An assault family violence conviction in Texas follows you. It can cost you an apartment, a job, and your right to own a firearm. In a divorce or custody case, it becomes a weapon the other side uses against you. For non-citizens, it can trigger immigration consequences that are harder to undo than the charge itself. And if you receive deferred adjudication — not even a conviction — any future assault family violence charge can be filed as a felony, and you lose the ability to seal any criminal record through a non-disclosure order. Ever.
That’s what was on the line in this case.
What Happened
My client was a young man who had been out celebrating a family member’s birthday. It was a long night. On the way home, he passed out in the passenger seat.
When they got back to the house, his girlfriend tried to wake him up. He came to confused and disoriented — he didn’t know where he was, and in that fog, he became worried about his son. He got out of the car and started yelling, running around the outside of the house looking for the boy — who was inside, fine.
A neighbor heard the commotion, watched through a window for a few minutes, and called 911. He reported a man and woman yelling at each other, chasing each other around the street, and said the man had taken a “wild swing” at the woman.
When police arrived, the responding officer wrote in his report that he had observed my client lunge and swing at his girlfriend with a closed fist and strike her with his arm and torso. My client was arrested for assault family violence.
Then the officers interviewed the girlfriend. She told them clearly: he was drunk, confused, and scared about his son. He had not struck her. He had not made any physical contact with her.
How the Case Unfolded
From the moment the charge was filed, it was clear the State intended to push hard for a conviction. The prosecutors fought me on evidence access at every turn. Motions went back and forth for months.
As both sides prepared for trial, the State’s plan was to put the girlfriend on the stand — presumably hoping she’d say something different under oath than she’d told the police. I got ahead of that. I secured a sworn statement from her: she did not want to testify against my client, and if the State compelled her to take the stand, she would testify that he had not struck her or made any physical contact with her at any point.
Without their key witness, the State was left with a neighbor who had watched a fragment of the incident through a window and an officer’s report that had real problems. I laid out those weaknesses clearly.
The prosecutors dismissed the charge.
The Result
No conviction. No probation. No fines. No community service. My client walked out of the courthouse that day with his girlfriend. And because the charge was dismissed, he was eligible for an expunction — meaning this arrest will be wiped from his record entirely.
Serving All of Collin County
I defend clients throughout Collin County, including:
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