Austin Family Violence Lawyer

A family violence arrest in Austin changes things immediately. Before you’ve had a chance to speak with anyone, a magistrate has already issued an emergency protective order keeping you away from your home, your children, and your belongings. Your employer may find out. Your phone might be in evidence. The case doesn’t wait for you to catch your breath, and neither does the system that’s now moving against you. Hiring an Austin family violence lawyer isn’t about fighting with your family. It’s about making sure the government has to prove what it’s alleging before it takes everything from you.

Texas treats family violence charges differently from other assault cases. There’s a separate statutory framework, enhanced penalties for repeat findings, and collateral consequences that follow a conviction well beyond any jail time. A conviction, or even a deferred adjudication, can affect your ability to own a firearm, qualify for certain jobs, maintain a security clearance, and play an active role in your children’s lives during any pending custody proceedings. The criminal case and the family court case can run simultaneously, feeding each other in ways that make both harder to resolve.

At The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway, we represent people charged with family violence offenses across Travis County and throughout Central Texas. We understand how these cases are prosecuted, how protective orders work in practice, and what it takes to challenge the evidence before a charge becomes a conviction that follows you permanently.

What Family Violence Charges in Austin Actually Look Like

Most people imagine family violence cases involve dramatic incidents with obvious physical injuries. In practice, many Austin family violence arrests stem from neighbor calls, disputes where no one was hurt, or situations where accounts conflict sharply. Police in Travis County are required by law to make an arrest when they respond to a domestic disturbance call and find probable cause, regardless of whether the alleged victim wants to press charges. That means the state becomes the complainant, and the alleged victim has no power to simply drop the case.

Prosecutors in Travis County handle family violence cases through a dedicated unit. They are trained to pursue these cases even when the alleged victim recants, refuses to cooperate, or actively wants the charges dismissed. Prosecutors will use 911 recordings, responding officer testimony, photographs, and prior call history to build a case without the alleged victim on the stand. Understanding that dynamic from the start shapes how your defense needs to be built.

An Austin family violence attorney who handles these cases regularly will know which arguments resonate in the Travis County courts, how local prosecutors typically evaluate evidence, and where the legitimate weaknesses in these cases tend to appear. That local knowledge matters as much as knowledge of the law itself.

Common Family Violence Charges and the Texas Laws Behind Them

• Class A Misdemeanor Assault – Family Violence: The most common charge, covering intentional, knowing, or reckless bodily injury to a family or household member or dating partner under Texas Penal Code. Carries up to a year in jail and a fine, but a conviction creates a permanent domestic violence finding that affects firearms rights under federal law.
• Felony Assault with a Previous Conviction: A second family violence assault charge, even if the first was a misdemeanor, elevates the offense to a third-degree felony under Texas’s enhancement statutes. The prior conviction doesn’t have to be from Texas, and it doesn’t have to be recent.
• Aggravated Assault – Family Violence: Charged when serious bodily injury occurred or a deadly weapon was involved. This is a first or second-degree felony depending on circumstances, with prison exposure that can run into decades.
• Continuous Violence Against the Family: A felony charge that requires no prior conviction but alleges two or more acts of family violence within a 12-month period. The two incidents don’t need to involve the same victim. Prosecutors use this charge when they want felony exposure without relying on a prior case.
• Violation of a Protective Order: A separate criminal offense that can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the circumstances. Even technical or indirect contact, such as a message sent through a mutual contact, can form the basis for this charge in Travis County.
• Interference with Emergency Request for Assistance: Charged when someone is alleged to have prevented another person from calling 911 or seeking emergency help. Prosecutors often add this charge alongside assault allegations.
• Strangulation Assault: Impeding someone’s breathing or circulation during a family violence incident is charged as a felony in Texas regardless of whether visible injury occurred. This charge carries serious consequences and is treated with particular severity by prosecutors and juries alike.

What to Do After a Family Violence Arrest in Austin

The first thing to understand is that the emergency protective order issued at the time of your arrest has real teeth. Violating it, even unintentionally, creates a separate criminal offense and gives prosecutors additional ammunition. If you were living in the same home as the protected person, you need to make arrangements immediately and you need to document that you are complying. Do not attempt to work things out informally before speaking with a family violence defense attorney in Austin.

