Opinion No. (1997)

DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE RAYMOND N. HAYNES, MEMBER OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: Is it unlawful for a parent to spank a child for disciplinary purposes with an object other than the hand? CONCLUSION It is not unlawful for a parent to spank a child for disciplinary purposes with an object other than the hand; however, the punishment must be necessary and not excessive in relation to the individual circumstances. ANALYSIS The question presented for resolution concerns corporal punishment administered by a parent. Specifically, may a parent spank a child for disciplinary purposes with an object other than the open hand? 1 We conclude that the punishment may be so administered as long as it is necessary and not excessive in relation to the individual circumstances. Penal Code section 273d , subdivision (a) 2 provides: "Any person who willfully inflicts upon a child any cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or injury resulting in a traumatic condition is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or in a…