A family violence charge in Collin County is not like other criminal charges. Even a misdemeanor conviction carries consequences that follow you for the rest of your life — including the permanent loss of your right to own a firearm under federal law, the inability to seal your criminal record, and the enhancement of any future offense involving a family member to a felony. These consequences apply regardless of whether the underlying incident involved a push, a slap, a verbal threat, or a complete fabrication.
If you have been arrested for or charged with family violence in Collin County, the decisions you make in the next few days will shape the rest of your life. This article explains what family violence means under Texas law, what you are actually facing, and why the defense strategy in these cases requires an attorney who understands both the law and the science of the evidence.
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What Family Violence Means Under Texas Law
Family violence is defined under Texas Family Code §71.004 — not the Penal Code. This is a distinction that matters, because the Family Code definition is broader than most people expect. Under §71.004, “family violence” means:
- An act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, or that is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault (but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself)
- Abuse by a member of a family or household toward a child of the family or household, as defined by Texas Family Code §261.001
- Dating violence, as defined by Texas Family Code §71.0021
The terms “family” and “household member” are defined separately under §71.003 and §71.005-71.006. “Family” includes individuals related by blood or marriage, former spouses, parents of the same child (regardless of whether they were ever married), and foster children and foster parents. “Household member” includes anyone who currently or previously lived in the same dwelling — including roommates and former roommates.
“Dating violence” under §71.0021 extends the definition to individuals who have or have had a dating relationship, even if they have never lived together, been married, or had children together. The court determines whether a dating relationship exists based on the length, nature, frequency, and type of interaction.
The breadth of these definitions means that family violence charges can arise from a dispute between spouses, between a parent and adult child, between current or former roommates, between individuals in a dating relationship, or between former partners who share a child. The category of people who can trigger a family violence finding is far wider than most people realize.
The Hidden Consequences: Why Family Violence Is Different from Every Other Misdemeanor
Most people who are arrested for family violence focus on the immediate penalties: possible jail time, fines, probation. Those are real, but they are not the worst part. The worst part is what happens after the case is over.
Permanent Loss of Firearm Rights Under Federal Law
Under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9) (commonly known as the Lautenberg Amendment) any person convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is permanently prohibited from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving firearms or ammunition. This is a federal lifetime ban. There is no waiting period. There is no restoration process. There is no exception for hunting rifles, home defense weapons, or firearms inherited from family members. The only remedy is a presidential or gubernatorial pardon, which is exceptionally rare.
Texas Penal Code §46.04(b) separately prohibits a person convicted of a Class A misdemeanor involving family violence from possessing a firearm for five years after release from confinement or community supervision. But even after the Texas five-year period expires and Texas law technically permits possession, the federal lifetime ban remains in force. Possessing a firearm after a qualifying family violence conviction is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9), punishable by up to 15 years in federal prison.
This means that a misdemeanor family violence conviction, even for a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail, permanently strips you of your Second Amendment rights for the rest of your life under federal law.
You Cannot Seal Your Record
For most Texas misdemeanors, a defendant who successfully completes deferred adjudication can petition for an order of nondisclosure under Texas Government Code §411.081, which seals the record from public view. This allows people to move on with their lives without a criminal record appearing on background checks.
Family violence offenses are explicitly excluded from nondisclosure eligibility. If you plead guilty or no contest to a family violence offense, even on deferred adjudication, you cannot seal the record. The arrest, the charge, and the disposition remain publicly visible on background checks for the rest of your life. There is no expunction unless the case is dismissed or you are acquitted.
Enhancement of Future Offenses
A prior family violence conviction enhances any subsequent family violence charge. A first-offense assault involving family violence is typically a Class A misdemeanor. If you have a prior family violence conviction, a second family violence assault is charged as a third-degree felony under Texas Penal Code §22.01(b)(2), punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison. The prior conviction does not have to have been recent. A family violence conviction from 20 years ago will enhance a new charge today.
Collateral Consequences Beyond the Courtroom
A family violence finding can also result in the issuance of a protective order restricting where you can live and who you can contact, loss of child custody or restriction of visitation rights, termination or denial of professional licenses (nursing, medical, law enforcement, legal, teaching, real estate), denial of military enlistment or separation from current military service, immigration consequences including deportation for non-citizens, loss of employment and difficulty obtaining future employment in any field that requires a background check, and ineligibility for certain public benefits and housing programs.
