The Affirmative Finding of Family Violence: What the Judge Enters in the Judgment

Quick answer: Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.013, in the trial of an offense under Title 5 of the Penal Code, if the court determines the offense involved family violence, the judge shall make an affirmative finding and enter it in the judgment. It isn’t optional once the court makes that determination. The finding closes off an order of nondisclosure under Government Code Section 411.074. Anyone weighing a plea in a McKinney or Collin County family violence case should ask about it before agreeing to anything.

Most people negotiating a misdemeanor case focus on jail, fines and probation. Those matter. But a family violence case can leave a mark that outlasts all of them, and it often starts with a single line in the paperwork.

What does Article 42.013 say?

It’s short. Article 42.013 says that in the trial of an offense under Title 5, Penal Code, if the court determines that the offense involved family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code, the court shall make an affirmative finding of that fact and enter the affirmative finding in the judgment of the case.

Three pieces are worth slowing down on:

• Title 5. That’s the part of the Penal Code titled Offenses Against the Person. It includes Chapter 22, which holds the assault statute.
• Family violence. It uses the Family Code definition, so it covers more relationships than a marriage. See what counts as family violence in Texas.
• Shall. The word removes the choice once the court has made the determination. The real question is what the court is being asked to determine, which is why the wording of a plea matters.

What can the finding or the case affect later?

Different statutes pull different triggers. This table separates them, because people often lump them together.

What happens	Trigger in the statute	Where it lives
No order of nondisclosure for that offense	The court makes an affirmative finding that the offense involved family violence	Government Code 411.074(b)(2)
No order of nondisclosure for a different offense	You were previously convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for any other offense involving family violence	Government Code 411.074(b)(1)(D)
The next assault can be a felony	A prior listed offense against a person in a covered relationship, including a guilty or no contest plea for deferred adjudication	Penal Code 22.01(b)(2)(A), (f)
Firearm notice from the court	Conviction of a misdemeanor involving family violence	Code of Criminal Procedure 42.0131
$100 fine to a family violence center	Community supervision after conviction of a Title 5 offense the court determines involves family violence	Code of Criminal Procedure 42A.504(b)
Possible battering intervention program	Community supervision after conviction of an offense involving family violence	Code of Criminal Procedure 42A.504(c)

Federal consequences sit on top of those. We cover them in firearms after a domestic violence conviction and what a conviction means for non-citizens.

Why does nondisclosure matter?

An order of nondisclosure keeps criminal history information from being released to much of the public. For a professional, a nurse, a teacher or anyone who gets background-checked, it can be one of the most valuable things left after a case ends.

Government Code Section 411.074 takes it off the table in two ways. A person may not be granted an order, and isn’t entitled to petition for one, if the court makes an affirmative finding that the offense for which the order is requested involved family violence. The same bar applies if the person requests the order for, or has been previously convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for, any other offense involving family violence.

So a family violence case doesn’t only affect itself. A conviction or deferred adjudication for it can also shut the door on an order for a later, unrelated offense. A client who is thinking about their record five years out needs to know this now, not when they apply for a job.

Does deferred adjudication avoid all of this?

Not all of it. Deferred adjudication isn’t the same as a conviction for many purposes, but this is an area where the statutes reach it directly. Section 22.01(f) counts a guilty or no contest plea in return for deferred adjudication as a prior conviction for the felony enhancement. And Section 411.074(b)(1)(D) lists deferred adjudication for a family violence offense as a bar to nondisclosure.

We can’t tell you how a particular offer shakes out in a blog post. The point is that the words “deferred” and “misdemeanor” don’t answer the question by themselves.

What should you ask before a plea?

Before you agree to anything in a family violence case, ask these questions and get specific answers:

1. What exact offense and section am I pleading to?
2. Will the judgment or the papers carry a finding of family violence?
3. Could this count as a prior under Section 22.01 if I’m ever accused again?
4. Will this bar an order of nondisclosure, now or later?
5. What does it do to my firearm rights under Texas and federal law?
6. If I hold a professional license or I’m not a U.S. citizen, what does it do to that?

A lawyer who has tried these cases should be able to walk through each one with you. And if the honest answer is that the offer costs more than it looks like, you should know that a trial is a real option. At our firm, what you pay at the start covers all legal services, including a trial, for each case, so that option doesn’t come with a second price.

What’s the next step?

Chiles McGuire Criminal Law defends family violence and domestic violence charges in McKinney and throughout Collin County. We take on a limited number of serious cases and prepare each one as though it will go to trial. The consultation is free. Call us at 214-628-7292.