San Marcos Harassment & Stalking Lawyer

Harassment and stalking charges in Texas carry consequences that reach far beyond a courtroom. A conviction can affect where you live, where you work, your custody rights, and your ability to move through life without a criminal record defining you. Whether you received a call from law enforcement, were served with a protective order, or have already been arrested, the decisions made in the early hours and days of your case shape everything that follows. A San Marcos harassment and stalking lawyer who knows how these charges are built, where they tend to fall apart, and how Hays County courts handle them can make an enormous difference in how this resolves.

Texas law defines stalking and harassment more broadly than most people expect. Conduct that seems minor in isolation, a text message, a drive past someone’s house, showing up at a workplace, can be woven together by prosecutors into a pattern that supports felony-level charges. And because these cases are often rooted in personal relationships, the evidence landscape is almost always complicated. Competing narratives, disputed communications, and emotionally charged accusations require a defense that is both methodical and strategically sound.

At The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway, we represent people facing these charges across San Marcos, Hays County, and throughout Central Texas. We understand how local prosecutors approach harassment and stalking cases, and we know how to challenge the evidence, the legal sufficiency of the charges, and the protective orders that frequently accompany them.

What Texas Law Actually Says About Harassment and Stalking

These two offenses are distinct in Texas, though they often get charged together or confused with one another. Understanding the difference matters, both for grasping what the prosecution is trying to prove and for identifying where your defense has the most traction.

Harassment under the Texas Penal Code involves intentional conduct meant to annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass another person through a specific set of behaviors: phone calls, electronic communications, threats, and similar contact. The statute covers both direct and indirect forms of communication. A first-time harassment charge is typically a Class B misdemeanor, but prior convictions or harassment targeting a child can elevate it to a Class A misdemeanor. Electronic harassment, including communications made through social media or messaging platforms, falls squarely within the statute’s reach.

Stalking is a more serious charge. Texas law defines stalking as a pattern of conduct that the actor knows, or reasonably should know, would cause a reasonable person to feel fear, to feel harassed, or to feel that bodily injury or death was threatened. A single incident is not enough. Prosecutors must establish that the conduct was repeated and that it meets the statutory standard for what a reasonable person would find threatening. A first stalking offense is a third-degree felony. If the defendant has a prior stalking conviction, the charge escalates to a second-degree felony, which carries substantially heavier penalties.

Because stalking requires proof of a pattern, cases often hinge on how the prosecution characterizes a series of events. The defense frequently has room to contest whether individual incidents actually occurred, whether the conduct was threatening in the legally required sense, or whether the defendant’s intent has been mischaracterized.

Common Charges and Situations Handled by a San Marcos Stalking Attorney

• Electronic harassment and cyberstalking: Texas law explicitly covers harassment conducted through electronic communications, including repeated text messages, emails, and social media contact. These cases often involve disputed digital records where context and metadata matter.
• Harassment arising from relationship disputes: Many harassment charges follow the breakdown of a romantic relationship, a divorce proceeding, or a custody dispute. The line between persistent communication and criminal harassment can be genuinely contested, and defense strategy must account for the relational history.
• Stalking charges based on a course of conduct: Prosecutors build stalking cases from a series of incidents, each of which may appear minor on its own. Defense work often involves challenging whether the pattern meets the statutory definition or whether the defendant’s conduct was actually threatening under the reasonable person standard.
• False or exaggerated accusations: In contentious divorces, custody battles, or workplace disputes, harassment allegations are sometimes filed with a motive other than protection. A thorough investigation that examines communications, witness accounts, and the accuser’s own conduct can expose those inconsistencies.
• Protective order violations: A temporary or permanent protective order connected to a harassment or stalking allegation creates additional criminal exposure. Even an inadvertent contact can result in a separate charge, and those charges are taken seriously by Hays County courts.
• Felony stalking with prior history: A prior stalking conviction, even from another jurisdiction, elevates any new charge to a second-degree felony in Texas. These cases require particularly aggressive pre-trial work because the consequences of conviction are severe.
• Harassment in the workplace or on a university campus: Texas State University’s large student population in San Marcos means that campus-related harassment allegations sometimes intersect with both the criminal justice system and university disciplinary proceedings. Managing both tracks simultaneously requires careful coordination.

