Domestic Violence Lawyer in Downtown Dallas: What a Family Violence Charge Really Means in Texas

Few charges move faster or carry heavier hidden consequences than an accusation of family violence in Dallas County. An argument at home can end with one person in handcuffs the same night, an emergency protective order barring them from their own house by morning, and a case in which the accused — often to their shock — discovers that the other person cannot simply “drop the charges.” A domestic violence defense lawyer at The Piri Law Firm, based at our Downtown Dallas office at 2001 Ross Ave, Suite 700, defends these cases at the Frank Crowley Courts Building and answers the phone 24/7, because these arrests almost never happen during business hours.

How Texas Defines Family Violence

Texas doesn’t have a single crime called “domestic violence.” Instead, an ordinary assault charge under Texas Penal Code § 22.01 becomes a family violence case when the alleged victim is a family member, household member, or someone in a current or past dating relationship, as defined by Chapter 71 of the Texas Family Code. That designation matters enormously, because it triggers enhancements, protective orders, firearm consequences, and a permanent mark that ordinary assault does not.

The baseline charges look like this:

• Assault causing bodily injury (family violence) — Class A misdemeanor: up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. “Bodily injury” means any physical pain, however slight — a grab that leaves a red mark can qualify.
• Assault by impeding breath or circulation (“choking”) — automatically a third-degree felony (2–10 years), even for a first offense, based on the allegation alone.
• Assault family violence with a prior conviction — a second accusation after any prior family violence conviction is a third-degree felony.
• Continuous violence against the family — two or more alleged assaults within 12 months, a third-degree felony, even if neither incident was individually prosecuted.
• Aggravated assault — involving serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony (2–20 years).

The Consequences Nobody Mentions at Arrest

The jail exposure is only part of the picture. A family violence finding carries collateral consequences that outlast any sentence:

Firearms. Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence imposes a lifetime federal firearms prohibition. For anyone who hunts, works in security, or serves in the military or law enforcement, this alone can end a career.

A record that can’t be sealed.Texas law bars orders of nondisclosure for offenses with an affirmative finding of family violence. Even a plea to a “small” misdemeanor with a family violence finding follows you permanently on background checks — one of the biggest traps for people who plead quickly just to go home.

Family court fallout. A family violence finding rebuts the presumption of joint managing conservatorship in Texas custody law and can restrict your possession of your own children. If a divorce or custody case is pending or likely, the criminal case and the family case must be defended as one strategy — something our child custody and contested divorce teams coordinate directly with the defense.

Immigration. For non-citizens, a crime of domestic violence, stalking, or violation of a protective order is a specific ground of deportability under federal immigration law. A plea that a citizen might absorb can be removal for a green card holder. The Piri Law Firm’s crimmigration practiceevaluates every plea offer against your immigration file before you accept anything.

Employment, housing, and licenses.Landlords, employers, and professional licensing boards treat family violence findings severely.

Protective Orders: The Case Within the Case

Most Dallas County family violence arrests generate an immediate Magistrate’s Order of Emergency Protection, which can bar you from your home and contact with the complainant for 31 to 91 days — entered at magistration, often before you’ve spoken to a lawyer. Separately, the complainant or the Dallas County District Attorney can seek a longer civil protective order, typically lasting up to two years.

Three things to understand. First, violating any protective order is a new crime, and repeated violations become a felony — a text message, a drive past the house, or a “she invited me over” visit can generate a fresh arrest even if the complainant initiated contact. Second, the protective order hearing is a civil proceeding where you can be questioned under oath while the criminal case is pending, so it must be handled with the Fifth Amendment in mind. Third, these orders can be modified — we routinely seek changes that allow child exchanges or a return home when the facts support it.

If you are experiencing violence yourself and need protection, the Texas Attorney General’s protective order resources and TexasLawHelp.org explain the application process, and we represent applicants as well as respondents.

