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McKinney Family Violence & Domestic Violence Lawyer
Texas law calls it family violence, and it isn't one crime. An arrest can bring an emergency order that keeps you from your home and your firearms before your first court date. Chiles McGuire Criminal Law defends these cases in McKinney and across Collin County.
Allegations of family violence are bad enough. A conviction can change your life. If you were arrested in McKinney or anywhere in Collin County, the first decisions in the case come fast, some of them before you have seen a judge, and some of the most serious consequences have nothing to do with jail.
Chiles McGuire Criminal Law intentionally limits its caseload so each case gets the time it deserves. We examine the circumstances behind the accusation, challenge conflicting accounts, and prepare every case as though it will go to trial. Attorney James T. Chiles counts family violence assaults among his favorite charges to defend, and attorney Patrick McGuire has seen how these cases are built from the prosecutor’s side of the courtroom.
What does Texas mean by family violence?
Family Code Section 71.004 defines family violence as three things: an act against a member of your family or household that is intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault, or a threat that reasonably places them in fear of it; certain abuse of a child in the family or household; and dating violence. It doesn’t include defensive measures to protect yourself.
The definition reaches further than most people assume. It covers former spouses, people who share a child, people who live together even if they aren’t related, and anyone who used to live in the household. Read the full breakdown in what counts as family violence in Texas.
What charges come with a family violence arrest?
Family violence is not a single offense. These are some of the charges it attaches to:
- Assault family violence. Assault under Penal Code Section 22.01, usually a Class A misdemeanor, and a felony in some situations.
- Aggravated assault. Serious bodily injury, or using or exhibiting a deadly weapon, under Section 22.02.
- Continuous violence against the family. Two or more assaults causing bodily injury within 12 months, a third degree felony under Section 25.11.
- Violating a protective order. Often charged after the first arrest, sometimes for contact that felt harmless at the time. See restraining and protective orders.
Which one you face can decide the punishment range. Here is when assault against a family member becomes a felony.
What happens in the first days after an arrest?
Two statutes matter right away.
You may be held after you post bond. If you were arrested without a warrant and there is probable cause to believe the violence will continue, Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.291 requires the agency to hold you for four hours after bond is posted. A magistrate can extend that for up to 48 hours in limited circumstances.
A magistrate may issue an order for emergency protection. At your first appearance, Article 17.292 lets the magistrate issue an order on the magistrate’s own motion or at the request of the alleged victim, a guardian, an officer or the prosecutor. The alleged victim doesn’t have to be there. Our guide to the emergency protective order covers what it can ban and how long it lasts.
Why does the finding in the judgment matter so much?
In a family violence case, the plea offer that looks smallest can carry the longest tail. If the court determines that an offense under Title 5 of the Penal Code involved family violence, Article 42.013 requires the judge to enter an affirmative finding in the judgment. That one line can matter later:
- A prior family violence conviction can raise the next assault to a felony, and for that purpose a guilty or no contest plea in return for deferred adjudication counts as a prior conviction.
- An affirmative finding of family violence closes off an order of nondisclosure under Government Code Section 411.074.
- A misdemeanor family violence conviction can cost you your right to possess firearms, under Texas law and federal law.
- For a non-citizen, the same conviction can make you deportable.
We look at those consequences before anyone discusses a plea, because that is when they can still be weighed.
How do we defend these cases?
We examine the evidence, analyze the legal issues, conduct our own investigation and develop a strategy based on what we uncover. You get a clear assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Depending on the facts, that can include:
- Reviewing witness and alleged victim statements for details that don’t match up
- Attempting to get a case refused before it is filed or indicted by submitting a grand jury packet
- Challenging unlawful stops, searches, warrants and statements through motions to suppress
- Addressing protective orders and bond conditions that affect your home and your family
- Taking the case to a judge or jury when it needs to be fought in court
One price covers it. What you pay at the start covers all legal services, including a trial, for each case. Trials are in the fee because we never want to lose the opportunity to fight for the right outcome.
What should you do right now?
- Stay calm and don’t discuss the case with anyone but your attorney.
- Use your right to remain silent with law enforcement.
- Don’t contact the other person if a protective order or bond condition prohibits it.
- Save your text messages, emails, photos and videos.
- Call us at 214-628-7292. The consultation is free, and phones are answered 24/7.
What do clients say?
“James T chiles is great domestic violence attorney help me out very well with my case.”
Markus Byrd, Google review, July 2022
“I hired him as a family violence/domestic violence attorney as well as a general criminal defense attorney as he has exceeded expectations.”
christopher barge, Google review, May 2022
The firm’s case results include Continuous Violence Against the Family: Dismissed. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
- Where you live
An emergency protective order can bar you from going to or near the home of a protected person or family member, even if it is your home too.
- Your children
An order can reach a child's school or child care facility. While it lasts, its conditions prevail over an existing court order on possession of or access to a child.
- Your firearms
An order can ban firearm possession and suspends a license to carry. A family violence conviction can bring separate Texas and federal firearm bans.
- Your record
A judge who finds family violence enters that finding in the judgment, and it closes off an order of nondisclosure. A prior family violence conviction can also raise the next assault to a felony.
- Your career
A conviction can jeopardize a professional license, a career, a reputation or years of hard work. We build the defense with those consequences in mind.
- Your immigration status
Federal law makes a non-citizen deportable after a conviction for a crime of domestic violence, and immigration law defines conviction more broadly than most people expect.
FAQ
McKinney Family Violence & Domestic Violence Lawyer Questions
Still have questions? Call for a free consultation.
Is domestic violence the same as family violence in Texas?
Texas law uses the term family violence. Family Code Section 71.004 defines it to cover acts against a family or household member, certain abuse of a child in the family or household, and dating violence. It describes the relationship and the act. The charge itself is usually something else, such as assault under Penal Code Section 22.01.
How long does an emergency protective order last?
An order issued at the magistrate's discretion, or because the offense involved serious bodily injury, lasts at least 61 days and up to the 91st day after it is issued. An order based on the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon lasts at least 91 days and up to the 121st day. A court can modify all or part of an order after notice and a hearing if it makes the findings the statute requires.
The other person says it's fine if I come home. Is it?
Not while an order says otherwise. Article 17.292 requires the order to state that no person, including a person protected by the order, may give permission to anyone to ignore or violate it. Violating it by an act it prohibits can bring a fine of up to $4,000, up to a year in jail, or both. Call us before you act on that conversation.
Can a misdemeanor family violence conviction affect my guns?
It can. Federal law bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm or ammunition, and Texas Penal Code Section 46.04(b) has its own five-year ban after a Class A family assault conviction. Read our guide to firearms after a domestic violence conviction before you agree to anything.
I'm not a U.S. citizen. When should I call?
Before you enter any plea. Under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(E), a conviction for a crime of domestic violence after admission makes a non-citizen deportable, and for immigration purposes a guilty plea plus some form of punishment can count as a conviction even when a Texas court withholds a finding of guilt.
What does it cost?
The consultation is free. If you hire us, what you pay at the start covers all legal services, including a trial, for each case. We give you that price before the case moves.
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Texas law calls it family violence, and it isn't one crime. An arrest can bring an emergency order that keeps you from your home and your firearms before your first court date. Chiles McGuire Criminal Law defends these cases in McKinney and across Collin County.