Your case will be set in Travis County, which handles misdemeanor family violence cases through its County Courts at Law and felony cases through the district courts located at the Travis County Courthouse at 1000 Guadalupe Street in downtown Austin. There is also the Civil and Family Courts building that may become relevant if protective order modifications or custody proceedings run alongside your criminal case. Knowing which court is handling your matter and when your first setting is scheduled matters from day one.

Gather everything you can before your first attorney meeting. Text messages, emails, social media exchanges, and voicemails between you and the alleged victim can be critical, particularly if they contradict the allegations or establish that the alleged victim is now recanting or has a motive to fabricate. Witness contact information, security footage if the incident occurred near a camera, and medical records if you were injured are all potentially important. Do not delete anything and do not ask anyone else to delete anything.

Do not make statements to law enforcement without counsel present. This applies even if you believe your account of events is completely exculpatory. Statements made in the hours after an arrest are rarely as helpful as people think they will be, and they can be used in ways you don’t anticipate. The Austin Police Department and Travis County Sheriff’s Office will document everything you say, including casual conversation at the scene.

A common mistake is assuming that the case will go away on its own because the other person doesn’t want to cooperate. In Travis County, the decision to prosecute belongs to the District Attorney or County Attorney, not the alleged victim. Your attorney needs to engage early, evaluate the evidence the state has, and begin building a response before the first court date locks in the prosecution’s narrative.

How the Protective Order Affects Your Life While the Case Is Pending

An emergency protective order issued at arrest typically lasts up to 91 days in Texas, though the protected person or the state can seek a longer-term magistrate’s order through the civil courts. If children are involved and there is a pending divorce or custody case, the family court may issue its own separate orders restricting your access to the children during the pendency of the criminal case. These two proceedings, criminal and civil, can create a situation where your parenting time evaporates before a single fact has been adjudicated.

The protective order also affects where you can live, where you can work if your workplace is near the protected person, and whether you can possess firearms under both Texas and federal law. Federal law prohibits possession of firearms by anyone subject to a qualifying domestic violence protective order, which means your Second Amendment rights are affected the moment the order issues, not just if you’re convicted. This is true even for law enforcement officers and others whose employment depends on being armed.

Challenging or modifying the protective order is possible in some circumstances. An Austin family violence attorney can advise whether there are grounds to seek modification and whether doing so is strategically sound given what’s happening in the criminal case. These decisions have to be made carefully because moves in one proceeding can affect the other.

Questions People Ask About Family Violence Cases in Austin

Can the alleged victim drop the family violence charges against me?

No. In Texas, the decision to pursue or drop criminal charges belongs to the prosecuting authority, which is the Travis County District Attorney’s office for felonies or the County Attorney for misdemeanors. The alleged victim can choose not to cooperate, but prosecutors have tools to proceed without their testimony. A recanting alleged victim does not guarantee dismissal, though it does affect the strength of the prosecution’s case and how your attorney approaches the defense.

Will a family violence conviction stay on my record permanently in Texas?

A family violence conviction in Texas cannot be expunged. It is permanent. Even a deferred adjudication for a family violence offense, which does not result in a conviction, cannot be sealed or expunged in Texas. This makes early intervention and a strong defense critically important. The record consequences here are more severe than for many other types of criminal charges.

What is the difference between a finding of family violence and a conviction?

Texas law allows courts to enter an “affirmative finding of family violence” even when a defendant receives deferred adjudication rather than a conviction. That finding, once made, has many of the same consequences as a conviction: it counts as a prior for enhancement purposes in future cases, it affects firearms rights, and it can be used in family court proceedings. Many people accept deferred adjudication thinking they avoided the worst outcome, without realizing the finding is itself a serious consequence.

How does a family violence charge affect a child custody case in Travis County?

Texas family courts are required to consider any history of family violence when making custody determinations. A criminal charge, even without a conviction, can be used in family court proceedings. A conviction creates a presumption under Texas law against naming the convicted party as sole managing conservator. If your divorce or custody case is running at the same time as your criminal case, decisions made in one forum will directly shape outcomes in the other.

