Family Violence
Family violence in Houston is a very serious matter that can result in severe consequences to alleged offenders. By the end of September, the Houston Police Department has received almost 24,000 reports of domestic violence so far in 2019. Since taking office in 2017, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg has increased the number of family violence cases that prosecutors file from about 9,000 a year to almost 12,000 cases a year—a 33 percent increase in charges against a family member or someone in a dating relationship!
Obviously, many accusations of family violence or domestic violence are not true. Alleged victims often will falsely accuse someone they are in a dating relationship with or a family member of domestic violence. These serious and false allegations frequently arise from anger, jealousy, divorce or child custody disputes.
If you have been accused of a domestic or family violence crime, it is important to consult an experienced and reputable criminal defense attorney in Houston to defend you.
Houston Family Violence Lawyer
If you have been accused of family violence or domestic violence in the Greater Houston area, including Katy, Cypress, Jersey Village, Tomball, Spring, Humble, Pasadena, and many other nearby communities, contact James G. Sullivan and Associates.
Attorney James G. Sullivan will fight the allegations against you and strive to help you avoid serious consequences and punishments to your alleged offense. Call James G. Sullivan and Associates for a free consultation at (281) 546-6428 about your family violence charges.
Definitions of Family Violence in Harris County
Often, domestic violence or family violence cases involve legal terms that are unfamiliar to most people. These terms are defined in Chapter 71 of the Texas Family Code and are listed below.
- Family Violence is often more commonly referred to as domestic violence, domestic abuse or dating violence, and is defined as an intentional act or threat by one family member against another that causes physical harm, bodily injury, assault or sexual assault.
- Dating Violence is defined as an intentional act or threat by a person in a dating relationship against a person they are currently in a dating relationship with or were previously in a dating relationship with that causes physical or bodily harm.
- Family Member is anyone who is related by blood, related by marriage, a former spouse, parent of the same child, step-parent or foster parent.
- Household Member is anyone who resides or has previously resided in the same home, including individuals who are not in the same family such as roommates.
- Protective Order is more commonly referred to as a restraining order, protection against family violence, or protection order, and is a court order issued by the judge if the judge determines family violence has occurred and is likely to occur again.
- Protective Order Hearing is a hearing in which the judge determines whether or not family violence has occurred and is likely to occur in the future after both sides present evidence and any witnesses. If the judge determines family violence has occurred, the judge will issue a protective order
Family Violence Offenses in Houston
Some of the most commonly charged family violence offenses in Harris County can include, but are not limited to, the following—
According to Texas Penal Code § 22.01, an individual can be charged with domestic assault if they intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause bodily injury; threaten; or, physically contact a family member, household member or person they are in a dating relationship with in a manner in which the other person would regard as offensive or provocative.
As defined in Texas Penal Code § 22.02, an individual can be charged with aggravated domestic assault if they commit assault with a deadly weapon against a family member or cause serious bodily injury to a family member, household member or person they are in a dating relationship with.
As defined in Texas Penal Code § 25.07, a violation of a protective order is cause by an individual knowingly or intentionally violating the terms of a protective order against them. This can include communicating with the family member who requested the protective order or going to their home or place of employment.
As defined by Texas Penal Code § 42.072, stalking is defined as repeatedly and knowingly engaging in conduct targeted at a specific person—
- They will perceive as threatening,
- that causes them to be afraid they will be seriously harmed, and
- that would cause a reasonable person to fear injury or death to herself or her family members.
This offense can also include cyberstalking, which is defined as communicating with another person through e-mail or other electronic means strictly to harass that person.
According to Texas Penal Code § 22.04, an individual can be charged with injury to a child (child abuse) or injury to the elderly if they intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence cause any type of bodily injury to a child or elderly adult.
Houston Punishment for Domestic Violence
Chapter 12 of the Texas Penal Code defines the general penalties to many family violence offenses in Houston. However, these penalties can vary, depending on whether the victim was elderly, disabled or a child, whether a weapon was used during the commission of the offense, the degree of domestic violence, whether bodily injury or death resulted from the offense, and whether the alleged offender has any previous criminal history.
