Law.com: Abusive Spouses Face New Charge

Last week, John Michael Farren, a former White House lawyer, stood in a Stamford courtroom and pleaded not guilty to a series of charges related to an alleged attack on his wife. Among them: attempted murder, first-degree assault and first-degree strangulation.

There is nothing novel about the first two. But the strangulation charge is a relatively new one in Connecticut and across the country, one created specifically to deal with the epidemic of domestic violence.

It's no secret to those who help battered women that spouses often, quite literally, go for the throat during domestic disputes. Still, unless someone sustained significant injuries, authorities until recently didn't have a big choice of charges. Abusive partners were usually charged with misdemeanor assault or breach of peace, and then sent to take classes as part of a Family Violence Education Program.

Read more at Law.com.