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Massachusetts Strangulation Charge Lawyer
A strangulation charge almost always accompanies a domestic assault and battery charge in Massachusetts. It is a felony-level enhancement based on the nature of the alleged conduct, and it significantly raises the stakes of the underlying case. Attorney Michael DelSignore has defended strangulation charges throughout Massachusetts and understands both the medical and legal issues these cases involve.
Understanding the Strangulation LawMassachusetts passed its strangulation statute in 2014, defining strangulation as the intentional interference with another person's normal breathing or blood circulation by applying substantial pressure to the throat or neck. M.G.L. c. 265, § 15D(a).
Before this law existed, prosecutors faced a difficult choice when an alleged victim reported being strangled: charge attempted murder, which requires proving a specific intent to kill and is difficult to establish, or charge simple assault and battery, a misdemeanor that did not reflect the seriousness of the alleged conduct. The strangulation statute filled that gap, allowing prosecutors to charge a felony for a first offense without having to prove intent to kill.
Penalties for a Strangulation Charge- First offense: up to five years in state prison, or up to two and a half years in the house of correction
- Second offense, or a case involving serious injury, a violation of an active restraining order, or a pregnant alleged victim: up to ten years in state prison, or up to two and a half years in the house of correction
A felony conviction carries consequences beyond incarceration, including ineligibility for certain jobs and a required DNA sample.
How a Strangulation Charge Affects the Underlying CaseA strangulation enhancement generally makes a case harder to resolve. District attorneys are often less willing to reduce or dismiss a domestic assault and battery charge once a strangulation enhancement has been added, since the law was specifically passed to increase penalties for this type of conduct. In some cases, prosecutors may also use the strangulation charge as leverage, offering to drop it in exchange for a plea on the underlying domestic assault and battery charge.
Defending a Strangulation ChargeA strangulation charge is defended using many of the same strategies as any other domestic assault and battery case, though the stakes and evidentiary issues are often more significant:
- Fabrication: arguing that the alleged conduct did not happen and that the alleged victim had a motive to bring a false allegation. Cases built on this defense typically proceed to trial.
- Reduction to a lesser charge: arguing that while some physical contact occurred, it did not rise to the level of strangulation, and pursuing a plea to a lesser, misdemeanor-level assault and battery charge.
- Challenging the Commonwealth's ability to prove the case without the alleged victim's cooperation, including whether other evidence, such as a 911 call, is sufficient on its own.
- Challenging the admissibility of a 911 call through a motion in limine, on the grounds that admitting it without the opportunity for cross-examination may violate the defendant's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation.
- Filing a motion to suppress any statements made by the accused that could help the Commonwealth prove its case.
- Direct experience handling the evidentiary and confrontation-clause issues unique to strangulation cases, including 911 call admissibility
- Published author on Sixth Amendment confrontation issues in domestic assault and battery cases for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
- Experience presenting on this topic at MCLE training for other Massachusetts attorneys
- Over 20 years defending serious felony and misdemeanor charges throughout Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Domestic Assault and Battery Lawyer
- Penalties for Massachusetts Domestic Assault and Battery Charges
- Will a Domestic Assault and Battery Charge Be Dismissed if the Alleged Victim Does Not Wish to Testify?
- Massachusetts Domestic Assault and Battery Court Process
Yes. Under current Massachusetts law, even a first-offense strangulation charge is a felony, carrying up to five years in state prison or two and a half years in the house of correction.
In some cases, a prosecutor may agree to reduce a strangulation charge to a lesser, misdemeanor-level assault and battery charge as part of a plea agreement. Any reduction requires the prosecutor's agreement; a judge cannot amend the charge on their own.
It depends on what other evidence is available. A 911 call, for example, may or may not be admissible without the alleged victim testifying, depending on whether its admission would violate the defendant's right of confrontation under the Sixth Amendment.
Beyond the higher potential sentence, prosecutors are generally less willing to dismiss or reduce a case once a strangulation enhancement has been added, since the law was specifically passed to increase penalties for this type of allegation.
