This page was written, edited, reviewed & approved by Brian LaVine following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. Brian LaVine the Founding Partner, 10+ years of legal experience as criminal defense attorney.
Key Takeaways
A criminal defense lawyer starts protecting you the moment you are accused of domestic violence, often before prosecutors decide what to file. Within hours of an arrest, a magistrate can restrict where you live, who you speak to, and whether you may possess a firearm. Those restrictions arrive before anyone tests a single piece of evidence against you.
At LaVine Law Firm, we defend people facing family violence allegations throughout Houston and Harris County. Our attorneys treat the accusation itself as the problem to attack, not just the eventual charge. Call our team to find out what it means for your rights, your home, and your record.
Most people arrested for family violence expect to see the words domestic violence on their paperwork. They rarely do. Texas splits the concept across two different codes, and understanding that split shapes every defense decision that follows.
The Texas Family Code defines family violence as an act by a family or household member intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault. A threat that places someone in fear of imminent harm also qualifies. That definition reaches spouses, former spouses, parents of the same child, roommates, and dating partners.
One phrase in the statute matters enormously to the defense. It expressly excludes defensive measures taken to protect oneself. When our client was the one being attacked, that language starts the case.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01, assault means intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person. It also covers threatening someone with imminent bodily injury or making offensive physical contact. Family violence functions as an allegation attached to that charge rather than a separate crime.
That structure creates two fights instead of one. We challenge whether the State can prove the assault, and separately whether the relationship and conduct meet the family violence definition.
The period right after an arrest does more damage than most people expect. A magistrate may make these decisions very early in the case, often based on information gathered during the initial arrest and investigation.
Under Article 17.292 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a magistrate may issue an emergency protection order after a family violence arrest. The order becomes mandatory when the arrest involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon. Current law generally keeps these orders in effect for 61 to 91 days, or 91 to 121 days when the arrest involves the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon during an assault.
An emergency protection order can impose several restrictions immediately:
Violating any of those conditions can create a new criminal charge on top of the original allegation, so we review the order line by line with every client.
Defense work in a family violence case is not a single courtroom performance. It is a sequence of interventions, and each one closes off a way the case could worsen.
Our attorneys act at several distinct stages:
Each stage produces leverage that the next one uses. A single inconsistency between the 911 recording and the offense report can reshape what a prosecutor offers months later.
If you have been arrested or contacted by a detective about a family violence allegation, call us at 713-965-7305 before you give any statement.
Family violence cases are usually built on a fast investigation and a single narrative. Officers respond to a chaotic scene, take a short statement, and make an arrest. Our work is to test what that narrative skipped.
Chapter 9 of the Texas Penal Code permits a person to use force when they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect themselves against another's unlawful force. The same chapter covers defending a third person. Self-defense can be especially important when both parties used force or when the initial account does not clearly show who initiated the confrontation.
We look for injuries on our client, damaged property, and the sequence of events in the recording. Physical evidence often tells a different story than the offense report.
Accusations sometimes arise during custody disputes, divorce filings, or arguments over property. Our team compares every version of the account: The one given to dispatch, the one given at the scene, and the one given later to prosecutors.
Timing matters too. When an allegation surfaces days after an incident or immediately after a family court filing, we build that context into the record.
A withdrawn statement does not automatically end a case, and prosecutors often continue anyway. What the change does create is a proof problem for the State.
We identify what evidence remains admissible without that testimony. Our attorneys then press the prosecutor directly on whether the case survives.
The charge level turns on details that have nothing to do with how serious the incident felt at the time. Prior history and a specific manner of contact can move the same conduct from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Assault causing bodily injury to a family or household member is generally a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000 under Section 12.21. Section 22.01 elevates that to a third-degree felony in two situations: When the person has a prior family violence conviction, or when the act involves impeding normal breathing or blood circulation.
A third-degree felony carries 2 to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000 under Section 12.34. We scrutinize how the alleged contact is described, because a single phrase in an offense report can drive that enhancement.
Section 25.11 creates a third-degree felony when a person commits two or more qualifying assaults against family or household members within a 12-month period. Neither incident needs to have resulted in a conviction. Our attorneys examine whether the alleged prior incident satisfies the statute before conceding anything.
Many people accused of family violence want the case gone and accept the first offer that avoids jail. That instinct carries a cost no one explains at the courthouse.
If the court determines that a qualifying offense involved family violence, Texas law can require an affirmative family-violence finding. That finding can have long-term consequences for record relief, future enhancements, and firearm rights.
Under Government Code Section 411.074, an offense involving family violence makes a person ineligible for an order of nondisclosure, so the record stays visible to employers, landlords, and licensing boards. Penal Code Section 46.04 bars firearm possession for five years after release from confinement or supervision, and federal restrictions can reach further. Negotiating around that finding is among the most valuable work we do.
The hours after an accusation are when people damage their own cases without realizing it. A few habits protect you while our team at LaVine Law Firm goes to work.
Say nothing about the incident to officers, detectives, or the other person involved. Do not text an apology or ask a friend to pass along a message, because both create evidence and can violate a court order. Preserve what you have instead: Photographs of injuries, damaged property, message threads, and the names of anyone who witnessed the argument.
It can. A magistrate may order you to stay away from a shared residence even when the lease or deed is in your name, so we move quickly to seek modification.
Not while a protective order or no-contact bond condition is in place. Contact through a friend or family member counts as a violation and can result in a separate charge.
For most consequences that matter, yes. Deferred adjudication still triggers an affirmative finding of family violence, which blocks nondisclosure and affects your firearm rights.
Yes. A magistrate's emergency protection order can suspend a handgun license and bar possession while the order remains in effect, regardless of the eventual outcome.
The first setting is usually brief and administrative. We use it to obtain the State's file, review bond conditions, and begin discussing the case with the assigned prosecutor.
If a magistrate has already put an emergency protection order between you and your own home, you know how fast a family violence allegation reorders your life. That speed is why the response has to start now.
LaVine Law Firm defends people accused of domestic violence across Houston, Harris County, and the surrounding communities. Brian LaVine, Phil Stephenson, and Paul Meawad handle assault and family violence cases from the investigation stage through trial. We push back on bond conditions, protective orders, and the family violence finding that prosecutors treat as routine.
Our team will review the offense report, the recordings, and the conditions imposed on you, then explain the options available in your case. A free case evaluation costs nothing and gives you a clear picture of what you are facing.
Call us at 713-965-7305 or reach us through our contact page to speak with a Houston criminal defense attorney about your case.
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