- An individual charged with a Class C misdemeanor domestic assault offense can result in a fine up to $500 (although we do not handle Class C misdemeanor offenses).
- An individual convicted of a Class A misdemeanor domestic assault offense can receive a jail sentence up to one year and/or a fine up to $4,000.
- An individual charged with a Class A misdemeanor violation of a protection order can receive a jail sentence up to one year and/or a fine up to $4,000.
- A conviction for a felony of the third degree domestic assault, violation of a protective order, stalking, or child abuse offense can result in a prison sentence ranging from two to ten years and/or a fine not more than $10,000.
- An individual charged with felony of the second degree domestic assault, aggravated domestic assault, stalking or child abuse offense can receive a prison sentence ranging from two to 20 years and/or a fine up to $10,000.
- An individual convicted of a first degree aggravated domestic assault or child abuse offense can receive a prison term from five to 99 years or life imprisonment and/or a fine not more than $10,000.
Additionally, anyone who commits Continuous Violence Against a Family or household member can be convicted of a third degree felony offense, according to Texas Penal Code § 25.11. Continuous violence is defined as committing a family violence offense two or more times within a 12 month period.
James G. Sullivan and Associates | Houston Domestic Violence Attorney
Contact James G. Sullivan and Associates today at (281) 546-6428 for a free consultation about your family violence charges throughout Harris County in Texas. James Sullivan is an experienced criminal defense attorney in Houston who will make every effort to help you achieve the best outcome for your case.
Certainly each case is different. Similar results may not be obtained in your case and past performance is no guarantee of future results.
RECENT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE RESULTS
| CHARGE | ACCUSATION AND RESULT | COURT |
| 2022 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case reduced on 11/17/22 to misdemeanor unlawful restraint with 2 years deferred adjudication probation . Client was accused of choking his wife. | 208th |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed by the Grand Jury on 10/7/2022. Client was accused of threatening to kill his wife with a handgun. | 232nd |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed by the Grand Jury on 09/29/2022. Client was accused of choking his 15 year old son. | 232nd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 09/20/22. Client accused of attacking her ex-girlfriend in her ex’s apartment when she went with her mother to retrieve her belongings. This same ex accused the client of breaking into her apartment and attacking her right after Xmas. Sullivan got that case in the 179th dismissed on 03/15/22. | 10 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 09/16/22 right before Sullivan set the case for a trial. Client was accused of striking her husband when in fact he was the abuser. | 12 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 09/15/22 right before Sullivan set the case for a trial. Client was accused of hitting his wife while he was driving. | 5 |
| Assault of a Family Member as 2nd Offender | Case dismissed on 08/30/22. Case was filed on 05/14/20. Client missed court date in March 2021 and was arrested on a felony warrant in August 2022. Sullivan was retained a week later and got the case dismissed a few days later. Client was accused of pushing his girlfriend to the floor. Client was previously convicted of choking the same girlfriend 5 years before. | 183rd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 07/28/22. Client was accused of hitting his girlfriend when it was actually the other way around. | 10 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 06/30/2022, one week before the jury trial. Client was accused of injuring his girlfriend when she was trying to snatch his cellphone from his hand. | 7 |
| Interfering with Emergency Call | Case dismissed on 06/23/2022. Client was accused of breaking his wife’s phone so she couldn’t call 911. | 4 |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed by the Grand Jury on 06/14/2022. Client was accused of trying to run over his wife with his pickup truck and her son claimed to be a witness. | 482nd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 06/09/2022. Client was accused of hitting the father of her child. | 7 |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member & Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Aggravated Assault case dismissed and Choking case reduced to a misdemeanor assault of a family member with deferred adjudication on 04/19/22. The case was about to be set for a jury trial. The Client was accused of choking his girlfriend and causing her to suffer hip and pelvis fractures. The Client defended himself when his girlfriend pulled a gun on him. | 351st |
