CALCRIM No. 840

Resulting in Traumatic Condition (Pen. Code, § 273.5(a))

The defendant is charged [in Count] with inflicting an injury on

(the/a) [defendant’s [former]] (spouse/cohabitant/fiancé/parent of the

defendant’s child/person with whom the defendant has, or previously

had, an engagement or dating relationship) that resulted in a traumatic

condition [in violation of Penal Code section 273.5(a)].

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must

prove that:

1. The defendant willfully [and unlawfully] inflicted a physical

injury on (the/a) [defendant’s [former]] (spouse/cohabitant/fiancé/

parent of the defendant’s child/person with whom the defendant

has, or previously had, an engagement or dating relationship);

[AND]

2. The injury inflicted by the defendant resulted in a traumatic

condition.

<Give element 3 when instructing on self-defense or defense of another .>

[AND

3. The defendant did not act (in self-defense/ [or] in defense of

someone else).]

Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on

purpose. It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt

someone else, or gain any advantage.

A traumatic condition means a condition of the body—such as a wound,

external injury, or internal injury[, including injury as a result of

strangulation or suffocation]—whether of a minor or serious nature,

caused by a physical force. [Strangulation and suffocation include

impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood by applying

pressure on the throat or neck.]

[The term cohabitants means two unrelated persons living together for a

substantial period of time, resulting in some permanency of the

relationship. Factors that may determine whether people are cohabiting

include, but are not limited to, (1) sexual relations between the parties

while sharing the same residence, (2) sharing of income or expenses, (3)

joint use or ownership of property, (4) the parties’ holding themselves

out as (spouses/domestic partners), (5) the continuity of the relationship,

and (6) the length of the relationship.]

[The term dating relationship means frequent, intimate associations

primarily characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual

involvement [independent of financial considerations].]

[A person may cohabit simultaneously with two or more people at

different locations, during the same time frame, if he or she maintains

substantial ongoing relationships with each person and lives with each

person for significant periods.]

[A person is considered to be the (mother/father) of another person’s

child if the alleged male parent is presumed under law to be the natural

father. <insert name of presumed father> is presumed under

law to be the natural father of <insert name of child>.]

[A traumatic condition is the result of an injury if:

1. The traumatic condition was the natural and probable

consequence of the injury;

2. The injury was a direct and substantial factor in causing the

condition;

AND

3. The condition would not have happened without the injury.

A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person

would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In

deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of

the circumstances established by the evidence.

A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor. However, it

does not need to be the only factor that resulted in the traumatic

condition.]

New January 2006; Revised June 2007, August 2012, August 2014, February 2015,

February 2016, March 2018, October 2021, February 2025, February 2026