By Nancy Lemon, California Lawyer Magazine
I like Nicolas Vaca’s El Licenciado stories. Note, however, that the domestic violence diversion law in “Between Two Worlds” [November] was repealed years ago. Now, under California Penal Code section 1203.097, a batterer’s counseling is a term of probation after a conviction or guilty plea, and the probation can be revoked for noncompliance. Vaca concludes that Jesus was a casualty because he couldn’t finish a year of counseling under the old diversion program, and thus had to return to Mexico. To be clear, Raquel, the battered victim, was the real casualty. She probably received no state protection from Jesus in Mexico.