Domestic Violence assault can include the following crimes:
Assault Bodily Injury - Family Member
• The State of Texas must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally or knowingly contacted the alleged victim in a manner that caused “pain.” Technically, proof of injury is not required in order to prove this charge but failure to provide proof of an injury makes the State’s case much more difficult to prove and may provide more leverage for your criminal defense attorney in negotiations.
• Assault Bodily Injury - Family Member is a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in the county jail and up to a $4,000 fine.
Assault Impeding Breath - Family Member
• The State of Texas must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally or knowingly contacted the alleged victim in a manner that impeded the circulation of breath. Many people refer to this crime as Assault-choking. It is important to remember that if the State of Texas cannot prove that the alleged victim was unable to breathe as a result of the contact, this charge will not be supported in court.
• Assault Impeding Breath is a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
Continuous Family Violence
• The State of Texas must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intentionally or knowingly assaulted the alleged victim 2 or more times in a 12 month period. Failure to prove both assault allegations will result in the charge being dropped to the lesser charge of Class A Misdemeanor Assault Bodily Injury - Family Member.
• Continuous Family Violence is a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
I Didn’t Commit Domestic Violence
This is a common phrase we hear from clients regarding their domestic violence cases. Although we completely believe our clients, it is important to remember the two scenarios in which telling the court “I didn’t do it” can be a valid defense: either the victim has made a mistake, or someone’s deliberately making false accusations.
Defense of Mistake
Generally, a victim of domestic violence is fully aware of who has committed the crime against them. However, there are some situations where a victim has made a mistake.
Perhaps the most common example of the defense of mistake is the situation where the family member victim was extremely upset, not thinking clearly and gave information to the police officer that may not fairly represent what took place. It is human nature for us to perceive things in an exaggerated manner when we are upset and controlled by our emotions. After all, how many of us have said things in our life that someone misunderstood us? How many of us have said things in anger or fear or sadness that we later regretted and wanted to take back? All of us!! Although the alleged victim was not intentionally giving unclear information, the mistaken information can be relied upon by the State of Texas to seek a conviction for a domestic violence charge.
What can be done if your case is based upon mistaken evidence? If the alleged victim family member is willing to come forward and reveal that he or she was not thinking clearly at the time and want to clarify what took place now that they are calm and thinking clearly, they can provide this information through an affidavit of non-prosecution.
An Affidavit of Non-Prosecution is a form that allows the alleged victim in a case to provide evidence to the State of Texas. It is a valid piece of evidence and is just as usable in court as a police report or video. If the alleged victim is eager to provide this information, they should contact your criminal defense attorney to prepare the affidavit so that it can be used in your defense.
If your domestic violence case is a felony, the affidavit could be presented as a packet of evidence to the grand jury. The grand jury can review this new evidence and weigh it against the other evidence and possibly lower your charge to a lesser misdemeanor domestic violence charge or conclude that there is insufficient evidence to substantiate the charges and No Bill your case. A No Bill is the equivalent of your domestic violence case being dismissed. This would allow you the ability to have your case expunged from your record after the expiration of the statute of limitations.
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0:00 Introduction
0:06 HOW TO DEFEND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CHARGES IN TEXAS
2:03 TYPES OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
2:12 ASSAULT BY CONTACT FAMILY MEMBER
3:16 ASSAULT BODILY INJURY FAMILY MEMBER
4:31 ASSAULT IMPEDING BREATH OF A FAMILY MEMBER
5:29 CONTINUOUS FAMILY VIOLENCE
6:25 AGGRAVATED ASSAULT OF A FAMILY MEMBER
9:33 AFFIDAVIT OF NON-PROSECUTION
13:23 DIVERSION PROGRAMS
13:45 DEFENSE SELF DEFENSE