P. v. Lampkin
A jury convicted of corporal injury to a cohabitant in violation of Penal Code section 273.5, subdivision (a), which provides in part that any person who willfully inflicts upon a current or former "cohabitant" corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition is guilty of a felony. The jury found that Lampkin had inflicted such a corporal injury upon his former cohabitant Ladonica Whyte. The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Lampkin on three years' supervised probation. Defendant appeals, contending the court erroneously instructed the jury as to what constitutes cohabitation under section 273.5, subdivision (a). Specifically he contends that the instruction was not a correct statement of law as it did not include a statement regarding the importance of a relationship's duration. Alternatively, he contends that the wording of the cohabitation instruction misled the jury by suggesting that a couple who live apart may be cohabitants. Court reject these contentions and affirm the judgment.
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