Texas Domestic Violence Lawyer

How Texas Defines Family Violence

Texas Family Code §71.004 defines family violence broadly. It includes:

• An act by a member of a family or household against another member that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, or that is a threat that reasonably places the other member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault
• Abuse of a child by a member of the household
• Dating violence is an act against a person with whom the accused has or has had a dating relationship

The definition of “family or household member” is equally broad: spouses and former spouses, parents of the same child regardless of whether they were ever married or lived together, foster children and parents, and any other individuals related by blood or marriage. The current or former dating relationship category is particularly significant — it means that family violence law applies to situations that most people would not recognize as “domestic.

The Affirmative Finding: The Consequence That Outlasts the Case

When a family violence case is resolved through conviction, deferred adjudication, or certain plea agreements to related offenses, the court enters a family violence affirmative finding under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.013. This finding is recorded in the judgment and follows the defendant permanently. Its consequences are not collateral in any conventional sense. They are direct, federal, and lifelong.

Federal firearms prohibition.  18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9) permanently prohibits any person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition. A Class A misdemeanor family violence assault conviction with a family violence affirmative finding triggers this prohibition for life. It applies regardless of Texas expunction law — a Texas court cannot restore a federal right.

Felony enhancement.  Under Texas Penal Code §22.01(b)(2), a second family violence assault conviction, or a family violence assault committed against a household or family member after a prior family violence finding, is charged as a third-degree felony carrying 2 to 10 years — not a Class A misdemeanor. The prior finding, not the prior conviction, is the predicate. This means that even a successfully completed deferred adjudication with a family violence finding can serve as the basis for elevating a future charge.

Expunction and non-disclosure bar.  A conviction with a family violence affirmative finding is not eligible for expunction or for an Order of Non-Disclosure. The record is permanent and public.

Child custody implications.  Texas Family Code §153.004 creates a rebuttable presumption against awarding custody or unsupervised visitation to a parent who has a history of family violence. A family violence affirmative finding from a criminal case is admissible in a family court proceeding and can shift the burden in a custody dispute. This consequence frequently matters more to defendants than the criminal penalties themselves.

These consequences mean that the strategic question in every family violence case is not only whether the charge can be defeated at trial or through a motion. It is whether any negotiated resolution that includes a family violence affirmative finding is acceptable given the permanent downstream consequences. That analysis must happen at the beginning of the representation, not after a plea offer has been made.

Prosecution Without the Victim’s Cooperation

One of the most consequential and frequently misunderstood aspects of Texas family violence prosecution is that the State can and regularly does proceed without the alleged victim’s cooperation or testimony.

Texas and most urban Texas counties have adopted evidence-based prosecution policies for family violence cases specifically because victim recantation and non-cooperation are common. Prosecutors have several tools that allow the case to proceed without a cooperative complainant:

The 911 recording.  Statements made during a 911 call are frequently admitted under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule. The caller’s description of the incident, made in the moment, can come in even if the caller later recants or refuses to testify.

Responding officer testimony.  An officer who responded to the scene can testify to the complainant’s demeanor, visible injuries, and statements made at the scene. These statements are often admissible as excited utterances or present sense impressions regardless of the complainant’s later position.

Medical records.  Physical injury documentation is evidence that exists independently of the complainant’s willingness to testify.

Body camera footage.  Most Texas law enforcement agencies now use body cameras. Footage of the scene, the complainant’s demeanor, and any statements made at the time of the arrest is generally admissible.

An Affidavit of Non-Prosecution (a document a complainant signs requesting that charges be dropped) does not bind the prosecutor and does not guarantee dismissal. Prosecutors in high-volume family violence jurisdictions routinely continue prosecuting cases where the complainant has signed an ANP, relying on the other evidence categories described above.

The Forensic Science of Family Violence Defense

Injury analysis.  Whether injuries are consistent with the alleged mechanism, whether they could have alternative explanations, and whether they meet the threshold for bodily injury or serious bodily injury under the statutory definitions are medical and forensic questions. medical records, and injury photographs are all subject to independent examination. An injury that appears to support the prosecution’s narrative under one interpretation may look different under independent forensic analysis.

Digital evidence.  Text messages, social media communications, call logs, and location data are central to both prosecution and defense in family violence cases. Prior threatening communications from the complainant, messages that establish consent or context, and geolocation data that places parties in different locations are all categories of digital evidence that can shift the case. Doug Huff’s digital forensics training means this evidence is better evaluated at the data level (metadata, authentication, completeness, and chain of custody) not simply accepted as produced.

Strangulation evidence.  When strangulation is alleged (elevating the charge from a Class A misdemeanor to a third-degree felony) the prosecution must establish that pressure was applied to the throat or neck in a manner that impeded normal breathing or circulation. Petechial hemorrhaging, neck bruising, and the complainant’s account are the typical evidence categories. The defense must independently evaluate whether the physical evidence is consistent with the alleged mechanism or with alternative explanations.

Charges We Handle in Family Violence Cases

• Family violence assault — Class A misdemeanor with affirmative finding analysis
• Family violence assault — felony enhancement based on prior finding
• Assault by strangulation or suffocation in a family violence context — third-degree felony
• Aggravated assault in a family or household context — first-degree felony
• Continuous family violence — Texas Penal Code §25.11, third-degree felony
• Protective order violation — Class A misdemeanor or third-degree felony
• Stalking — third-degree felony (second-degree on second offense)
• Interference with an emergency call — Class A misdemeanor

Why Deandra Grant Law

• ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist — both Deandra Grant and Douglas Huff.
• Digital forensics training. Cell phone data, social media, CDR records, and metadata examined at the data level.
• 30+ years of criminal defense experience. 500+ trials to verdict across North and Central Texas.
• 17 published law books. Including Assault Charges in Texas
• Texas Super Lawyer since 2011. AV® Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell®.
• Offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Denton, Waco, and Rockwall. North and Central Texas courts served directly.
• Federal defense capability. James Lee Bright handles federal charges in all four Texas federal districts.

If you are facing family violence charges in Texas, call (214) 225-7117 for a free, confidential consultation. Or schedule online at texasdwisite.com.