Texas CCP Family Violence: Orders, Penalties, and Rights

Texas family violence laws define who counts as a family or household member, give police a duty to intervene, and let courts put protection in place within hours of an incident. Penalties start at a Class A misdemeanor for a first assault causing bodily injury to a family member and climb to a first-degree felony when a deadly weapon causes serious injury. A conviction can also cost the accused firearm rights for life, custody of their children, and, for non-citizens, their legal status in the United States.

Who Counts as a Family or Household Member

Texas Family Code Section 71.004 defines family violence as an act by a family or household member intended to cause physical harm or sexual assault, or a threat that would make a reasonable person fear imminent harm. Self-defense is excluded.¹

The covered relationships go well past spouses and children. Dating partners, former dating partners, co-parents, current roommates, and former roommates all fall inside the statute. That reach matters because it decides whether an incident is prosecuted as ordinary assault or as family violence, which carries the enhancements described below.

Article 5.04 of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes protecting potential victims and enforcing the law a peace officer’s primary duty at a family violence scene, including enforcing protective orders issued elsewhere.²

Arrest Without a Warrant and the Primary Aggressor Rule

Under Article 14.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an officer can arrest without a warrant on probable cause that an assault causing bodily injury has occurred and that further harm is likely. The victim does not have to “press charges” for that to happen. Officers act on what they see and document.³

When both people show injuries, officers are expected to identify the primary aggressor rather than arrest both. Texas law discourages dual arrests because they push victims away from calling for help. Officers weigh the severity of each injury, any history of violence, and whether either person acted in self-defense.

Protective Orders in Texas

Three separate orders can be in play, and they stack. One comes from the magistrate at arrest; the other two come from family court.

Emergency Protection at Arrest

When someone is arrested for a family violence offense and taken before a magistrate, Article 17.292 of the Code of Criminal Procedure lets the magistrate issue an emergency protection order on the spot. It is required, not optional, when the arrest involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon.⁴

The order can bar the arrested person from contacting the victim or other household members, going near the victim’s home, workplace, or the children’s school, possessing firearms, and tracking or monitoring the victim’s location or devices. The victim, a guardian, an officer, or the prosecutor can request it, and the magistrate can also issue one without a request. Courts can add GPS monitoring.⁵

Temporary Ex Parte Orders

A temporary ex parte order is a family-court measure issued without notifying the respondent. Under Family Code Section 83.001, a judge can grant it on a sworn statement showing a clear and present danger of family violence. It takes effect immediately, lasts up to 20 days, and can be extended in 20-day increments while a full hearing is scheduled.⁶

Final Protective Orders

A final protective order follows a hearing where both sides can appear, present evidence, and cross-examine witnesses. Under Family Code Section 85.001, the court only needs to find that family violence has occurred; it does not have to find that violence is likely to happen again. That is a common misconception worth flagging.⁶

If granted, the order can prohibit any contact, ban approaches to the victim’s home or workplace, require completion of a batterer intervention program, and order surrender of firearms. It lasts up to two years. The court can go longer when the respondent committed a felony involving family violence, caused serious bodily injury, or has been subject to two or more prior protective orders with family violence findings. If the respondent is incarcerated, the order extends automatically to one or two years after release, depending on the sentence.⁶

Every order goes into the Texas Crime Information Center database so any officer in the state can verify it in the field.

What Violating a Protective Order Costs

Under Penal Code Section 25.07, violating a protective order is itself a crime. Prohibited conduct includes direct or indirect contact with the victim, approaching their home or workplace, and possessing a firearm. Officers can make an immediate arrest on probable cause.⁷

The base offense is a Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000. It becomes a third-degree felony, two to ten years in prison, if the person has two or more prior convictions for protective order violations or if the violation involved an assault or stalking.⁷

Criminal Penalties for Family Violence

Assault Against a Family Member

Under Penal Code Section 22.01, a first assault causing bodily injury to a family or household member is a Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000.⁸⁹

A prior family violence conviction pushes the same assault to a third-degree felony, two to ten years. Assault by strangulation or suffocation is a second-degree felony even for a first offense, two to twenty years.⁸

Aggravated Assault

When the assault involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon, Penal Code Section 22.02 controls. The base offense is a second-degree felony, two to twenty years. Use a deadly weapon and cause serious bodily injury to a family member, and it becomes a first-degree felony: five to ninety-nine years or life.⁹

Continuous Violence Against the Family

Penal Code Section 25.11 addresses patterns. Two or more assaults against a family member within a twelve-month period is a third-degree felony, whether or not either individual assault was previously reported or prosecuted. This closes the gap for repeat abusers whose incidents might otherwise be charged only as separate misdemeanors.

