It can be, in two separate ways. California’s corporal-injury statute expressly counts injury from strangulation or suffocation as a “traumatic condition,” and the injury can be internal, so a case can be charged under that statute even when no mark is visible. Separately, if the prosecution proves the person personally inflicted great bodily injury in a felony domestic violence case, an enhancement can add three, four, or five years in state prison.
How the law treats strangulation without a visible mark
Corporal injury on a current or former spouse, cohabitant, fiancé, or dating partner, or the mother or father of the defendant’s child (Penal Code section 273.5), requires an injury that results in a “traumatic condition.” Section 273.5(d) defines that as a condition of the body, “such as a wound, or external or internal injury,” whether minor or serious, caused by physical force, and it expressly includes “injury as a result of strangulation or suffocation.” The same subdivision says strangulation and suffocation include impeding a person’s normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure on the throat or neck.
Because internal injury counts, the definition does not require a bruise, cut, or other outward mark. That is why a strangulation allegation can support a corporal-injury charge even when a responding officer’s report describes no visible injury. The prosecution still has to prove that the injury resulted in a traumatic condition; the jury instruction for this charge lists that as its own element (CALCRIM No. 840). Corporal injury can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor (Penal Code section 273.5(a)). Its general elements and defenses are explained on the corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant page.
When great bodily injury adds prison time
Separately from the underlying charge, Penal Code section 12022.7(e) adds an additional, consecutive state prison term of three, four, or five years for a person who “personally inflicts great bodily injury under circumstances involving domestic violence” in the commission of a felony or attempted felony. Section 12022.7(f)(1) defines great bodily injury as “a significant or substantial physical injury,” and the jury instruction for this enhancement adds that it is an injury greater than moderate harm (CALCRIM No. 3163).
The enhancement does not follow automatically from a strangulation allegation. At trial, the prosecution must prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt, and whether an injury amounts to great bodily injury is a question for the jury (CALCRIM No. 3163). Because the enhancement applies only in the commission of a felony or attempted felony, it does not apply when the underlying charge is a misdemeanor.
What this means for the evidence in a case
Because the definition reaches internal injury, the evidence that matters most is often not a photograph of a bruise. It can include what witnesses or the alleged victim describe about breathing, coughing, a change in voice, or loss of consciousness during the incident, along with any medical record from the same day. The enhancement turns on the same kind of evidence but asks a different question: not whether an injury occurred, but whether it was significant or substantial. The two questions, whether a traumatic condition occurred at all and whether it rose to great bodily injury, are decided separately and require separate proof.
Talk to a lawyer about your specific charge
A strangulation allegation raises both an injury question and a sentencing question, and each turns on separate evidence. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can review the police report and any medical records in your case and explain how these rules apply to your domestic violence charge. Call (800) 755-5174.