| Unlawful Restraint | Case dismissed on 04/12/2022. Client was accused of holding his girlfriend against her will. | 13 |
| Injury to the Disabled | Case dismissed on 04/11/2022. Client was accused of injuring her abusive ex-husband. | 177th |
| Assault of a Pregnant Family Member | Case dismssed on 02/16/2022, the day before trial. Client was accused of choking his pregnant sister. | 209th |
| Burglary of a Habitation with intent to commit Assault | No Probable Cause found on 01/18/2022. Sullivan persuaded the Judge to find No PC against his female client who was invited to her girlfriend’s apartment, was attacked by her girlfriend, and was lied on by her girlfriend afterwards. The State dismissed the felony charge on 03/15/2022. | 179th |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 01/04/2022. Client was accused of striking his girlfriend. | 13 |
| 2021 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Injury to a Child (2 cases) | Cases dismissed by the Grand Jury on 11/30/2021. Client was accused of injuring her children by spanking them. | 183rd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 10/07/2021, a few days before trial. Client was charged with a felony injury to a child and a misdemeanor family violence from the same incident in 2020. The felony case was dismissed on 05/27/2021, the county criminal court prosecutors refused to dismiss the family violence charge, so I set it for a jury trial. The complainant, his wife, already admitted that she was drunk the night her daughter lied and said client had knocked her down. The complainant then went after the Client who pushed her back in self defense. | 16 |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed on 10/05/2021 by chief prosecutor after she read the grand jury defense packet. My client was very drunk, depressed and feeling suicidal the night he and his husband discussed the problems in their marriage. His spouse called 911 for mental health intervention. The police show up, and arrested my client on false charges. | 183rd |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed on 10/04/2021, the day of trial. Client and his wife have been in an arranged marriage for 30 years. The wife made up the accusations, presumably as a pretext for divorce, however their own teenage children were witnesses to the non-event and were prepared to testify in support of their father. | 228nd |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 09/16/2021. Client was accused of threatening his baby’s mama with a knife. The complainant has mental problems, and took out her frustrations on my client. Case was originally filed right after the March 2020 quarantine. | 262nd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 09/07/2021. Client accused of hitting his girlfriend, and then running away while in handcuffs. The State agreed to dismiss the family violence charge, and the client pled guilty to time served on the misdemeanor escape charge. | 1 |
| Burglary of habitation to commit Assault | Case dismissed on 08/31/2021. Client was accused of forcing his way into his boyfriend’s apartment to attack him. | 180th |
| Burglary of habitation to commit Assault | Case dismissed by the Grand Jury on 08/25/2021. Client was accused of trying to force her way into her ex-boyfriend’s apartment to attack his new girlfriend. However, her ex and the new girlfriend lied to the police. | 263rd |
| Violation of a Protective Order | Case dismissed on 07/09/2021. Client was at least the 4th or 5th man accused of family violence in two different counties by a mentally unstable nympho that goes from failed sexual relationship to failed sexual relationship. When she’s bored with one guy, she seduces a new guy. She then accuses the first guy of family violence and gets a protective order in order to get him out of the picture. My client’s family violence case was dismissed on 11/03/2020, and now his felony violation of protective order is dismissed. | 209th |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 06/29/2021. Client was accused of attacking his wife on his wedding night. | 1 |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed by the Grand Jury on 06/10/2021. Client was accused of striking her former roommate with a board. However the former roommate, a large and strong butch woman in the LGBTQ community, was the aggressor and put the client in a chokehold. Client had to fight for her life. The former roommate had bipolar disorder, self medicated with alcohol and drugs, and had a history of stealing and detroying property of other roommates and then playing the victim. The police did a minimal investigation and chose to believe the former roommate over the client, the actual victim. | 338th |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed on 05/28/2021. Client was accused of choking his wife who was highly intoxicated. The allegations were false. His wife attacked him and then threw his young daughter down who had tried to separate them. Client restrained his wife to protect his child. Her young son called the police. As a result of the false allegation and the wife’s alcoholism, the couple divorced. | 351st |
