Domestic Violence Charges in Connecticut

Connecticut does not have a separate domestic assault crime. A crime committed against a family or household member (spouses or former spouses, parents and children, relatives, people who live or have lived together, people with a child in common, and people in or recently in a dating relationship) that involves physical harm or threatened violence is designated a 'family violence crime' and is charged under the ordinary assault, threatening or other statutes. Choking or smothering someone so that it impedes breathing or blood circulation is strangulation or suffocation in the second degree, a Class D felony (up to five years); it is first degree, a Class C felony (one to ten years), when a dangerous instrument is used, serious physical injury results, or the person has a prior strangulation conviction; reckless strangulation is third degree, a Class A misdemeanor. A persistent offender, meaning someone convicted of third-degree assault, stalking, threatening, harassment, violating a protective order or criminal trespass who has a qualifying prior conviction, is sentenced as for the next more serious class, and a Class A misdemeanor is then punished as a Class D felony.

Connecticut's rule on court-appointed lawyers: The Division of Public Defender Services represents indigent defendants. An 'indigent defendant' includes a person formally charged with a crime punishable by imprisonment who lacks the financial ability, at the time of the request, to secure competent counsel. A public defender investigates the person's finances and has the person complete a written statement under oath or affirmation of liabilities, assets, income and sources of income. On and after July 1, 2025, eligibility is assessed under guidelines set by the Public Defender Services Commission, and a person whose income under those guidelines is two hundred fifty per cent or less of the federal poverty level may qualify. The court, after the public defender's investigation, appoints counsel if it finds the defendant indigent. In a misdemeanor case the court need not appoint counsel if it states on the record that the case will be resolved without immediate incarceration or a suspended sentence with probation. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 51-296(a), 51-297(a), (f)

Lawyers set their own fees, and Connecticut has rules on how they may charge. See hiring a criminal defense lawyer in Connecticut for fee rules, how to check a lawyer's license and free help.

How release before trial works in Connecticut: After arrest, a bail commissioner (or intake, assessment and referral specialist) must promptly order release on the first condition found sufficient to reasonably ensure appearance (§ 54-63d). At arraignment, the Superior Court must order release on the first of these conditions found sufficient to reasonably ensure appearance in court: (A) a written promise to appear without special conditions; (B) a written promise to appear with nonfinancial conditions; (C) a bond without surety in no greater amount than necessary; (D) a bond with surety in no greater amount than necessary — and a judge may not prohibit a bond from being posted by surety. For a person charged only with a misdemeanor, the court may not impose financial conditions of release unless the charge is a family violence crime, the person requests it, or the court finds a likely risk of flight, obstruction or threats to safety. Factors the court may consider include the nature and circumstances of the offense, prior convictions, record of appearance, family and community ties, employment, financial resources and mental condition. Certain serious firearm offenders must deposit at least thirty per cent of any bond amount directly with the court. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 54-63d, 54-64a What happens after an arrest.

Each state sets its own rules for sealing or expunging records. See Connecticut expungement and record sealing rules.