Prosecution Without the Victim

Prosecutors can pursue family violence charges even when the victim declines to testify. Physical evidence, 911 recordings, medical records, photographs, and witness statements can carry the case. The design is deliberate: victims sometimes face pressure or fear retaliation, and the state does not want prosecution to depend on their willingness to testify.

Firearm Rights

Family violence cases hit firearm rights at both levels of government. Under Family Code Section 85.022, a final protective order must prohibit the respondent from possessing firearms. Emergency protection orders under Article 17.292 can include the same ban, and violating it is prosecutable under Penal Code Section 25.07.⁴

At the federal level, a conviction for even a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence carries a lifetime ban on firearms and ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), the Lautenberg Amendment.¹⁰ Being subject to a qualifying protective order also prohibits possession under federal law. ATF Form 4473, completed for any purchase from a licensed dealer, asks about both. Lying on that form is a federal felony.¹¹

Effect on Child Custody

Under Family Code Section 153.004, courts must consider evidence of family violence when deciding conservatorship and visitation. That evidence can lead to supervised visitation, restricted access, or no unsupervised contact at all. A court may name a sole managing conservator if joint custody would put the child at risk.

A protective order does not automatically rewrite an existing custody order, but it is strong evidence in a custody case. Findings made in the criminal case or the protective order hearing can be introduced in family court, and judges give them weight. The two cases feed each other in ways people often miss.

Immigration Consequences

For non-citizens, this is one of the most dangerous kinds of criminal case. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1227, anyone admitted to the United States who is convicted of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse is deportable, and violating a protective order can independently trigger removal.¹²

Immigrant victims can move in the other direction. A U nonimmigrant visa provides temporary legal status and a path to permanent residence for victims of certain crimes, including domestic violence, who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse, have information about the crime, and have cooperated or are willing to cooperate with law enforcement.¹³ Federal law also has a limited waiver for non-citizen defendants who were themselves victims of abuse and whose offense was connected to it, for example acting in self-defense or violating a protective order that was meant to protect them.¹²

Rights on Both Sides

Victims

Under Chapter 56A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, victims have the right to notice of court proceedings, the accused’s release, and changes in protective orders. They can request a protective order and get help from advocates. After conviction, Article 42.03 requires the court to let the victim appear and give a statement once the sentence is pronounced.¹⁴ The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program covers medical bills, counseling, and lost wages. Filing, issuing, and serving a domestic violence protective order are free to the victim under federal law.

The Accused

Defendants are presumed innocent, have the right to remain silent, and cannot be forced to testify against themselves. Under Article 1.051 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, anyone who cannot afford an attorney gets court-appointed counsel if jail time is on the table, with an eligibility decision within one to three business days of the request.¹⁵ Respondents can contest protective orders at the hearing, present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal a conviction. Some counties offer batterer intervention programs as an alternative to incarceration, with reduced charges or modified sentences in exchange for completing counseling.

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 71.004 – Family Violence
2
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 5.04 – Duties of Peace Officers
3
State of Texas. Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 14 – Arrest Without Warrant
4
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art 17.292
5
Texas Legislature Online. 89(R) HB 36 – Engrossed Version
6
Texas Children’s Commission. Protective Orders
7
The Texas Family Violence Benchbook. Chapter 9 – Criminal Enforcement of Protective Orders
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.01 – Assault
9
Texas Attorney General. Penal Code Offenses by Punishment Range
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
11
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Firearms Transaction Record – ATF Form 4473
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status
14
Texas Attorney General. Crime Victim Rights
15
Texas Indigent Defense Commission. My Rights