Family Violence in Texas and Coronavirus

Now that the government’s response to Covid-19 is to stay at home or “work safe”, people are spending a lot of time together. We find ourselves in an unprecedented situation. One in which we may be spending more time with family members than we ever have before. One in which lots of downtime leads to increased alcohol consumption. A recent news report stated that Texas leads the nation in drinking during the coronavirus lockdown. What if your relationship wasn’t on the best footing to begin with? What if the only thing keeping a marriage together was the fact that one or both parties were always at work or school? Add alcohol to an already stressful situation and it’s like adding a spark to a powder keg. Family Violence in Texas is already a tricky area of the law and the coronavirus pandemic just complicates things.

So, what happens if a heated situation escalates into family violence? What if the police are called? What will happen then, most likely, is that you will be arrested. If it’s your first offense, you can be charged with a misdemeanor or depending on the circumstances, you might be charged with a felony. If it’s a second such occurrence, you will be charged with a felony.

You might have heard that certain people are getting PR bonds in Harris County because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some people are getting PR bonds that might not normally get them but there are certain exceptions and one is a case involving violence. You will not get a PR bond on a family violence case, even if other nonviolent defendants are released on PR bonds. So, what do you do? Well, you will still be eligible for a bond in most cases. You will need to call a bondsman to facilitate your release or pay a cash bond. And then you will have an arraignment to attend. If you are indigent and qualify for a court-appointed attorney, you might get one. Or you can hire a private attorney to work on your case.

You are probably wondering how you can meet with your attorney if Houston, Harris County and the world are on lockdown. We are equipped to meet with you virtually through Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Facetime. Or if you prefer, we can just talk on the phone. Through the internet, we can do virtually everything one could do in an office visit.

As far as the court is concerned, we are viewed as essential employees and can come to court on your behalf or meet with judges and prosecutors through Zoom.

We have plenty of experience handling these kinds of cases and have been successful in getting them dismissed or reduced in many cases. If you have been charged with assault family violence, give us a call.