| Injury to a Child | Case dismissed on 05/27/2021. Client was accused of injuring his stepdaughter. Client and his wife fell off the wagon during the pandemic. One day while his wife was highly intoxicated, the stepdaughter got mad because Client made her do her chores. The stepdaughter then lied to her mother and said Client knocked her down. Her mother flew into a rage and went after Client. | 337th |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case reduced to misdemeanor with deferred adjudication probation on 05/13/21. If client had not said what he did to the police, the result may have been better. | 339th |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 05/10/2021. Client was accused of attacking her husband while she was drunk. | 8 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 04/21/2021. Client was accused of pushing his wife down while he was drunk. | 12 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 04/05/2021. Client was accused of punching his girlfriend outside of his apartment after they returned from a night of drinking. He did not want her to come inside. After he went in and locked the door, she climbed over his second story balcony, entered through the unlocked sliding door, went to the kitchen and grabbed a sharp knife. He had to take it away from her. They made up. She spent the night. The next day she called the police and failed to mention how she herself committed a serious felony by breaking in and grabbing a deadly weapon to threaten or to attack my client. | 7 |
| Aggravated Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 03/19/2021. Client was accused of trying to run his ex-wife off of the road in January 2019. The allegations were completely false. Due to the pandemic and new prosecutors who were unable to distinguish between a good case and a dog case, my client’s case dragged on much longer than it should have. By the fourth jury trial setting, the last prosecutor finally evaluated the case and dismissed the case. | 351st |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 02/24/2021. Client was accused of striking her adult son while intoxicated. | 8 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 01/13/2021. Client was accused of knocking his wife down. | 15 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 01/11/2021. Client was accused of striking his wife. | 10 |
| Assault of a Family Member as a Second Offender | Case dismissed on 01/06/2021. Client accused of striking his live in girlfriend while both were drunk. Client had a prior family violence case against the same girlfriend. | 230th |
| 2020 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 12/31/2020. Client was accused of family violence against his wife. | 16 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 11/04/2020. Client was at least the 4th or 5th man accused of family violence in two different counties by a mentally unstable nympho that goes from failed sexual relationship to failed sexual relationship. When she’s bored with one guy, she seduces a new guy. She then accuses the first guy of family violence and gets a protective order in order to get him out of the picture. My client was falsely accused and the only male victim willing to fight his case at trial. | 1 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case dismissed on 10/15/2020. Client, a soldier in the Army, was falsely accused of assault by his girlfriend outside a bar while passing through town. Sullivan got the case dismissed within 4 days of being hired. Client was about to be sent overseas. | HCCCL 16 |
| Assault Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed on 08/20/2020. Client was accused of choking his wife during an argument. The first prosecutor assigned to the case failed to present the defense packet to the grand jury, but then the next prosecutor agreed to do the right thing and dismissed the case. | 174th |
| Assault of a Family Member as a second offender (2 cases) | Cases dismissed by the Grand Jury on 07/30/2020. Client was accused of attacking his two brothers. His case was enhanced with two prior family violence convictions. | 263rd |
| Assault Family Member | Case dismissed on 06/24/2020. Client accused of slapping his wife on two different occasions. | HCCCL 11 |
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | After a punishment hearing on 02/27/2020, Sullivan persuaded the judge to grant deferred adjudication. Client accused of injuring his wife with fire while intoxicated. The DA’s best offer was 4 years TDC. | 337th |
| Assault Family Member by Choking | Case dismissed on 01/24/2020. Client accused of choking his then girlfriend. | 185th |
