Continuous violence against the family in Texas is a third-degree felony under Penal Code Section 25.11 that lets prosecutors combine two or more family-violence assaults committed within any 12-month period into a single charge carrying two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. The charge exists so the state doesn’t have to wait for a prior conviction before treating a pattern of domestic abuse as a felony. A first-time defendant with no record at all can face prison time on this charge.
How It Differs From a Standard Family Violence Assault
A single assault causing bodily injury to a family or household member is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, punishable by up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. It becomes a third-degree felony only if the defendant already has a qualifying prior conviction for family violence.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.01 – Assault
Section 25.11 removes that stepping stone. If the state alleges two or more acts of family violence within 12 months, it can charge a felony based on the current conduct alone, with no prior conviction required.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family The underlying incidents don’t have to have been reported to police or charged separately beforehand. An argument from months ago that never produced a police report can become one of the two building blocks of today’s felony.
Who Counts as a Victim
Texas defines the eligible victims broadly, and the two assaults do not have to involve the same person. The categories include:
- Family members related by blood or marriage, including parents, children, siblings, and in-laws3Justia Law. Texas Family Code Chapter 71 – Definitions
- Current or former spouses
- Co-parents, whether or not they were ever married
- Household members, including roommates, unmarried partners, and former household members
- Foster parents and foster children, whether or not they live together
- Dating partners in a continuing romantic or intimate relationship, judged by the length, nature, and frequency of their interactions4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 71.0021 – Dating Violence
An alleged assault on a spouse in January and on a roommate in August can support a single continuous violence charge, because both victims fall inside this list.
What the State Has to Prove
Prosecutors must show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused bodily injury to a qualifying victim on at least two separate occasions within a 12-month window. Bodily injury is defined broadly to include physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. Verbal threats or non-contact behavior don’t satisfy the element.
The unanimity rule in this statute is unusual. Jurors do not have to agree on which specific incidents occurred or when, only that at least two qualifying assaults happened inside the 12-month period.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 25.11 – Continuous Violence Against the Family One juror can believe incidents A and B happened while another believes B and C happened, and the verdict still stands. That makes the case harder to defend than defendants often assume.
Prison, Fines, and Probation
As a third-degree felony, the offense carries two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment Community supervision may be available, and deferred adjudication is technically possible.
There is a trap in that last option. A deferred adjudication for a family violence offense cannot be sealed through a nondisclosure order, so the case remains visible on background checks indefinitely. Defendants who accept deferred adjudication expecting the record to disappear often learn later that it won’t.
Firearms
A conviction triggers a federal firearm ban. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from shipping, transporting, or possessing any firearm or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Because the maximum sentence here is ten years, the ban attaches automatically and is permanent. Federal law provides no process for restoring firearm rights after a felony conviction.
The reach of the prohibition surprises people. It covers ammunition as well as firearms, and it applies to guns kept in your home even if they belong to someone else. A relative’s hunting rifle in a shared closet can create a federal violation. Careers in law enforcement, the military, security, and anything else that requires a firearm effectively end.
Child Custody
Texas Family Code Section 153.004 requires courts to consider the commission of family violence in deciding whether to deny, restrict, or limit a parent’s access to a child. A history of family violence creates a rebuttable presumption that naming the violent parent as sole or joint managing conservator is not in the child’s best interest.
In practical terms, the burden flips. The convicted parent has to prove their involvement serves the child’s interests, instead of the other parent having to prove it doesn’t. Unsupervised visitation becomes much harder to obtain, and in severe cases courts can cut off visitation altogether. A felony conviction for continuous violence carries considerable weight in those determinations.
Protective Orders
A conviction almost always comes with a protective order barring contact with the victim and limiting the defendant’s presence near the victim’s home, workplace, or children’s schools.7Justia Law. Texas Family Code Chapter 85 – Issuance of Protective Order Violating the order is itself a separate criminal offense.
Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens
Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen deportable after being convicted of a crime of domestic violence against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, cohabitant, or someone similarly situated under state family violence laws.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens That applies whether the person holds a green card, a work visa, or any other lawful status.
Violating a protective order, which often accompanies these cases, is an independent ground for deportation under the same statute. A conviction can also block future naturalization applications by undermining the applicant’s showing of good moral character. For non-citizens, the immigration exposure is often worse than the criminal sentence, and any defense strategy should account for it from the beginning.
Jobs, Licensing, and Housing
A felony family violence conviction surfaces on background checks and can disqualify a person from a wide range of work. Professional licenses in healthcare, education, law enforcement, finance, and other regulated fields often treat a felony involving assaultive conduct as grounds for suspension or revocation. Licensing boards generally require disclosure of convictions, and failing to disclose is itself a disciplinary matter in most of these fields.
Housing is similar. Public housing authorities and landlords in federally subsidized programs can deny applicants based on criminal history.9U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Notice of Occupancy Rights Under the Violence Against Women Act A conviction can mean losing current housing and struggling to secure new housing on top of everything else.
Defenses That Can Apply
The right defense depends on the specific facts, but three approaches come up often in these cases.
Self-Defense
Texas allows the use of force when a person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect themselves against another’s use or attempted use of unlawful force.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 9.31 – Self-Defense The questions are whether the force used was proportional to the threat and whether the belief in an imminent threat was reasonable. The castle doctrine removes any duty to retreat inside your own home, which can help in household cases.
Breaking the Pattern
Because the charge requires two or more separate assaults, discrediting even one of the alleged incidents can collapse the felony. If only a single qualifying assault survives scrutiny, the continuous violence charge cannot stand, though a misdemeanor assault charge might. Defense work often focuses on inconsistent witness statements, missing physical evidence, and credibility problems.
No Bodily Injury
Each act must have caused bodily injury. Threatening behavior, intimidation, or verbal abuse without physical harm does not meet the element. If one of the alleged incidents produced no injury, that incident cannot count toward the required two.