If you’re facing assault charges in Austin, you need a defense attorney who has stood on both sides of the courtroom. At the Law Office of Jorge Vela, our team is led by a former federal and state prosecutor who spent seven years building the government’s cases before switching to defense. We handle every level of assault charge under Texas Penal Code § 22.01 and § 22.02 throughout Travis County and Central Texas. Call (512) 537-1237 for a consultation. Se habla español.
Assault Defense Attorneys Serving Austin
The Law Office of Jorge Vela defends clients facing assault charges throughout Austin and Travis County. Attorney Jorge Vela, J.D., built his career on the other side of the courtroom, serving as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Texas and an Assistant District Attorney in Travis and Webb Counties. As your assault defense attorney, we build your defense around how the state actually prepares its case, what evidence it prioritizes, and where its arguments break down.
Our firm represents clients across Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell Counties, and Jorge’s legal analysis has been featured on Fox News, Scripps News, Sirius XM, and NBC DFW. You’ll work directly with a criminal defense attorney in Austin who has tried hundreds of cases, including aggravated assault, in Travis County courts from both sides.
What makes a former prosecutor effective as your assault defense lawyer?
When you hire a former prosecutor, you’re hiring someone who understands exactly how the state evaluates evidence, selects witnesses, and presents its case to a jury. Jorge personally tried cases involving aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, and intoxicated manslaughter during his time as a state prosecutor, and he secured a life sentence against the head of a Laredo drug trafficking organization while serving as a federal AUSA. Every one of those trials taught him what makes a prosecution strong and, more importantly, what makes it fall apart. Your defense benefits directly from that insider knowledge.
Assault Charges Under Texas Law: Classifications and Penalties
Texas Penal Code § 22.01 defines assault as intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person, threatening someone with imminent bodily injury, or making physical contact you know the other person will find offensive or provocative.
Assault by contact or assault by threat is a Class C misdemeanor carrying a maximum $500 fine and no jail time. Assault causing bodily injury, defined as physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition, is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
How does simple assault differ from aggravated assault in Texas?
Simple assault under § 22.01 covers bodily injury, threats, and offensive contact, all misdemeanor-level offenses in most circumstances. Aggravated assault under § 22.02 is a separate and far more serious charge. The state must prove either that you caused serious bodily injury, meaning injury creating a substantial risk of death or permanent disfigurement, or that you used or exhibited a deadly weapon. A standard aggravated assault is a second-degree felony carrying two to twenty years in state prison, and it rises to a first-degree felony when the alleged victim is a public servant, witness, informant, or intimate partner.
When do assault charges become a felony in Texas?
Assault causing bodily injury becomes a felony when specific aggravating factors apply. If you have a prior conviction for assault involving family violence, a second offense is automatically elevated to a third-degree felony carrying two to ten years in prison. Texas law also enhances assault to a felony when the alleged victim is a public servant, emergency services worker, security officer, or hospital employee performing official duties at the time. Certain conduct like assault by strangulation also carries its own felony classification, and the 2025 Texas legislative session expanded these enhancements further to include utility workers.
Does Texas recognize a separate battery charge?
Texas does not have a separate battery statute. Many states draw a line between assault, which involves a threat, and battery, which involves physical contact, but Texas combines both under § 22.01. If you’ve moved to Austin from another state or you’re searching for information about battery charges in Texas, the conduct you’re looking for falls entirely under the assault statute.
Common Defenses Against Assault Charges in Austin
Your criminal defense attorney can challenge assault charges on several grounds under Texas law, and the best approach depends on the facts of your case. Lack of intent is one of the most common defenses, because the state must prove you acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. Accidental contact and witness misidentification in chaotic situations can both undermine that standard.
Constitutional violations also play a role in many assault cases. If police conducted an unlawful arrest, failed to read your Miranda rights, or obtained evidence through an improper search, your attorney can file motions to suppress that evidence before trial. Assault charges in Austin tied to the city’s nightlife, especially incidents along 6th Street, frequently involve disputed facts, conflicting witness accounts, and limited physical evidence. An experienced assault defense lawyer can expose these weaknesses through cross-examination and raise self-defense or other affirmative defenses on your behalf.
Is self-defense a valid defense for assault charges in Texas?
Texas Penal Code § 9.31 says you’re justified in using force when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself from another person’s unlawful force. Texas is also a stand-your-ground state, which means you have no legal duty to retreat before defending yourself as long as you’re lawfully present at the location and haven’t provoked the confrontation. The force you use must be proportional to the threat, so a successful self-defense claim requires showing your response matched the danger you faced.
Can assault charges be dropped if the victim doesn’t want to prosecute?