If You Have Been Accused: What Happens Next and What You Should Do

Harassment and stalking cases in Hays County proceed through the Hays County District Courts and Justice Courts, depending on the severity of the charge. Misdemeanor harassment cases are handled at the justice of the peace or county court level. Felony stalking charges move through the 22nd District Court or the 207th District Court in San Marcos, both located at the Hays County Courthouse on Guadalupe Street. Knowing which court your case will land in matters, because different courts have different procedural rhythms and different prosecutors assigned to them.

One of the first things that tends to happen in these cases, often before any criminal charge is formally filed, is the entry of a protective order. The complainant may seek a temporary protective order from the Hays County District Court, which a judge can grant ex parte, meaning without you present. That order can restrict where you go, who you contact, and where you live. Violating it creates immediate new criminal liability. If you have been served with a protective order, treating it with absolute seriousness is essential. Your attorney can challenge the order, request a hearing, and present evidence on your behalf at that hearing.

Preserve everything. Do not delete any messages, emails, or social media communications between you and the complainant, even if those communications seem harmful to you. Your attorney needs to see the complete record, and destroying potential evidence creates its own serious legal problems. If there are witnesses who can speak to the nature of your relationship with the complainant or who observed the interactions in question, write down their names and contact information now, before memories fade.

Do not attempt to contact the complainant directly to explain yourself or work things out. This is one of the most common and damaging mistakes people make in harassment cases. Even well-intentioned contact gets used as additional evidence of the alleged conduct. If there is an existing protective order, any contact is a crime. Communicate exclusively through your attorney.

If law enforcement contacts you for questioning, you have the right to decline to answer questions until you have spoken with a lawyer. Statements made during informal police interviews frequently appear in criminal complaints later. Politely decline to discuss the case and contact our office immediately.

How Defense Strategy Is Built in Harassment and Stalking Cases

No two of these cases look the same. The defense approach depends on what the prosecution actually has, how the conduct at issue is characterized, and what the client’s specific circumstances are.

In some cases, the most productive strategy is attacking the legal sufficiency of the charges. For stalking, the prosecution must prove a pattern of conduct, not a single incident. If the alleged incidents are too isolated, too ambiguous, or too far apart to constitute a genuine course of conduct under the statute, that argument can support a motion to dismiss or a directed verdict at trial.

In other cases, the focus is on the communications themselves. Text messages and social media records are frequently misread out of context. The defense has the right to examine the full exchange, not just the fragments the prosecution selects. Often, the complete record tells a different story than the excerpts in the complaint.

The intent element also creates real defense opportunities. Texas law requires that harassment be intentional. Conduct that was misunderstood, that arose from a genuine emergency, or that a reasonable observer would not have found threatening is worth contesting on those grounds. Witness testimony, character evidence, and the surrounding circumstances all factor into that analysis.

When the allegations arise from a divorce or custody dispute, coordination with any concurrent family law proceedings is critical. What happens in the criminal case can affect what happens in the family court, and vice versa. Our office handles criminal defense across these intersecting situations and works to protect clients from consequences that cut across multiple legal fronts.

Answers to Questions About Harassment and Stalking Charges in Texas

What is the difference between harassment and stalking under Texas law?

Harassment covers specific types of intentional contact meant to annoy, alarm, or threaten, including phone calls and electronic communications. Stalking involves a repeated pattern of conduct that the actor knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to feel fear or face threats of harm. Stalking is a felony. Harassment is typically a misdemeanor unless certain aggravating factors apply.

Can I be charged with stalking for sending text messages?

Yes. Electronic communications, including texts, emails, and social media messages, are explicitly covered under Texas stalking and harassment statutes. Whether a series of messages constitutes stalking depends on whether the communications form a pattern and whether the content meets the legal definition of threatening or harassing conduct.

What is a temporary protective order and how do I respond to one?

A temporary protective order (TPO) in Texas is issued by a district court, often without the restrained party present. It typically restricts contact with the complainant and may require you to leave a shared residence. You have the right to a full hearing, usually scheduled within two weeks, at which you can present evidence and contest the order. Missing that hearing without legal representation is a serious mistake.

