Were you arrested for domestic violence charges in Texas? Are you scared of the legal consequences of domestic violence arrest? Watch this video to learn what you need to immediately do after your domestic violence arrest. We offer people like you free consultations.
Question: What should I do if I was arrested for domestic violence?
Answer:
In Texas, if you’re charged with domestic violence or family violence, the one thing you need to know is that you have to fight the charge after your domestic violence arrest. In Texas, family violence has a lot of different ramifications. If you’re ever charged at any point in the future with another family violence case, it becomes a felony. That means that on a second charge, you end up getting arrested; it’s called a felony arrest. The officers may pull their guns on you. They may take you down, throw you on the ground and handcuff you; all that’s possible. The other thing that’s possible if you’re charged with a felony family violence, because it’s your second charge, is you can end up serving up to 10 years in prison, so it’s really important to avoid that family violence conviction.
The other thing that happens if you’re charged with a family violence offense is, if you are convicted, you cannot possess a weapon under federal law for the rest of your life. That’s important to a lot of people, and so you need to avoid that conviction. In fact, you even need to avoid a deferred adjudication on that family violence charge.
In Texas, a family violence charge can also be somebody that you’ve never had a dating relationship with, somebody that you did not have a marriage with, or somebody that’s not even a family member. It can be somebody that you just cohabitated with, and that’s real important to know. If you’re cohabitated with somebody, living with somebody, but you’re not dating, you can still be charged with family violence. In those circumstances, under federal law, you would not be prevented from possessing a weapon because a federal statute provides dating relationships, family members, or spouses.
On a family violence case, the person that may have been injured, will want to drop charges. That doesn’t mean the state will drop the charges. What happens in a family violence case is the state picks up the case. It becomes theirs; it is no longer the victim’s. The fact that the person may want to drop these charges doesn’t mean it will get dropped. In all likelihood, we’ll still have to vigorously fight the case.
Were you or a loved one accused of a crime and have questions about your domestic violence arrest? Contact a San Antonio criminal attorney at Rush & Gransee today for a consultation on your case and all of your potential defenses. Let our experience work for you.
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