| 2019 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed by the Grand Jury on 12/16/2019. Client accused of striking her fiancee in the nose, resulting in him needing nasal surgery. | 262nd |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 12/04/2019. Client accused of slapping his wife several times. | HCCCL 12 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 11/07/2019. Client accused of striking her aunt in the face several times after her aunt shot her in the thigh with a shotgun. | HCCCL 12 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 10/16/2019. Client accused of slapping his wife several times. | HCCCL 4 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 10/16/2019. Client accused of striking his girlfriend in the leg with a metal object. | HCCCL 16 |
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | Case reduced to misdemeanor Terroristic Threat of a Family Member with 1 year deferred adjudication on 10/08/2019. Client threatened to kill his girlfriend. | 228th |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 09/23/2019. Client accused of pushing his wife down causing her to strike the back of her head on tile flooring. | HCCCL 12 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 09/18/2019. Client accused of striking his wife. | HCCCL 3 |
| Injury to the Elderly | Case Reduced to misdemeanor Assault Family Member with credit for time served in jail on 09/11/2019. Client injured his mother. | 209th |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 08/21/2019. Client accused of striking his girlfriend with his hand. | HCCCL 10 |
| Terroristic Threat | Case Dismissed on 08/13/2019. Client accused of threatening his baby’s mama. | HCCCL 15 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 08/06/2019. Client was accused of striking his girlfriend with his hand. | HCCCL 9 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 06/12/2019. Client accused of striking her boyfriend. | HCCCL 1 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 05/23/2019. Client accused of striking his father with his hand. | HCCCL 9 |
| Assault Family Member | Found Not Guilty at Jury Trial on 05/15/2019. Client, an Army veteran that served in Afghanistan, and his friend accused of going to his older brother’s apartment early in the morning, breaking in, dragging him outside and attacking him in the driveway. His brother’s pregnant girlfriend claimed she was also injured. After the not guilty, his friend’s assault charge was dismissed. | HCCCL 3 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 03/06/2019. Client accused of pushing his girlfriend with his hand. | HCCCL 6 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 02/12/2019. Client accused of striking and pushing his girlfriend with his hand. | HCCCL 8 |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 01/25/2019. Client accused of striking his wife with his hand. | HCCCL 10 |
| 2018 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Interfering with Emergency Telephone Call | Case Dismissed on 12/19/2018. Client accused of stopping girlfriend from calling 911. | HCCCL 6 |
| Assault Family Member by Choking | Case Dismissed by Grand Jury on 12/14/2018. Client was attacked by his baby’s mama and defended himself. | 179th |
| Assault Family Member with Prior Conviction | Case Dismissed on 11/16/2018. Client was accused of slapping her boyfriend. | 183rd |
| Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 09/26/2018. Client accused of striking his wife with his hand. | HCCCL 16 |
| Assault Family Member by Choking | Case Dismissed on 07/10/2018. Client accused of choking his girlfriend. | 176th |
| Injury to a Child | Case Dismissed by Grand Jury on 06/25/2018. Client used reasonable discipline against her 14 year old daughter after the girl stole her car for the second time. | 184th |
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 05/29/2018. Client accused of running over her boyfriend. | 178th |
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | Case Dismissed on 04/24/2018. Client accused of threatening to kill his wife and family with a firearm. | 178th |
| Aggravated Assault Family Member | Case reduced to misdemeanor Deadly Conduct on 02/07/2018. Client accused of threatening his baby’s mama with an AR-15. | 351st |
| 2017 CASE RESULTS | ||
| Assault of a Family Member | Case Dismissed on 10/23/2017. Client accused of striking his girlfriend with his hand. | HCCCL 8 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case Dismissed on 10/18/2017. Client accused of striking his wife in the face with his hand. | HCCCL 6 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case Dismissed on 06/07/2017. Client accused of striking her boyfriend with her hand. | HCCCL 10 |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case Dismissed on 05/03/2017. Client accused of grabbing his girlfriend’s jaw with his hand. | HCCCL 4 |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case Dismissed by the Grand Jury on 03/09/2017. Client accused of choking his girlfriend. | 263rd |
| Assault of a Family Member by Choking | Case Dismissed by the Grand Jury on 02/23/2017. Client accused of choking his wife. | 182nd |
| Assault of a Family Member | Case Dismissed on 02/10/2017. Client accused of striking his wife with a picture frame. | HCCCL 15 |
