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Domestic abuse is often more than just a one-time occurrence, with many abusers continuously assaulting or otherwise abusing domestic partners, children, or other household members.
Ongoing abuse tends to be more traumatic to the victims of domestic violence than a single instance, causing them to feel as if they deserve the abuse or cannot escape the situation. Further, domestic violence often escalates over time, with assaults becoming more severe and posing more of a threat to family members’ safety.
In order to help remedy these situations, Texas enacted the Continuous Family Violence Law, which mandates enhanced sentencing for repeated domestic violence offenses.
The Continuous Family Violence Law in Texas
Depending on the circumstances of the alleged assault, domestic violence is typically charged as a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. Offenders typically face a short jail sentence for misdemeanor-level offenses, or may be placed on probation without serving time behind bars.
Because lawmakers believed these penalties were often not sufficient to deter habitual domestic violence offenders, Texas passed the Continuous Family Violence Law in 2009.
Under the law, domestic violence offenders who commit repeated misdemeanor-level domestic assaults may be charged with a single felony-level offense, which would presumably deter repeat offenders from continued domestic violence.
What Leads to a Charge of Continuous Family Violence in Texas? How does this work?
Under the Continuous Family Violence law, any two misdemeanor domestic assaults committed within the same 12 months are considered continuous family violence, and you may be brought up on felony-level charges. For example, multiple Class A misdemeanor assaults committed within a 12-month period are prosecuted as a single Third-degree felony.
Importantly, even two relatively minor incidents could result in being charged under the law, leaving you with a very damaging criminal record.
Conviction on Continuous Family Violence in Texas Does not Require a Unanimous Verdict
Generally speaking, Texas requires a unanimous guilty verdict in order to convict a defendant of a felony-level offense. However, things are a bit different for Continuous Family Violence trials.
In 2015, the Sixth Court of Appeals ruled that in a case where three or more assaults allegedly occurred, the jury does not have to agree upon which specific assaults occurred to convict a defendant of Continuous Family Violence, so long as all jurors agree that at least two assaults took place within the 12-month period.
This means that if some jurors cannot find sufficient evidence for one alleged assault and some jurors cannot find sufficient evidence for another assault, you will still be convicted so long as there is unanimous agreement that at least two assaults occurred.
Penalties for Continuous Violence Against the Family in Texas
In our state, Continuous Violence Against the Family is considered a Third-degree felony, and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000. Additionally, you may be required complete a rehabilitation program designed to rehabilitate domestic violence offenders, and as a convicted felon you will face lifelong restrictions on your freedoms and privileges.
Any domestic violence conviction can have significant civil consequences.
A conviction for Continuous Violence Against the family could be life-changing in many ways. It’s therefore essential to fight back against these charges to avoid significant criminal penalties and the inability to see the people you love most.
Call the Hampton Law Firm at 817-877-5200 and we will be happy to listen to your unique story and give you a free case analysis to help you develop a clear plan of action of how to win your case.
0:00 Continuous family violence- a former DA breaks down the law!
00:53 What is “Domestic Violence?”
01:17 What is a “Class A Misdemeanor?”
02:25 What is “Continuous Family Violence Misdemeanor?”
02:40 What is the penalty of this crime?
03:27 Why don’t you want to have a felony conviction on your record?
04:45 How can an experienced attorney help you?