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False Accusations: A Reality of Family Violence Cases
False accusations of family violence are not rare. They are a documented and recurring feature of these cases, particularly in the context of contested divorces, child custody disputes, and relationship breakdowns. A vengeful spouse, a vindictive ex-partner, a teenager trying to gain leverage in a family conflict, or an individual who simply wants to use the criminal justice system as a weapon. All of these scenarios produce family violence arrests in Texas.
The reason false accusations are so effective is that Texas law does not require a police officer to have witnessed the alleged act of violence before making an arrest. An accusation by a family or household member, combined with what appears to be evidence of an altercation (i.e. redness on the skin, a disheveled appearance, visible emotion) is often sufficient grounds for an officer to make a warrantless arrest under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Officers responding to a domestic disturbance call are trained to identify a “primary aggressor” and make an arrest. In a situation where both parties are emotional, the officer’s subjective assessment of who is the aggressor can be wrong.
Once the arrest is made, the case takes on a life of its own. Even if the accusing party recants or asks the prosecutor to drop the charges, the state can, and frequently does, proceed with prosecution. The alleged victim does not control whether charges are filed or dismissed. The prosecutor makes that decision. And in Collin County, the District Attorney’s office is known for prosecuting family violence cases aggressively.
Family Violence Cases in Collin County
Collin County takes an aggressive posture on family violence prosecutions. The District Attorney’s office has dedicated family violence prosecutors, and the county’s rapid population growth in cities like McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Plano, and Wylie has produced a corresponding increase in family violence case filings. If you are arrested in Collin County, you should expect the prosecution to pursue the case even if the alleged victim is uncooperative.
Deandra Grant Law has an office in Allen at 1333 W. McDermott, Suite 180 directly serving Collin County. We handle family violence cases in the Collin County courts regularly, and we understand the tendencies of the local judges, the prosecution’s approach, and the dynamics of these cases in this jurisdiction.
Case Results
How We Defend Family Violence Cases
Every family violence case is different, but the defense strategies we employ share a common foundation: challenge every piece of evidence the state intends to use, investigate the accuser’s motives and credibility, and protect the client from the catastrophic collateral consequences that make these cases uniquely dangerous.
- Investigate the accusation. Who made the accusation, and why? Is there a pending divorce, a custody dispute, a financial conflict, or a history of threats? We interview witnesses, obtain text messages and social media records, review 911 call recordings, and document the context surrounding the accusation. False accusations often leave a trail.
- Challenge the evidence. What physical evidence exists, and does it actually support the state’s theory? Photographs of alleged injuries are not self-interpreting. Redness, bruising, and marks can result from accidental contact, self-infliction, or pre-existing conditions. When the state relies on forensic evidence such as DNA, toxicology, or digital evidence, our team has the scientific training to evaluate it. Doug Huff’s Garrett Discovery digital forensics training allows us to analyze phone records, text message metadata, and digital communications that are often central to these cases.
- Protect against the collateral consequences. The defense strategy must account for the federal firearms ban, the nondisclosure ineligibility, and the enhancement risk from the very beginning. In some cases, the most important outcome is not avoiding jail time. It is avoiding the affirmative finding of family violence that triggers the lifetime consequences. This may mean negotiating for an alternative charge that does not carry the family violence designation, seeking a dismissal through a thorough pretrial investigation, or taking the case to trial when the evidence supports an acquittal.
- Present mitigation evidence. In cases where the evidence is strong and a negotiated resolution is in the client’s best interest, mitigation reports that humanize the client and provide the court with context about their life, their mental health, their family circumstances, and the factors that led to the incident can be helpful.
Do Not Wait to Get Legal Help
If you have been arrested for or charged with family violence in Collin County, the single most important thing you can do is retain experienced defense counsel immediately. Do not speak to the police about the incident. Do not contact the alleged victim. Do not post about the case on social media. And do not assume that because the allegation is false or exaggerated, the case will simply go away. It will not. The prosecution does not need the alleged victim’s cooperation to convict you, and the consequences of a conviction, including the permanent loss of your firearm rights and the inability to seal your record, will follow you for the rest of your life.
Deandra Grant Law has defended family violence cases throughout Collin County for over 30 years. Our Allen office at 1333 W. McDermott, Suite 180 is minutes from the Collin County Courthouse in McKinney. We offer free consultations. Call (214) 225-7117 or visit texasdwisite.com.
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