Mora

this case of first impression, we hold that a biological father may lawfully be convicted of battering the mother of his child pursuant to section 273.5 of the Penal Code even if their parental rights to that child had been terminated before commission of the offense.

A jury convicted appellant Arturo Mora of battering the mother of his child and found true an allegation that he had served a prior prison term. (See §§ 273.5, subd. (a), 667.5, subd. (b).) Sentenced to five years in state prison, Mora appeals, contending that (1) the termination of his and the mother’s parental rights barred his lawful conviction for battering the mother of his child; (2) the trial court erred in refusing his request for a pinpoint instruction about reasonable doubt as to his paternity; and (3) it erred by failing to give a cautionary jury instruction about his alleged oral admissions. The People also challenge the credits Mora was awarded against his sentence. We affirm the conviction.

I. Facts

Socorro C. and appellant Arturo Mora met at Ukiah High School in the early 1980’s. In May 1990, their daughter Carrie Ann was bom. When the child became the subject of juvenile dependency…