Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2 (2026)

Assault and battery against a family or household member; penalty

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A. Any person who commits an assault and battery against a family or household member is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

B. Upon a conviction for assault and battery against a family or household member, where it is alleged in the warrant, petition, information, or indictment on which a person is convicted, that such person has been previously convicted of two offenses against a family or household member of (i) assault and battery against a family or household member in violation of this section, (ii) malicious wounding or unlawful wounding in violation of § 18.2-51, (iii) aggravated malicious wounding in violation of § 18.2-51.2, (iv) malicious bodily injury by means of a substance in violation of § 18.2-52, (v) strangulation in violation of § 18.2-51.6, or (vi) an offense under the law of any other jurisdiction which has the same elements of any of the above offenses, in any combination, all of which occurred within a period of 20 years, and each of which occurred on a different date, such person is guilty of a Class 6 felony.

C. Whenever a warrant for a violation of this section is issued, the magistrate shall issue an emergency protective order as authorized by § 16.1-253.4, except if the defendant is a minor, an emergency protective order shall not be required.

D. The definition of "family or household member" in § 16.1-228 applies to this section.

1991, c. 238; 1992, cc. 526, 886; 1996, c. 866; 1997, c. 603; 1999, cc. 697, 721, 807; 2004, cc. 448, 738; 2009, c. 726; 2014, c. 660.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 119 cases (50 in the last 5 years), 1996–2026 · leading case: Quintus Delano Marshall v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 389 (Va. Ct. App. 2019).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Quintus Delano Marshall v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 389 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 45× “Specifically, he indicated on the form that he had not been convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” despite his prior conviction for assault and battery against a family member in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2. On appeal, he contends that some violations of Code…”

Lewis v. Commonwealth, 813 S.E.2d 732 (Va. 2018). · cites it 16× “MIMS **458 In this appeal, we consider what the phrase "has been previously convicted" means in Code § 18.2-57.2(B), which makes assault and battery of a family or household member a felony under certain circumstances.”

Dwayne A. Farmer v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 746 S.E.2d 504 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 22× “Conclusion The trial court properly admitted the November 4, 1997 orders of the JDR court as evidence relevant to proving appellant’s predicate offenses under Code § 18.2-57.2. Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, we affirm appellant’s felony conviction for assault and…”

Rickman v. Commonwealth, 535 S.E.2d 187 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 19× “James Edward Rickman (appellant) appeals from his bench trial conviction for assault and battery against a family or household member in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2, his third such conviction within ten years, making it punishable as a Class 6 felony.”

United States v. Jolon Carthorne, Sr., 726 F.3d 503 (4th Cir. 2013). · cites it 2× “White, we held that the Virginia offense of “assault and battery against a family or household member,” Va. Code § 18.2-57.2, did not have “as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force.”

Lee Antonio Turner v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 802 S.E.2d 814 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 3× “BACKGROUND Turner was arrested for felony assault and battery of a family member, third offense, in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2 and for misdemeanor use of profane, threatening, or indecent language over public airways in violation of Code § 18.”

State v. Thomas, 468 P.3d 323 (Kan. 2020). · cites it 2× “Thomas argues the district court should not have scored a 2001 Virginia conviction for assault and battery against a family or household member, Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2 (1999), as a person crime.”

Goodwin v. Commonwealth, 477 S.E.2d 781 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 10× “Ned Jacob Goodwin was convicted of assault and battery of his former spouse in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2. On appeal, Goodwin contends that (1) Code § 16.”

Holmes v. Commonwealth, 589 S.E.2d 11 (Va. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 4× “The trial court convicted John Anthony Holmes of felony domestic assault, Code § 18.2-57.2. 1 He contends the evidence fails to prove he was the same person named in the conviction orders used to prove his prior convictions.”

Thomas James Synan, II v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 795 S.E.2d 464 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “On February 19, 2013, appellant was indicted for one count of assault and battery of a family member, third offense, in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2. On March 18, 2013, appellant was indicted on eight additional charges: attempted second-degree murder of Ruth Synan in violation…”

Donte Lavell Brooks v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 739 S.E.2d 245 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 4× “Chatman filed a motion for an extension of time on July 27, 2011, and this Court granted the motion on August 11, 2011, 2 Chatman was also convicted of assault and battery of a family member, in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2, but he has not assigned error to anything pertinent…”

Steve Whitt v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 739 S.E.2d 254 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “Chatman filed a motion for an extension of time on July 27, 2011, and this Court granted the motion on August 11, 2011, 2 Chatman was also convicted of assault and battery of a family member, in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2, but he has not assigned error to anything pertinent…”

Show all 119 citing cases →

— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2(13) — 1 case

Dwayne A. Farmer v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 746 S.E.2d 504 (Va. Ct. App. 2013). “Conclusion The trial court properly admitted the November 4, 1997 orders of the JDR court as evidence relevant to proving appellant’s predicate offenses under Code § 18.2-57.2. Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, we affirm appellant’s felony conviction for assault and…”

— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2(A) — 12 cases

Quintus Delano Marshall v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 822 S.E.2d 389 (Va. Ct. App. 2019). “Specifically, he indicated on the form that he had not been convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” despite his prior conviction for assault and battery against a family member in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2. On appeal, he contends that some violations of Code…”

Stroud v. Stroud, 641 S.E.2d 142 (Va. Ct. App. 2007).

Goodwin v. Commonwealth, 477 S.E.2d 781 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). “Ned Jacob Goodwin was convicted of assault and battery of his former spouse in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2. On appeal, Goodwin contends that (1) Code § 16.”

Pleasants v. Town of Louisa, 847 F. Supp. 2d 864 (W.D. Va. 2012).

Ebonee Arnae Hines v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024).

— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2(B) — 17 cases

Lewis v. Commonwealth, 813 S.E.2d 732 (Va. 2018). “MIMS **458 In this appeal, we consider what the phrase "has been previously convicted" means in Code § 18.2-57.2(B), which makes assault and battery of a family or household member a felony under certain circumstances.”

Rickman v. Commonwealth, 535 S.E.2d 187 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). “James Edward Rickman (appellant) appeals from his bench trial conviction for assault and battery against a family or household member in violation of Code § 18.2-57.2, his third such conviction within ten years, making it punishable as a Class 6 felony.”

Joseph Alfonso Papol v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 754 S.E.2d 918 (Va. Ct. App. 2014).

Jessi Ryan Hackett v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2023).

— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2(C) — 1 case

— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-57.2(D) — 5 cases

Jessi Ryan Hackett v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2023).

Jaquantis Daeshon Yellock v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024).

Ebonee Arnae Hines v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024).

Frazier v. Commonwealth, 601 S.E.2d 624 (Va. 2004).

Phillip Eric Cowell v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2005).

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.