuit Judge: An Immigration Judge (IJ) determined that Roberto Ortega-Mendez’s 1998 conviction for battery under California Penal Code section 242 was a “crime of domestic violence” within the meaning of 8 U.”
Pedro Luis Cisneros-Perez v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 465 F.3d 386 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 16× “The IJ determined, under the "modified" categorical approach, that Cisneros-Perez's 2001 conviction for battery under California Penal Code section 242 was a "crime of domestic violence" within the meaning of 8 U.”
Cisneros-Perez v. Gonzales, 451 F.3d 1053 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 19× “The IJ determined, under the “modified” categorical approach, that Cisneros-Perez’s 2001 conviction for battery under California Penal Code section 242 was a “crime of domestic violence” within the meaning of 8 U.”
Shirey v. Los Angeles Cnty. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 216 Cal. App. 4th 1 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 10× “Penal Code Section 242 and the Use of Physical Force To qualify as a predicate misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence under federal law, the criminal statute under which the individual was convicted must contain as an element ―the use or attempted use of physical force, or…”
Galeana-Mendoza v. Gonzales, 465 F.3d 1054 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 5× “Bat- tery is defined by California Penal Code section 242 as “any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another.”
Hobbs v. State, 251 P.3d 177 (Nev. 2011). · cites it 4× “Moreover, California’s caselaw interpreting its battery statute, California Penal Code section 242, supports our interpretation.”
Correll Thomas v. C. Dillard, 818 F.3d 864 (9th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “, Cal. Penal Code § 242 (defining battery as “any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another”); id.”
People v. Anderson, 252 P.3d 968 (Cal. 2011). · cites it 2× “2d 402 ], the court found the defense of accident was available in a prosecution for battery ("any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another" (Pen. Code, § 242)), when there was evidence the defendant accidentally injured the victim while turning…”
United States v. Aguila-Montes De Oca, 655 F.3d 915 (9th Cir. 2011). · cites it 2× “§ 1227 (a)(2)(E)(1)(i), and thus ineligible for cancellation of removal, based upon facts recited in a superseding indictment, superseding information, or plea agreement.”
People v. Shockley, 314 P.3d 798 (Cal. 2013). · cites it 2× “I disagree, as in my view a lewd act on a child is always a battery. Nevertheless, I agree with the majority’s affirmance of the Court of Appeal’s judgment because, on the facts presented, no reasonable jury could have concluded that defendant committed only the lesser offense…”
Schmidlin v. City of Palo Alto, 69 Cal. Rptr. 3d 365 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “*374 in the performance of his duties (Pen. Code, §§ 242, 243, subd. (b)), vandalism (Pen.”
People v. Davis, 896 P.2d 119 (Cal. 1995). · cites it 2× “Defendant was charged with misdemeanor battery (Pen. Code, § 242) and brandishing (id., § 417).”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.