Fort Worth Domestic Violence Lawyer

Deandra Grant Law is a Fort Worth domestic violence law firm defending family violence charges in Fort Worth and throughout Tarrant County. Family violence is not a separate crime in Texas. It is an assault charge with a relationship attached: a spouse, an ex, a dating partner, a roommate, or a relative. That one fact changes how Tarrant County handles the case. The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes these cases through a dedicated family violence unit, the misdemeanors are heard in the County Criminal Courts at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center by prosecutors who work nothing else, and the felonies go to the Criminal District Courts in the same building.

The first order usually arrives before you do. At magistration inside the Tarrant County Corrections Center, the magistrate can issue an emergency protective order under Article 17.292 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and must issue one when the allegation involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon. An EPO runs 31 to 61 days, or up to 91 days when a weapon is alleged, and it can bar you from your own home and from any contact with the complaining witness. Violating it is a new charge under Penal Code §25.07, even if the other person made the call. A longer civil protective order, up to two years and sometimes more, can follow through the family courts.

Then there is the enhancement. A first family violence assault is a Class A misdemeanor, but a prior family violence conviction, an allegation of choking or impeding breath, or two incidents inside twelve months makes it a third-degree felony with two to ten years of exposure. Whatever the charge level, an affirmative finding of family violence under Article 42.013 follows a conviction or a deferred adjudication: a federal firearm ban, a record that cannot be sealed, and a felony the next time anyone makes an allegation. The defense is built on the same evidence the State fixed in the first days. Partner Douglas Huff is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist with digital forensics training, and managing partner Deandra Grant is a former prosecutor with more than 30 years of trial experience who has taught evidence CLEs for the Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; the Fort Worth domestic violence lawyer on your case treats the finding, not just the charge, as the fight. Physical evidence, from DNA swabs to toxicology, is tested at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s crime laboratory, and we read the bench notes rather than the summary. Our Texas domestic violence guide covers the statute; this page covers how it plays out in Fort Worth, ten minutes from our Airport Freeway office.

We defend family violence cases from every corner of Tarrant County: Fort Worth itself plus Arlington, Hurst, Euless, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Grapevine, Southlake, Keller, Colleyville, Mansfield, Haltom City, and Watauga. Wherever the call came from, a family violence arrest is booked and magistrated at the Tarrant County Corrections Center, the emergency protective order is decided there, and the case is filed by the family violence unit and set at Tim Curry, a building we work in every week.

Every charge we defend here has its own walkthrough: Fort Worth Criminal Defense Lawyer, Fort Worth DWI Lawyer, Fort Worth Assault Lawyer, Fort Worth Drug Crimes Lawyer, and Fort Worth Sex Crimes Lawyer. The courthouse, the jail, and the bond process are covered in our Tarrant County court guide.

Downtown, the Near Southside, and the Stockyards

Fort Worth Police answer the call, the arrest books at the Corrections Center at 100 N. Lamar Street, and the case is filed with the family violence unit a block away at Tim Curry. Our office is about ten minutes east on Airport Freeway.

Arlington

Arlington police book arrests at the city jail before the case is filed with the Tarrant County DA, and the entertainment district around AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field produces a steady run of assault and family violence calls. Every one of those cases is heard at Tim Curry, about 25 minutes from our office.

Euless, Hurst, and Bedford

The Mid-Cities anchor the Airport Freeway corridor about fifteen minutes east of our office, and each city jail holds an arrestee before the county transfer. Family violence cases from the HEB cities are filed with the Tarrant County DA and heard at Tim Curry.

North Richland Hills, Haltom City, and Watauga

The Northeast Tarrant cities each run their own police department and file family violence cases with the Tarrant County DA. The protective order is decided at magistration in the same way, and our office is about fifteen minutes away.

Grapevine, Southlake, and Colleyville

Grapevine sits beside DFW Airport, Southlake runs its police and fire services as a single Department of Public Safety, and Colleyville is a small city with active patrols. The municipal courts in all three keep only Class C tickets; a family violence arrest is a Tarrant County case heard downtown, 20 to 25 minutes from our office.

Keller

Keller’s municipal court keeps only Class C tickets, so a Keller family violence arrest is filed in Tarrant County and heard at Tim Curry. Our office is about 20 minutes away.

Mansfield

Mansfield straddles Tarrant, Johnson, and Ellis counties, and the county line decides the courthouse: a Tarrant-side arrest goes to Tim Curry, a Johnson-side arrest to the Guinn Justice Center in Cleburne. The address on the offense report settles it, and our Johnson County court guide covers Cleburne.

Burleson

Most of Burleson lies in Johnson County, so most Burleson family violence cases are heard in Cleburne rather than Fort Worth; only the northern, Tarrant County side of the city goes to Tim Curry. The Tarrant County court guide covers the building, the bond process, and what to expect at the first setting.