CRIMINAL DEFENSE LIBRARY
Articles examining assault charges, family violence allegations, self-defense legal principles, protective orders, and related Texas criminal-defense issues.
An Assault Family Violence accusation can involve much more than the immediate allegation. The relationship between the parties, bodily-injury evidence, 911 call, body-camera footage, self-defense, later statements, family-violence findings, and collateral consequences may all matter.
READ ARTICLEAggravated assault allegations may involve serious bodily injury, use or exhibition of a deadly weapon, or both. The medical evidence, alleged weapon, witness accounts, physical evidence, and self-defense issues should be analyzed separately rather than reduced to the label in the charging document.
READ ARTICLETexas law distinguishes bodily injury from serious bodily injury. Medical records, risk of death, permanent disfigurement, duration of impairment, loss of bodily function, treatment, and recovery can determine whether an injury satisfies the more serious legal standard.
READ ARTICLEA Texas deadly-weapon allegation is not limited to guns and knives. The object, manner of use or intended use, capability of causing death or serious bodily injury, witness accounts, physical evidence, and circumstances of the confrontation may all matter.
READ ARTICLETexas family-violence cases involving alleged strangulation or choking require careful attention to what conduct actually occurred, whether normal breathing or blood circulation was impeded, the medical evidence, photographs, 911 call, body-camera footage, and changes in the witness's account.
READ ARTICLEContinuous Violence Against the Family can combine multiple qualifying assault allegations occurring within a statutory period into one felony prosecution. Each alleged incident, relationship, injury, date, witness account, photograph, communication, and defense should be examined individually.
READ ARTICLETexas law recognizes self-defense when statutory requirements are satisfied. Who initiated the force, what the accused reasonably perceived, the degree of responsive force, injuries, weapons, 911 recordings, body-camera footage, and the sequence of events may all become critical.
READ ARTICLEA complainant's recantation or request to drop charges does not automatically end a Texas family-violence prosecution. The original statements, 911 call, body-camera footage, physical evidence, witness availability, hearsay rules, and Confrontation Clause may determine what evidence the State can actually use.
READ ARTICLE911 recordings and police body cameras can preserve witness statements, injuries, the scene, statements by the accused, and evidence of self-defense. But what a recording contains and what a jury may legally hear are separate questions involving evidence law and, in some cases, the Confrontation Clause.
READ ARTICLEA family-violence case can create consequences beyond the immediate sentence. Future felony exposure, firearm restrictions, protective orders, employment, licensing, immigration concerns, record-sealing eligibility, and other collateral effects should be considered before resolving the case.
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