Can I be charged with family violence if no one was physically injured?

Yes. Texas family violence statutes include assault by threat, which requires no physical contact at all. Threatening someone in a way that causes reasonable fear of imminent harm is enough for a charge. Physical contact that is offensive, even without injury, can also satisfy the assault definition. Charges involving strangulation are particularly aggressive because the statute specifically does not require visible injury.

What happens if the protective order was issued against me but I need access to my home?

The protective order may bar you from the home you share with the protected person regardless of whether you own or lease the property. In some cases, a court can authorize a law enforcement escort to retrieve essential belongings, but you cannot simply return on your own. Violating the order to retrieve belongings or to talk things through creates criminal exposure that makes your underlying case significantly harder to resolve.

Does the first-offense nature of my case help me in Travis County?

Prior history is one factor prosecutors consider when evaluating cases, and a first-time arrest with no prior family violence history does affect how the Travis County prosecutors assess the case. However, the county’s dedicated family violence prosecution unit is not lenient simply because someone has no record. The nature of the allegations, the evidence available, and the specific circumstances all matter. A clean record is a factor, not a guarantee of any particular outcome.

Can a family violence charge affect my immigration status?

Yes, seriously. Family violence offenses are classified as crimes involving moral turpitude and as crimes of domestic violence under federal immigration law. A conviction or even a guilty plea can trigger deportability for non-citizens, bar adjustment of status, and create permanent inadmissibility grounds. If you are not a U.S. citizen, immigration consequences must be analyzed before any plea decision is made. This is not a secondary concern; for non-citizens, it is often the most consequential part of the case.

How long does a family violence case typically take to resolve in Travis County?

Misdemeanor cases in Travis County County Courts can resolve in a few months, but contested cases or those with complicated facts can extend longer. Felony cases in the district courts often take six months to a year or more, particularly if pretrial motions are filed, witnesses need to be located, or the case proceeds toward trial. The timeline is also affected by court dockets and whether plea negotiations stall. Your attorney should be able to give you a realistic sense of the timeline once the initial evidence is reviewed.

What if I was defending myself and the other person called the police first?

Self-defense is a legitimate defense to assault charges, including family violence charges. Texas law recognizes the right to use force to protect yourself from another person’s use of unlawful force. However, the person who calls 911 first often controls the initial narrative, and the responding officers will arrest based on probable cause at the scene. Building a self-defense case requires collecting evidence quickly, before it disappears. Witness statements, injury documentation to your own person, and prior incident history can all support this defense when properly developed.

Serving Clients Facing Family Violence Charges Across Austin and Travis County

The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway represents clients facing family violence charges throughout Austin and the surrounding region. Within Austin itself, we work with clients from East Austin, South Congress, Hyde Park, Mueller, Brentwood, Tarrytown, Zilker, and the Domain area, as well as those who live in the surrounding suburbs of Round Rock, Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Leander, Georgetown, and Manor. We also serve clients in Kyle and Buda to the south in Hays County, where our San Marcos office is located, and throughout the communities along the I-35 corridor connecting Austin to San Antonio. Our representation extends into Williamson County to the north and across the other Central Texas counties, including Bastrop, Caldwell, and Burnet, where clients may have cases arising from incidents involving Austin-area residents.

Wherever your case is filed, whether in a Travis County County Court at Law, a Travis County District Court, or in an adjacent jurisdiction, our team will engage directly with the court and prosecution from the outset. We know how these cases are handled in Austin and throughout Central Texas, and that familiarity shapes how we approach every client’s defense.

Talk to an Austin Family Violence Attorney Before Your Next Court Date

The early stages of a family violence case are the most important. Evidence is fresh, protective orders are being set, and prosecutors are building their file. The decisions made in the first days and weeks can define how the rest of the case unfolds. An Austin family violence attorney from The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway will review your situation directly, tell you what you’re facing without softening the reality, and start building a defense that’s matched to the actual facts of your case. Contact our office to schedule a confidential consultation as soon as possible.