One of the most common misconceptions about assault cases is that the alleged victim can simply decide to drop the charges. In Texas, only the prosecutor has the authority to dismiss an assault case, regardless of what the complainant wants. An alleged victim can file an affidavit of non-prosecution, a sworn statement telling the Travis County District Attorney’s Office they don’t wish to move forward, but that document doesn’t bind the prosecutor. The state can still proceed using police reports, body-cam footage, and other witness testimony alone. Travis County does have the highest dismissal rate among major urban Texas counties, but reaching that result usually requires experienced defense counsel working the case early.
What role does the Castle Doctrine play in Texas assault cases?
Texas law gives you stronger self-defense protections when the confrontation happens inside your home, your occupied vehicle, or your place of business. Under §§ 9.31 and 9.32, the Castle Doctrine creates a legal presumption that your use of force was reasonable when someone unlawfully and forcibly enters or attempts to enter one of those protected spaces. That presumption makes it significantly harder for prosecutors to argue your response wasn’t justified. You can’t have provoked the other person or been engaged in criminal activity at the time, and the doctrine applies whether the charge involves bodily injury, serious bodily injury, or a deadly weapon.
Penalties and Long-Term Consequences of an Assault Conviction
An assault conviction in Travis County can affect your life long after the sentence itself. The court may place you on probation with conditions that include mandatory anger management classes, community service hours, regular drug and alcohol testing, and strict no-contact orders with the complainant. Violating any of those conditions can result in revocation of your probation and additional penalties.
Professional licensing boards in nursing, teaching, law enforcement, and real estate can suspend or revoke your credentials based on an assault conviction in Texas, whether the underlying charge was a Class A misdemeanor for bodily injury or a violent felony like aggravated assault. A protective order may also restrict where you can go and who you can contact, and these orders can remain in effect well beyond the resolution of your case.
How does an assault conviction affect your record and future in Texas?
An assault conviction creates a permanent criminal record that appears on background checks run by employers, landlords, and licensing agencies. For first-time offenders, deferred adjudication, a form of court-supervised probation, may let you avoid a formal conviction, but it doesn’t erase the arrest from your record. You would still need to petition for an order of nondisclosure, and Texas law imposes a two-year waiting period before you can file.
If your case involved domestic violence or family violence, the path forward is harder. Texas law makes family violence assault records permanently ineligible for nondisclosure, meaning your record remains visible regardless of how much time has passed.
Can you lose your right to own a firearm after an assault conviction?
Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) permanently prohibits firearm possession for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and most family violence assault convictions in Texas qualify. This federal ban applies even when the underlying charge is a misdemeanor, with no exceptions for hunting or sporting firearms. Texas state law separately bars anyone convicted of a felony from possessing a firearm for five years after completing their sentence. Many people don’t realize that accepting a family violence plea can cost them their gun rights for life.
How do assault charges affect immigration status?
If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, an assault conviction can carry immigration consequences as serious as the criminal penalties themselves. Aggravated assault qualifies as an aggravated felony under federal immigration law, which can trigger mandatory deportation with limited options for relief. Even a misdemeanor assault may be classified as a crime involving moral turpitude, a category that can lead to inadmissibility or denial of naturalization.
Facing a criminal charge alongside the possibility of losing your right to stay in this country is overwhelming. Jorge handles both criminal defense and immigration under one roof, so you won’t need to coordinate between two separate attorneys who may not understand how each field affects the other.
What to Do After Being Arrested for Assault in Austin
The steps you take after an assault arrest in Austin can shape the entire outcome of your case. Stay calm, provide officers with your name and identifying information, and request an attorney before answering any questions. Do not give a statement or sign any waivers.
Do not contact the complainant in any way, because even a well-intentioned phone call or text message can violate bond conditions or an existing protective order and lead to additional charges. While the details are still fresh, write down the sequence of events, the names of anyone who witnessed what happened, and any other facts you can recall. Share that information only with your defense attorney.
Should you talk to police after an assault arrest in Austin?
No. Anything you say during or after your arrest can become evidence the prosecution uses against you at trial. Jail phone calls are recorded, and Travis County prosecutors routinely introduce those recordings in court. Conversations with friends, family members, or cellmates aren’t protected either, and any of those individuals can be called as witnesses. Call the Law Office of Jorge Vela at (512) 537-1237 before you speak to anyone else about your case.
How the Law Office of Jorge Vela Can Help
If you need an assault lawyer in Austin, you deserve one who knows how Travis County prosecutors build their cases and decide what to bring to trial. At the Law Office of Jorge Vela, we handle every stage of your defense, from the initial investigation through pre-trial motions, jury trial, and sentencing. Jorge and partner attorney Miguel Aguilera give every client the time and attention their case requires because we don’t run a high-volume practice.
Don’t wait. The sooner you call your Austin assault lawyer, the sooner we can start building your defense. Call (512) 537-1237 any time, day or night, or contact us online. Se habla español.