If the alleged victim does not want to press charges, will the case be dropped?

Not automatically. In Texas, the decision to proceed with criminal charges belongs to the prosecutor, not the complaining witness. Prosecutors in harassment and stalking cases sometimes proceed even over the complainant’s objection, particularly if there is independent evidence. An attorney can communicate with the prosecution about the complainant’s position, but the outcome is not guaranteed.

What are the penalties for a first stalking conviction in Texas?

A first stalking offense is a third-degree felony in Texas, which carries a potential prison term and significant fines. A second stalking conviction is a second-degree felony with more severe sentencing exposure. Collateral consequences, including effects on employment, professional licenses, and child custody, add to the stakes of any felony conviction in this category.

Can a harassment or stalking conviction affect a professional license in Texas?

Yes. Many Texas licensing boards, including those governing healthcare, education, law, and financial services, consider criminal convictions during licensure reviews and renewal decisions. A felony stalking conviction is particularly likely to trigger scrutiny or adverse action. Addressing the criminal case strategically from the beginning is the most effective way to protect professional licensing interests.

How do harassment charges interact with a pending divorce or custody case in Hays County?

The interaction is significant. A protective order entered in a harassment case can directly affect custody arrangements and visitation rights in a concurrent family law case. Conversely, statements made in family court proceedings can sometimes surface in the criminal case. Anyone managing both a criminal harassment matter and a family law case simultaneously should have defense counsel who understands both systems.

Texas State University is in San Marcos. Can a campus conduct investigation affect my criminal case?

Campus conduct proceedings and criminal cases are legally separate, but information produced in one can sometimes affect the other. University disciplinary hearings for harassment or stalking conduct do not carry the same procedural protections as criminal proceedings. What you say in a campus hearing is not automatically protected. Anyone facing both a university investigation and potential criminal charges should consult with a defense attorney before participating in either process.

What happens if I accidentally violate a protective order I did not know had been modified?

Protective order violations in Texas are treated seriously regardless of whether the contact was accidental. A violation can result in a separate criminal charge, and courts are generally not sympathetic to claims of ignorance. If your protective order has been modified and you are unsure of its current terms, your attorney should be reviewing it with you. Do not assume you know the order’s current scope without verifying it.

Is it possible to get a harassment charge expunged from my record in Texas?

Expunction eligibility in Texas depends on the outcome of the case. If a harassment charge was dismissed, resulted in acquittal, or was the subject of a deferred adjudication that has been fully discharged, there may be a path to expunction or to a petition for nondisclosure, which seals the record from most public access. The specific facts of the case and the charge level matter. This is worth discussing with your attorney as part of overall case strategy, not just at the end of the process.

Harassment and Stalking Defense Representation Across Central Texas

The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway defends clients facing harassment and stalking charges throughout the Central Texas region. In Hays County, we represent people in San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, and the communities along the I-35 corridor. Our work extends north through Austin and Round Rock and south through New Braunfels and into the greater San Antonio area. East of the interstate, we handle cases in Seguin, Schertz, Cibolo, and Lockhart in Guadalupe and Caldwell Counties. Our Fredericksburg office serves clients across the Hill Country, including Kerr County and the surrounding communities, and our Brenham office covers Washington County and the surrounding region. We also represent clients in Llano and the Highland Lakes area. Whether the underlying conduct occurred in a neighborhood near Texas State University in San Marcos, in a rural Hays County community, or across county lines in Comal, Caldwell, or Guadalupe County, our firm provides the same focused, detail-driven defense.

Speak With a San Marcos Harassment and Stalking Attorney Today

David Hardaway and his team have built a reputation in Central Texas for straight answers, genuine attention to each client’s situation, and the kind of thorough preparation that actually moves cases forward. Clients have described being able to reach David when they needed him, receiving honest guidance rather than vague reassurances, and seeing real results in complex cases. Those qualities matter when you are facing charges that carry criminal consequences and deeply personal ones.

Reach out to a San Marcos harassment and stalking attorney at The Law Offices of David C. Hardaway to schedule a confidential consultation. We will review the facts of your situation, explain what you are actually facing, and give you a candid assessment of your options. Call our office to get started.