Matthew J. Ruff Domestic Violence Law Blog on Lawyers.com

California interprets domestic violence as any case involving a family member, a spouse, past or present or anyone with whom you have had a dating relationship with.  As a Los Angeles Domestic Violence Attorney , I am often asked whether anger management classes are required if a person is convicted of a crime involving a person described above.  The answer is, if convicted then yes.  If an individual is convicted or pleads no contest to any crime involving a person coming within the definition of "domestic" then the judge will require the completion of anger management classes as a term of any deal struck with the prosecutor. The failure to complete these classes could result in the imposition of jail time or some other judicial sanction

This requirement applies even in cases where the charges are reduced to disturbing the peace or trespassing or any offense where probation is required.  There are ways to get around this requirement however and an attorney can help with the process.