Domestic Violence Lawyer Austin, TX

Charged with assault family violence in Travis or Williamson County?

The Law Office of David D. White, PLLC has practiced criminal defense exclusively since 2004 across nine Central Texas counties — Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bell, Burnet, Lee, Coryell, Bastrop, and Caldwell. The firm’s three attorneys work every case as a team. We hold weekly case reviews on every open file, and case notes live in a shared system so any attorney on staff is current. By the first free consultation, the firm has already obtained the Probable Cause Affidavit, read it, and identified the points where the State’s evidence is weakest.

That work is what more than 250 five-star client reviews across Google, Avvo, and other legal review platforms reflect.

Free consultation. Call (512) 369-3737.

What family violence means in Texas

Texas law calls it “family violence.” Under Texas Family Code § 71.004, family violence includes any act intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault — or a threat that places someone in fear of imminent harm — committed by a family member, household member, or dating partner. The relationship category is wide: spouses and former spouses, parents and children, blood relatives, people who share a child, current and former roommates, and anyone in a current or former dating relationship.

The charge itself is most often filed under Texas Penal Code § 22.01 (assault). What makes it different from a regular assault charge is the family violence finding — not a separate crime, but a determination by the court that turns an ordinary assault into a case with stacked consequences that follow long past the sentence.

The family violence finding — why it matters more than the conviction

A first-time assault family violence is typically charged as a Class A misdemeanor: up to a year in jail and up to $4,000 in fines. That is real. What is often more consequential is the family violence finding entered alongside it. A finding triggers:

• Lifetime federal firearm prohibition. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) bars anyone with a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence conviction from possessing firearms or ammunition for life. There is no Texas process to restore that right.
• Felony enhancement on a second offense. A second assault family violence with a prior finding is a third-degree felony — 2 to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000.
• Continuous violence against the family. Two or more incidents within 12 months can be charged under Texas Penal Code § 25.11 as a third-degree felony, even if no individual incident would have been a felony on its own.
• Immigration consequences. For non-citizens, a family violence finding is among the most common grounds for removal proceedings, visa denial, and green card revocation under federal immigration law. These consequences attach to the finding, not just to a felony.
• Child custody, employment, professional licensing, housing. Texas Family Code Chapter 153 requires courts to consider a family violence finding in custody and visitation. Most professional licensing boards ask about it. Many employers screen for it. Most landlord background checks surface it.

How the case resolves often matters more than whether it resolves with a conviction. Sometimes that means a dismissal. Sometimes it means a reduction to a Class C disorderly conduct or to a non-family-violence assault. Sometimes it means a deferred adjudication structured carefully — and the wrong plea wording can lock in a finding even when the case looks like it has been resolved favorably. The way the case is resolved matters as much as the result on paper.

Travis County’s no-drop policy

Travis County has a no-drop policy on family violence cases. Once law enforcement responds to a domestic call and makes an arrest, the decision to prosecute belongs to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, not the complaining witness. Even if the alleged victim does not want to press charges, recants, or refuses to cooperate, the case can — and often does — proceed. Prosecutors will subpoena the witness, use 911 audio, body camera footage, statements made to officers under the excited utterance exception, photographs, medical records, and prior allegations to make the case without the witness’s cooperation.

Clients call us regularly thinking the case will go away because the other person has “dropped charges.” The other person cannot drop charges. The State filed them.

What that means in practice: do not contact the alleged victim, even if it would clear up a misunderstanding. Most family violence arrests come with a magistrate’s order for emergency protection. Calling, texting, having a friend pass a message, posting on social media that they can see — any of it can become a separate criminal charge for violation of a protective order, which is itself a Class A misdemeanor (or a felony with a prior). The contact also gets handed to the prosecutor as evidence of intimidation.

What the firm does with the case

By the first free consultation, the firm has the Probable Cause Affidavit. It is the document the officer wrote in the hours after the arrest, and it is the foundation of the State’s narrative. Reading it carefully — alongside what the client says happened — is where the case starts. What is in the affidavit, what is missing from it, what is internally inconsistent, what does not match the 911 call or the body camera footage when those come into discovery — all of that becomes the working list.

In the days and weeks after that, the work includes:

• Pulling the 911 audio, the body camera footage from every responding officer, dispatch records, and any prior call history at the address.
• Subpoenaing medical records when injuries are alleged, to compare the records to the witness’s account.
• Identifying who else was present, who could have heard or seen the incident, and what they would say.
• Examining whether the arrest itself was lawful. Family violence arrests are often made under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 14.03(a)(4), which has its own requirements.
• Building the self-defense record where it applies. Self-defense is a complete defense to assault under Texas Penal Code Chapter 9. If you used force to protect yourself from another person’s unlawful force, you were not committing assault.
• Investigating the context — divorce, custody, immigration, financial disputes — that produced the call.

Three attorneys touch every case. Weekly case reviews mean every attorney on staff has heard the file discussed and can answer the phone if you call.

Williamson County and the Georgetown office

Williamson County family violence cases are heard in the County Courts at Law in Georgetown for misdemeanors and the District Courts for felonies. Taylor Kacir handles family violence and assault cases out of the Georgetown office at 706 Rock Street and is there daily. If your case is in Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Liberty Hill, Hutto, Taylor, or Georgetown itself, that is where it will be filed and that is where we appear.

Common charges in Texas family violence cases

• Assault Causing Bodily Injury — Family Violence, Texas Penal Code § 22.01(a)(1): Class A misdemeanor for a first offense; third-degree felony if the actor has a prior family violence conviction or finding.
• Assault Family Violence by Impeded Breath or Circulation, Texas Penal Code § 22.01(b)(2)(B): third-degree felony — choking or covering the mouth or nose. This subsection elevates a first offense directly to a felony.
• Aggravated Assault — Family Violence, Texas Penal Code § 22.02: second-degree felony, first-degree if committed against a family member with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury.
• Continuous Violence Against the Family, Texas Penal Code § 25.11: third-degree felony for two or more acts of family violence within a 12-month period.
• Violation of a Protective Order, Texas Penal Code § 25.07: Class A misdemeanor; third-degree felony with two prior convictions or with stalking or violence.

Fees

Misdemeanor assault family violence cases are handled on a flat fee starting at $5,000. Felony family violence cases start at $10,000. The exact figure depends on the charge and what is in the available discovery at the time of consultation. Hourly billing is not used. The consultation is free.

See the full fee breakdown →

What to do now

If you have been arrested, posted bond, and have a magistrate’s order for emergency protection in place — call before you do anything else. If you have not been arrested but believe a charge is coming, call before you talk to anyone. The decisions made in the first days after a domestic incident determine which defenses are still available later. The sooner an attorney is in the case, the more there is to work with.

(512) 369-3737. Free consultation. Available in Austin and Georgetown.

This page was written and reviewed by the attorneys at the Law Office of David D. White, PLLC, following our editorial guidelines. The firm has practiced criminal defense exclusively since 2004 across Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bell, Burnet, Lee, Coryell, Bastrop, and Caldwell County courts. The firm’s three attorneys — David White (managing attorney, 22 years), Kenneth Hines (associate, 18 years; former General Counsel to the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee, 2010–2012), and Taylor Kacir (associate; former Senior Misdemeanor County Attorney, Bell County Attorney’s Office) — work each case as a team via weekly case reviews and shared Clio notes.