A family violence finding follows you for life. We know where these cases break.
An affirmative finding of family violence reaches your gun rights, your custody case, your immigration status, and your employment. We have dismissed nearly 200 of these cases, and Patrick McGuire prosecuted domestic violence cases for Dallas County before he defended them. Before you talk to anyone, talk to us.
Available 24/7. Free, confidential consultation.
The charge ends. The finding does not.
Texas treats family violence unlike any other charge. When a court enters an affirmative finding of family violence, it attaches to the judgment itself and stays there. Even successful deferred adjudication cannot be sealed when the offense involves family violence. Most people learn that after they plead, when it is too late to undo.
The consequences reach further than any sentence. A conviction bars you from possessing a firearm under federal law. Family courts weigh the finding against you in custody and conservatorship disputes. For non-citizens, it can trigger removal proceedings. Employers and licensing boards see it on every background check, and a second accusation can be charged as a felony because of the first.
The State of Texas presses these charges, not the person who called 911. Prosecutors can and do go forward when the complaining witness recants, and an emergency protective order can keep you out of your own home while the case is pending. The window to shape the case is early, before the file hardens into a filing decision.
We prosecuted these cases. Now we take them apart.
Patrick McGuire prosecuted domestic violence cases for Dallas County. He knows which witnesses carry the file, how the State proves an injury, and where these cases break. That knowledge drives every step below.
Move before the finding exists
The most important work happens before the State locks in its filing decision. We contact the prosecutor early, put the exculpatory evidence and the full context in front of them, and push for dismissal before the case builds momentum. Nearly 200 of our family violence cases have ended in dismissal.
Test the State’s evidence, not the accusation
We pull the 911 audio, the body camera footage, the photographs, and every statement the complaining witness gave, then line them up. Inconsistent accounts, injuries that do not match the story, and self-defense facts the responding officers ignored are where these cases come apart.
Handle a recanting witness correctly
When a complaining witness wants the case dropped, doing it wrong can hurt you and expose them. We handle affidavits of non-prosecution through counsel and pair them with the evidentiary problems that give a prosecutor a documented reason to dismiss.
Prepare every case for trial
Trial fees are included in our quote, so the decision to try your case rests on the evidence, never on a second invoice. Prosecutors know which defense lawyers will pick a jury, and it changes the offers they make.
Results in domestic & family violence cases
Family violence is the highest-volume charge we defend. A sample of outcomes from both attorneys:
- Nearly 200 dismissed Assault Family Violence
- Dismissed Aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, family violence
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts.
Domestic & Family Violence: the questions clients ask first.
My partner doesn’t want to press charges. Will the case be dropped?
Am I going to jail?
Should I just take deferred adjudication so this goes away?
There’s a protective order keeping me away from my home and my kids. Can that change?
The call is free. Waiting is not.
Evidence goes stale, witnesses move, and deadlines pass whether you have hired a lawyer or not. The earlier we start, the more we can do.
Free consultation · Available 24/7 · info@mycasedismissed.com