Texas law treats domestic violence cases differently. A person cannot seal their records if the court convicts them of a family violence offense. Also, it is a crime for a person to possess a firearm after being convicted of domestic violence.
Criminal defense lawyers have to react to events after they happen. This is especially true in assault cases. The police will arrest a person for a domestic violence offense. The police then bring him or her to the Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth until they bond out. At this point, the person comes into my office and almost always asks this next question: “Can my wife/husband drop the charges against me?”
No, the alleged victim cannot drop a domestic violence assault once the District Attorney receives it. In some cases, the prosecutor will drop the criminal charges. The alleged victim must complete several steps. First, the alleged victim must sign an affidavit of non prosecution. Then, the alleged victim must attend a class. Finally, the victim must meet with the family violence coordinator in Fort Worth. After all of these steps, the prosecutor decides if he or she will drop the case. It is not common for the prosecutors to drop these cases.
Other times, a person contacts the prosecutor or police officer before hiring an attorney. The person admits to some things to convince the police officer to drop the case. The police officer can then testify about what the person told them.
Since a case cannot be dropped easily, does this mean there is nothing that you can do in a domestic violence case? No, there are still a lot of things that you can do. You will have to make a lot of important decisions during a family violence case. You should understand your rights before doing anything because your life is too important to gamble.
