Domestic assault by an habitual offender
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
(a) In General. Any person who commits a domestic assault within the or Indian country and who has a final conviction on at least 2 separate prior occasions in Federal, State, or Indian tribal court proceedings for offenses that would be, if subject to Federal jurisdiction—
(1) any assault, sexual abuse, or serious violent against a spouse or intimate partner, or against a child of or in the care of the person committing the domestic assault; or
(2) an offense under chapter 110A,
shall be , imprisoned for a term of not more than 5 years, or both, except that if substantial results from violation under this section, the offender shall be imprisoned for a term of not more than 10 years.
(b) Domestic Assault Defined. In this section, the term "domestic assault" means an assault committed by a current or former spouse, parent, child, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, parent, child, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, child, or guardian of the victim.
History: (Added Pub. L. 109–162, title IX, §909, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3084; amended Pub. L. 113–104, §3, May 20, 2014, 128 Stat. 1156.)
Simplified explanation
It is a federal crime to commit a domestic assault (an assault on a current or former spouse, partner, child, parent, or similar family or household member) within special federal jurisdiction or Indian country, if the person already has at least 2 prior convictions for domestic violence-type offenses or stalking and protection-order offenses.