Assault Family Violence in Texas

Also known as Assault Domestic Violence, Assault Family Violence is a criminal charge under Texas law that encompasses a range of actions. If an action was done to deliberately cause physical injury, threaten, or offensively contact a member of the family, that action could be construed as Assault Family Violence. In the legal sense, family can refer to anything from blood relatives to spouses, cohabitants, current or former dating partners, or family by marriage.

For a first offense, Assault Family Violence is typically charged as a Class A misdemeanor, but there are several factors than lead to elevated charges. If the assault in question involved suffocation or strangulation, it can be charged as a second-degree felony. If the alleged assailant has prior convictions for family violence, they can be charged with a third-degree felony.

It is the close relationship between both parties that separates Assault Family Violence from simple assault, requiring additional consequences. In the simplest sense, assault means causing bodily injury or physical pain to another person. Even if it’s something as minor as a slap or a shove, if the act was done intentionally or even through carelessness, as long as it was intentional, it can be considered assault.

What Must Be Proven for a Conviction?

Charges of Assault Family Violence begin when law enforcement files a report and the prosecution determines there is sufficient evidence to pursue charges. This triggers the court to issue a warrant ordering law enforcement to arrest the person accused of committing the assault against a family member. Once active, this warrant allows police to arrest the suspect at any place or time, and may also trigger protective orders or rules against contact.

Once the charges have been filed, there are three things that the prosecution must prove in order to secure a conviction for Assault Family Violence:

• • That physical injury or pain resulted from the action
• • Whether action was intentional or the result of recklessness
• • That the alleged victim was a member of the family, lived in the same household, or had a relationship with the alleged assailant

 
Even if the alleged victim in question has stated that they no longer wish to press charges, prosecutors may still opt to pursue a conviction.

While it is considered a misdemeanor offense, conviction of Assault Family Violence can carry a variety of long-term consequences that an assault conviction wouldn’t – even on first offense – including loss of firearm rights, difficulty securing employment or housing, immigration complications, and issues retaining custody of children.

The immediate consequences can also be severe. Conviction of Class A misdemeanor Assault Family Violence carries fines up to $4,000 and a year-long sentence in county jail. If those charges were elevated to felony Assault Family Violence, fines increase up to $10,000 with a potential prison sentence of 2-10 years for second-degree and 2-20 years for third-degree felonies.

Beyond fines and jail time, conviction can carry other consequences including probation, 80-120 hours of mandatory community service, compulsory anger management or Batterer Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) classes, and possible substance abuse counseling. During probation or bond, a judge may also issue a no-contact order, requiring the defendant to maintain their distance and cease communications with the victim. They may also require GPS or electronic monitoring, curfews and travel restrictions, regular check-ins with a probation officer, and maintenance of a clean criminal record.

Alternatives to Conviction and Jail Time

There are several programs that those facing their first offense can qualify for under Texas law that can help reduce the overall jail sentence and potentially avoid a conviction. Granted on a case-by-case basis, they are not easy to qualify for, and require defendants to meet several criteria.

One of these options is pretrial diversion, allowing defendants to avoid not just a conviction but a trial. Instituted by the District Attorney’s Office, this program sets strict requirements for completion including mandatory anger management classes, community service, avoiding the victim, and not being arrested for anything else. Upon successful completion of the program, the case could be dismissed and all charges stricken from the permanent criminal record. That said, many prosecutors won’t allow pretrial diversion in family violence cases, and some counties don’t even offer it.

Deferred adjudication is another option, in which the defendant pleads guilty or no contest but the judge does not immediately convict. Instead, the judge delays the conviction, placing the defendant under probation and requiring a completion of a BIPP, community service and potential screening for drugs and alcohol. If the defendant meets all requirements, their case will be dismissed but their permanent criminal record will reflect the deferred conviction. It is possible to file a petition for non-disclosure, keeping the family violence charge from showing up on background checks, but this does not often apply in cases of family violence.

While not often available for family violence offenders, these programs are even more difficult to qualify for if the defendant has a criminal record, has already violated a protective order, or attempted to strangle their victim, or if the victim could still be at risk.

While the power to dismiss charges lies solely with the prosecution, an experienced defense attorney can demonstrate a lack of evidence, prove self-defense or highlight issues with the prosecution’s case to see charges dismissed or reduced.

Defending Against Assault Family Violence

There are a variety of methods that a skilled attorney can use to see charges of Assault Family Violence reduced, acquitted or dismissed altogether. A few of these include:

Claiming Self-Defense or Defense of Others: This involves demonstrating that the defendant’s actions were taken to protect themselves or others from injury or threat.

Offering Extenuating Circumstances: This strategy chips away at the prosecution’s claim of intention, showing that the act was an accident or came about through both parties engaging in mutual combat.

Questioning the Victim: This strategy undermines the accusations themselves, claiming that they were made out of jealousy or retaliation for other issues such as custody disputes. In cases where the victim refuses to testify or recants their story, this can damage the prosecution’s case.

Questioning the Evidence: This involves showing that the prosecution lacks enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, pointing to things like an alibi or an absence of good medical evidence of physical injuries.

Highlighting Procedural Errors: Law enforcement is held to a high standard when conducting an investigation and an arrest. If the search was unlawful, the arrest didn’t include a Miranda warning, or there were any other violations of the defendant’s constitutional rights, evidence can be excluded.

At The Law Office of Ken Gibson, we’ve seen positive outcomes from these strategies and so many more, showing how an Assault Family Violence case sprung from exaggerated accusations, emotional hostilities or simple misunderstandings. We have put our legal experience to work in hammering the prosecution’s case, showing a lack of evidence or inconsistencies that yield results.

If you’ve been arrested for Assault Family Violence, your freedom and future are still in your hands. We know how serious these charges are, and are committed to fighting them with equal seriousness. It all starts when you schedule a free, confidential legal consultation. Under the protection of the attorney-client privilege, we will analyze every detail of your case, craft a legal strategy built around you, and launch into an exhaustive investigation into your case. Police reports, surveillance video, witness testimony, bodycam footage, phone logs, we pore through it all.

Then we walk into the courtroom with the information and the know-how to secure the best possible outcome for you, preserving your dignity and securing your future.