Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas Strangulation Laws

Sec. 130 Domestic Violence

(A) A person commits the offense of domestic violence by inflicting physical harm, strangulation, bodily injury, or sexual assault, or inflicting the fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or sexual assault on a family member.

(B) For purposes of this section, a family member is any of the following:

  1. (1)  A spouse;
  2. (2)  A former spouse;
  3. (3)  A person related by blood;
  4. (4)  A person related by existing or prior marriage;
  5. (5)  A person who resides or resided with the defendant;
  6. (6)  A person with whom the defendant has a child in common; or

    Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 16 Title VIII– Criminal Offenses and Violations Code/C.C.J.

    (7) A person with whom the defendant is or was in a dating or intimate

    relationship.
    (C) “Sexual Assault” means the sexual exploitation, forcible penetration, or an

    act of sexual contact on the body of another person, male or female, without his or her consent.

    (D) “Strangulation” means intentionally and knowingly or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the person’s throat or neck or by blocking the person’s nose or mouth.

    (E) If the defendant inflicts actual physical harm, bodily injury or sexual assault on the victim, then domestic violence is a felony. If there is no actual physical harm, bodily injury or sexual assault on the victim, then domestic violence is a Class A misdemeanor, except where the defendant has been previously convicted of domestic violence or a comparable offense by another jurisdiction in the United States, then a defendant may be charged with a felony.

    Sec. 102 (A)

    Assault

    A person commits the offense of assault if said person:
    (1) With the intent to commit any felony listed in 18 U.S.C. § 1153(a), assaults another person by striking; or
    (2) With the intent to do bodily injury, assaults another person with a dangerous weapon; or

    Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas 6 Title VIII– Criminal Offenses and Violations Code/C.C.J.

  7. (3)  With the intent to do bodily harm, assaults by striking a spouse, intimate partner, a dating partner; or
  8. (4)  Knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person by striking; or
  9. (5)  Knowingly or recklessly strikes another person without causing bodily injury; or

(B) As used in this Section:
(1) “Striking” shall mean any act of making bodily contact with the person of another including, but not limited to, hitting, beating, wounding, strangling or suffocating.
(2) “Bodily injury” means a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn, disfigurement, physical pain, impairment or the function of a bodily member or organ, or any other injury to the body, no matter how temporary.
(3) “Dangerous weapon” shall mean an instrument capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury.

(C) Assault is a felony if committed in violation of paragraph (A)(1), (2) and (3) of this Section. Assault is a Class A misdemeanor if committed in violation of paragraph (A)(4) of this Section. Assault is a Class B misdemeanor if committed in violation of paragraph (A)(5) of this Section. If a defendant has been previously convicted of a violation of paragraphs (A)(4), (A)(5), or (A)(6) or a comparable offense by another jurisdiction in the United States, then a defendant may be charged with a felony.