“The Victim Wants to Drop the Charges” — Why That Isn’t How It Works

The most common call we receive: the complainant has recanted, the couple has reconciled, and everyone assumes the case will disappear. It won’t — at least not automatically. In Texas, the State of Texas is the prosecuting party, and the Dallas County DA’s office has a dedicated family violence division that routinely prosecutes cases over a complainant’s objection, using 911 recordings, body camera footage, photographs, medical records, and excited-utterance statements made at the scene.

A recanting or non-cooperative witness changes the evidentiary landscape, and an affidavit of non-prosecution can matter — but it must be handled by counsel, never by the accused contacting the complainant, which can itself violate bond conditions or a protective order and generate new charges of witness tampering. Done correctly, through your lawyer, the complainant’s position becomes one piece of a broader dismissal or reduction strategy.

How These Cases Are Defended

Family violence cases are more defensible than most people believe on the night of arrest, because they usually rest on a single account, given in a moment of crisis, with no independent witnesses:

• Self-defense and mutual combat.Texas law permits reasonable force to protect yourself. Officers responding to a chaotic scene often arrest the larger party or the one with fewer visible marks — which is not the same thing as identifying the aggressor.
• False and exaggerated allegations.Pending divorces, custody disputes, and immigration motives (protective orders and victim cooperation can support certain immigration benefits) create documented incentives to accuse. We investigate the context, not just the offense report.
• Inconsistent statements. The 911 call, the scene statement, the written affidavit, and later testimony frequently conflict — and every conflict is reasonable doubt.
• Injury evidence. Photographs and medical records sometimes contradict the described mechanism of injury; defense experts can testify to that.
• Constitutional issues. Warrantless home entries, un-Mirandized statements, and incomplete recordings are all litigated.

Outcomes range from dismissal and acquittal to reductions that avoid the family violence finding — often the single most important objective, given the permanent consequences described above. Where a negotiated resolution makes sense, structuring it to protect firearms rights, immigration status, and record-sealing eligibility is where experienced counsel earns its fee. Our criminal defense attorneypage and criminal defense FAQs cover the broader process.

What to Do Right Now

1. Say nothing about the incident to police, jail staff, or anyone but your lawyer — jail calls are recorded.
2. Obey every bond condition and protective order to the letter, even if the complainant reaches out first.
3. Preserve evidence: texts, call logs, photos of your own injuries, names of witnesses.
4. Do not contact the complainant directly or through friends or family.
5. Get counsel before the first court setting — early intervention with the DA’s office, before the case hardens, is when charges get reduced or declined.

Why The Piri Law Firm

Michael Piri is a Texas attorney practicing Criminal Defense, Family Law, Personal Injury, and Immigration — verify his licensure on his State Bar of Texas profile. He earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and is fluent in Spanish and French, and the firm defends the criminal case while protecting the custody, divorce, and immigration issues that travel with it. Free 30-minute consultations, payment plans, 24/7 availability. Visit our Downtown Dallas office page for directions and read client reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the victim drop domestic violence charges in Texas?
No. Only the district attorney can dismiss a case. A complainant’s affidavit of non-prosecution is considered but not controlling, and Dallas County routinely prosecutes without the complainant’s cooperation.

Is a first domestic violence charge a felony in Texas?
Usually it’s a Class A misdemeanor — but an allegation of choking (impeding breath) makes even a first offense a third-degree felony, and a prior family violence conviction enhances any new charge to a felony.

Will I lose my gun rights?
A conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a lifetime federal firearms prohibition. Avoiding a qualifying conviction is often the central goal of the defense.

Can a family violence case be sealed later?
Not if it ends in a conviction or deferred adjudication with an affirmative family violence finding — Texas bars nondisclosure for those. A dismissal followed by expunction is the clean outcome, which is why the finding is worth fighting.

I was arrested but I was actually the one attacked. What now?
That happens frequently. Document your injuries immediately, identify witnesses, and tell your lawyer — not the police — the full story. Self-defense is a complete defense, and wrongful-arrest dynamics are common in chaotic scenes.

The Piri Law Firm — Downtown Dallas Office
2001 Ross Ave, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75201 · (833) 600-0029 · Free 30-minute consultation, 24/7 · Nosotros hablamos español
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This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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