Attempts To Choke

The maximum penalty for the charge of attempts to choke (Section 37 of the Crimes Act) is twenty-five years imprisonment.

In NSW, a court can impose any of the following penalties for an attempts to choke charge.

• Section 10: attempts to choke proven but dismissed
• Fine
• Good behaviour bond
• Community service order (CSO)
• Suspended sentence
• Intensive correction order (previously periodic detention)
• Periodic detention
• Prison sentence

You’ll find a brief description of each of these penalties at the bottom of this page.

District Court

Based on our experience and statistics from the Judicial Commission of New South Wales we believe that the penalty in a case that is within the mid range of seriousness for the offence of attempts to choke, if heard in the District Court, is likely to be imprisonment for a period of 9 years.

Which court will hear your Attempts to choke charge in NSW:

This matter is strictly indictable which means that it can only be finalised in the District Court.

What is the law part and the short description?

On the police facts sheet and the court attendance notice that you may have received you will have a reference to the law part and a short description of offence. These references help the court and the legal profession to identify the exact offence you have been charged with. The law part and short description for this offence are set out in the table below:

What the police must prove:

To convict you of an attempts to choke charge, the police must prove each of the following matters beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. You, with the intention of enabling yourself or some other person to commit an indictable offence or assisting any person to commit an indictable offence.
2. Either:
   1. (a) attempted to choke, strangle or suffocate any person.
   2. (b)
      1. (i) By any means calculated to choke, suffocate or strangle.
      2. (ii) Attempted to render any person insensible, unconscious or incapable of resistance.

They will also need to prove that you were the person who committed the attempts to choke offence.

Possible defences for Attempts to choke

Possible defences to an attempts to choke charge include but are not limited to:

• Duress
• Necessity
• Self Defence

Types of penalties:

Section 10 for an attempts to choke charge: avoiding a criminal record. Normally, when you plead guilty to a criminal offence, the court imposes a penalty and records a conviction. If the court records a conviction, you will have a criminal record. However, if we can convince the court not to convict you, there will be no penalty of any type and no criminal record. In all criminal cases, the court has the discretion not to convict you, but to give you a Section 10 dismissal instead.

Fines for an attempts to choke charge: When deciding the amount of a fine for a attempts to choke charge the magistrate or judge should consider your financial situation and your ability to pay any fine they set.

Good behaviour bond for an attempts to choke charge: This is an order of the court that requires you to be of good behaviour for a specified period of time. The court will impose conditions that you will have to obey during the term of the good behaviour bond. The maximum duration of a good behaviour bond is five years.

Community service order for an attempts to choke charge. (CSO): This involves either unpaid work in the community at a place specified by probation and parole or attendance at a centre to undertake a course, such as anger management. In order to be eligible for a CSO you have to be assessed by an officer of the probation service as suitable to undertake the order.

Suspended sentence for an attempts to choke charge: This is a jail sentence that is suspended upon you entering into a good behaviour bond. Provided the terms of the good behaviour bond are obeyed the jail sentence will not come into effect. A suspended sentence is only available for sentences of imprisonment of up to two years.

Periodic detention for an attempts to choke charge (commonly known as weekend detention): This form of imprisonment ceased to be a sentencing option in October 2010.

Intensive correction order for an attempts to choke charge (ICO): This option has replaced periodic detention. The court can order you to comply with a number of conditions, such as attending counselling or treatment, not consuming alcohol, complying with a curfew and performing community service.

Jail for an attempts to choke charge: This is the most serious penalty for the charge of attempts to choke and involves full time detention in a correctional facility.