If you are facing choking charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Calgary to look at your case as soon as possible.

Choking is a serious criminal offence in Canada that involves intentionally restricting someone’s breathing.

  • It is illegal to choke, suffocate, or strangle another person. This offence is part of the assault provisions in the Criminal Code.
  • Choking is classified as an indictable offence, which means it’s considered more serious under Canadian law. This is not a hybrid offence, so the Crown cannot choose to prosecute it as a summary conviction offence instead.
  • If convicted of choking, a person faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. There is no minimum sentence required by law. The court will consider factors like the seriousness of the incident, harm to the victim, and whether the person has committed crimes before.

Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Calgary, with over 500 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of choking beat the charge.

The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact us today by calling (403) 719-6410.

Key Takeaways

  • Choking is always charged as an indictable offence, which makes it one of the more serious assault charges.
  • If you are found guilty, you could spend up to ten years in prison.
  • When someone is charged with choking, they usually have strict bail conditions that may include:
    • No contact with the victim
    • Limits on where you can go
    • Regular check-ins with police or bail supervisors
    • House arrest or curfews are possible.
  • Even though choking charges are serious, they can be successfully defended with proper legal representation.
  • Defences could be self-defence, not having the intent, or questioning the evidence and witness testimony.

How Our Lawyers Help With a Choking Charge

Our Strategic Criminal Defence lawyers can help you in a lot of different ways. 

  • Before you are even charged with choking, we can tell you what might happen, how likely those things are to happen, and what your best options are for moving forward.
  • We can get medical records, photos, and witness statements to help your case. We can also hire experts, like doctors, to testify about the evidence of the injury or the lack of it.
  • During this process, you can interact with complicated criminal justice system for you, which includes going to court, filling out different forms, and talking to prosecutors about your case.

Examples of Choking Charges

In Calgary, you could be charged with choking in these situations:

  • In a heated argument between partners, one person grabs the other by the throat and squeezes it, making it hard for them to breathe for a few seconds before letting go.
  • Two people at a bar get into a fight, and one puts the other in a headlock, cutting off their air supply until bouncers step in and break it up.
  • A thief grabs a store clerk from behind and puts pressure on their neck to keep them quiet while they steal money from the cash register.

Consequences of a Choking Charge

If you are charged with choking in Canada, you could face serious legal consequences that could affect your life for years to come. 

  • A charge of choking under Section 267(c) of the Criminal Code is a serious crime which is classified as an indictable offence.
    There is no minimum jail sentence for choking. The worst punishment, though, is up to 10 years in prison. The actual sentence will depend on a number of things, such as what happened, how bad the victim was hurt, and whether the accused has a criminal record.
    Courts can also fine an accused, including victim surcharges or restitution payments to the victim.
  • A conviction for choking can lead to more than just immediate legal penalties. It can also leave you with a permanent criminal record that can make it harder to get a job, especially in fields that require background checks.
  • There may be travel restrictions, especially when trying to get into the US or other countries.
  • If an accused has kids, those who are found guilty may also have problems in custody cases because the conviction could be seen as a risk factor.

Choking Charge Defences

If you are charged with choking in Calgary, there are a number of legal defences that could help your case.

Some common defences that could be used to fight a choking charge are:

  • Self-Defence: Self-defence is when you feel that you must defend yourself against the force or threats of another person. You might be able to use this defence if you stopped someone’s breathing for a short time while they were attacking you. For example, if someone was punching you over and over and you held their neck for a short time to push them away, that could be self defence.
  • Lack of Intent: To be charged with choking, you have to show that you meant to stop someone’s breathing. This defence says that any contact with someone else’s neck or throat was not on purpose. If you were trying to hold someone back during a fight and your hands accidentally moved to their neck area, you might be able to use this defence.

Choking Charge Investigation

  • The police will first talk to the victim or the person who called the police to get possible information about the motive and what happened.
  • The police will also take pictures of any visible injuries, like red marks, bruises on the neck, or scratches.
  • In these cases, medical evidence is very important. Officers often tell victims to see a doctor because doctors can write down things like voice changes, trouble swallowing, or internal injuries that support claims of choking.
  • Investigators will talk to anyone who saw the event or heard sounds of the fight.
  • If the person being accused is available, they will be interviewed, but they don’t have to say anything.
  • Police can also check to see if there have been any similar domestic incidents or charges in the past.

Bail Conditions for Choking Charges

If someone is charged with choking, they might be able to get out on bail, but they will have to follow certain rules. 

  • A no-contact order is the most common bail condition. It says that the accused can’t talk to the alleged victim in any way. This means that you can’t call, text, email, or use social media to get in touch with them. You also can’t send messages through other people.
    If someone is charged with choking someone in their own home that they lived with, they may have to move out.
  • To make sure the accused is following the rules and stays in the area, they may have to check in with a bail supervisor or police station on a regular basis.
  • If the choking incident was particularly dangerous or if the person has a history of violence, the court may order electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet.
    If you break any of these bail conditions, you could be arrested and held in jail. The court will take these conditions seriously and will take away bail if they are not met.

For more information, visit our page on The Bail Hearing Process in Calgary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you could go to jail for choking someone, even if this is your first time being charged with it. People who break the law for the first time might get shorter sentences, but they could still go to jail. When judges decide on a sentence, they are considering a lot of circumstances. These include the seriousness of the crime, how the victim was hurt, your criminal record, and your own situation. But, there might be other sentences available for less serious crimes, like probation or conditional sentences.

Yes, a choking charge will show up on most background checks as soon as you are charged. If you are found guilty, it will stay on your criminal record forever unless you get a record suspension (which used to be called a pardon). This can have an effect on many parts of your life, including job opportunities, especially if you want to work with vulnerable people. Travelling to other countries, especially the US, could be limited. Even if you get a discharge or the charges are dropped, the fact that you were charged might still show up on some detailed police checks.

In Canada, the victim can’t ask that the charges be dropped. Once the police file charges, a victim has no say in whether or not the case goes forward. But, if the victim is not willing to be a witness, in some situations it could become hard for the Crown to prove the case. Prosecutors can still use other types of evidence though, like police reports, medical records, pictures of injuries, and statements from other witnesses to be successful.