San Antonio Domestic Violence Lawyer

Almost every client arrives believing the case disappears once the other person tells the prosecutor they do not want to proceed. It does not work that way in Texas.

Charges are the responsibility of the State, not the person who initially called the police. Once police have probable cause to believe family violence occurred, an arrest follows regardless of whether the alleged victim wants one, and the District Attorney's Office decides whether to continue. Prosecutors often assume a recanting witness is being pressured, which sometimes means a request to drop the case makes them press harder rather than back off.

An affidavit of non-prosecution is worth preparing, and we do prepare them. Understand what it actually is: a sworn statement that the complaining witness does not wish to proceed. It is evidence the prosecutor weighs, not an off switch to the case. Handled carelessly, it can even create new problems, including allegations that someone tampered with a witness. This is work that belongs with your lawyer rather than with the two people involved.

Family violence is the legal term here. Domestic violence is what people say, and both describe the same thing: an act intended to cause physical harm, bodily injury, or assault against a family or household member, or a threat that puts them in fear of imminent harm.

The relationships covered are broader than most assume. Current and former spouses, parents of a child in common, people who live together or used to, relatives, foster relationships, and current or former dating partners all qualify. Roommates count.

Continuous violence deserves a note. Two alleged family violence assaults within twelve months can support a felony charge even when neither of the underlying incidents produced a conviction, and even when neither was reported at the time.

The consequences start at magistration, long before anyone weighs the evidence.

A magistrate can issue an emergency protection order at your first appearance, and must issue one when the allegation involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon. That order runs for roughly two to three months, longer where a weapon is alleged, and it can bar you from your own home, from contacting your spouse or partner, from going near their workplace, and from possessing a firearm.

Bond conditions frequently add to that: no contact, GPS monitoring, alcohol restrictions. If you share children with the complaining witness, the practical effect can be separation from them while the case is pending. These orders are not permanent, and they are not beyond challenge. We move early to modify unworkable conditions, and we make sure you understand exactly what the order prohibits, because a violation is a fresh criminal charge that can do more damage than the original allegation.

This is the part almost nobody explains before someone signs, and it is the single most important thing on this page.

Deferred adjudication is usually presented as a way to avoid a conviction. In a family violence case, the court still enters an affirmative finding of family violence, and that finding carries the consequences people were trying to avoid.

Taking the quick deal to make the case go away is understandable. It frequently costs far more than fighting it.

Evidence in family violence cases is thinner than the charging paperwork suggests, and testing it is the work.