TITLE 18

CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS

CHAPTER 9

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

18-918.  Domestic violence. (1) For the purpose of this section:

(a)  "Household member" means a person who is a spouse, former spouse, or a person who has a child in common, regardless of whether they have been married, or a person with whom a person is cohabiting, whether or not they have married or have held themselves out to be husband or wife.

(b)  "Traumatic injury" means a condition of the body, such as a wound or external or internal injury, whether of a minor or serious nature, caused by physical force.

(2)(a)  Any household member who in committing a battery, as defined in section 18-903, Idaho Code, inflicts a traumatic injury on any other household member is guilty of a felony.

(b)  A conviction of felony domestic battery is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed ten (10) years or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by both fine and imprisonment.

(3)(a)  A household member who commits an assault, as defined in section 18-901, Idaho Code, against another household member that does not result in traumatic injury is guilty of a misdemeanor domestic assault.

(b)  A household member who commits a battery, as defined in section 18-903, Idaho Code, against another household member that does not result in traumatic injury is guilty of a misdemeanor domestic battery.

(c)  A first conviction under this subsection is punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one (1) year, or both. Any person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a violation of this subsection who previously has pled guilty to or been found guilty of a violation of this subsection, or of any substantially conforming foreign criminal violation, notwithstanding the form of the judgment or withheld judgment, within ten (10) years of the first conviction shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one (1) year or by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) or by both fine and imprisonment. Any person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a violation of this subsection who previously has pled guilty to or been found guilty of two (2) violations of this subsection, or of any substantially conforming foreign criminal violation or any combination thereof, notwithstanding the form of the judgment or withheld judgment, within fifteen (15) years of the first conviction shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed five (5) years or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) or by both fine and imprisonment.

(4)  The maximum penalties provided in this section shall be doubled where the act of domestic assault or battery for which the person is convicted or pleads guilty took place in the presence of a child. For purposes of this section, "in the presence of a child" means in the physical presence of a child or knowing that a child is present and may see or hear an act of domestic assault or battery. For purposes of this section, "child" means a person under sixteen (16) years of age.

(5)  Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, any person who previously has pled guilty to or been found guilty of a felony violation of the provisions of this section, attempted strangulation as provided in section 18-923, Idaho Code, or any substantially conforming foreign criminal felony violation, notwithstanding the form of the judgment or withheld judgment, and who, within fifteen (15) years, pleads guilty to or is found guilty of any further violation of this section shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not to exceed twenty (20) years or by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(6)  For the purposes of this section, a substantially conforming foreign criminal violation exists when a person has pled guilty to or been found guilty of a violation of any federal law or law of another state, or any valid county, city or town ordinance of another state, substantially conforming with the provisions of this section. The determination of whether a foreign criminal violation is substantially conforming is a question of law to be determined by the court.

(7)(a)  Any person who pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a violation of this section or attempted strangulation as provided in section 18-923, Idaho Code, shall undergo, at the person’s own expense, an evaluation by a person, agency or organization approved by the court in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subsection to determine whether the defendant should be required to obtain counseling or other appropriate treatment. Such evaluation shall be completed prior to the sentencing date if the court’s list of approved evaluators, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this subsection, contains evaluators who are able to perform the evaluation prior to the sentencing dates. If the evaluation recommends counseling or other treatment, the evaluation shall recommend the type of counseling or treatment considered appropriate for the defendant, together with the estimated costs thereof, and shall recommend any other suitable alternative counseling or treatment programs, together with the estimated costs thereof. The defendant shall request that a copy of the completed evaluation be forwarded to the court. The court shall take the evaluation into consideration in determining an appropriate sentence. If a copy of the completed evaluation has not been provided to the court, the court may proceed to sentence the defendant; however, in such event, it shall be presumed that counseling is required unless the defendant makes a showing by a preponderance of evidence that counseling is not required. If the defendant has not made a good faith effort to provide the completed copy of the evaluation to the court, the court may consider the failure of the defendant to provide the report as an aggravating circumstance in determining an appropriate sentence. If counseling or other treatment is ordered, in no event shall the person, agency or organization doing the evaluation be the person, agency or organization that provides the counseling or other treatment unless this requirement is waived by the sentencing court, with the exception of federally recognized Indian tribes or federal military installations, where diagnosis and treatment are appropriate and available. Nothing herein contained shall preclude the use of funds authorized for court-ordered counseling or treatment pursuant to this section for indigent defendants as provided by law. In the event that funding is provided for or on behalf of the defendant by a governmental entity, the defendant shall be ordered to make restitution to such governmental entity in accordance with the restitution procedure for crime victims, as specified under chapter 53, title 19, Idaho Code.

(b)  If the evaluation recommends counseling or other treatment, the court shall order the person to complete the counseling or other treatment in addition to any other sentence that may be imposed. If the court determines that counseling or treatment would be inappropriate or undesirable, the court shall enter findings articulating the reasons for such determination on the record. The court shall order the defendant to complete the preferred counseling or treatment program set forth in the evaluation, or a comparable alternative, unless it appears that the defendant cannot reasonably obtain adequate financial resources for such counseling or treatment. In that event, the court may order the defendant to complete a less-costly alternative set forth in the evaluation or a comparable program. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed as requiring a court to order that counseling or treatment be provided at government expense unless otherwise required by law.

(c)  The supreme court shall by rule establish a uniform system for the qualification and approval of persons, agencies or organizations to perform the evaluations required in this subsection. Only qualified evaluators approved by the court shall be authorized to perform such evaluations. Funds to establish a system for approval of evaluators shall be derived from moneys designated therefor and deposited in the district court fund as provided in section 31-3201A(16), Idaho Code.

(d)  Counseling or treatment ordered pursuant to this section shall be conducted according to standards established or approved by the Idaho council on domestic violence and victim assistance.

History:

[18-918, added 1993, ch. 344, sec. 1, p. 1283; am. 1995, ch. 223, sec. 1, p. 770; am. 1996, ch. 228, sec. 1, p. 742; am. 1998, ch. 309, sec. 1, p. 1026; am. 1998, ch. 420, sec. 1, p. 1324; am. 2000, ch. 358, sec. 1, p. 1193; am. 2003, ch. 237, sec. 1, p. 607; am. 2004, ch. 118, sec. 1, p. 393; am. 2005, ch. 158, sec. 1, p. 488; am. 2009, ch. 80, sec. 3, p. 226; am. 2018, ch. 123, sec. 1, p. 260; am. 2024, ch. 163, sec. 1, p. 620; am. 2024, ch. 261, sec. 1, p. 908.]