First-Time Assault Charges in Texas: What Each Level Means

What are the penalties for a first-time assault charge in Texas? The answer depends on the charge level. A first assault charge can be a fine-only misdemeanor, a misdemeanor with up to one year in county jail, or a felony with prison time. The level depends on the facts the state alleges, so the same word on a charge sheet can lead to very different outcomes.

What a first-time assault charge can mean in Texas

Texas Penal Code § 22.01 defines assault. Texas defines assault in Texas Penal Code § 22.01. That section covers three kinds of conduct: causing bodily injury, threatening someone with imminent bodily injury, and offensive or provocative physical contact.

Aggravated assault is a more serious charge. It applies when a person commits an assault and either causes serious bodily injury or uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the assault, as described in Texas Penal Code § 22.02.

The punishment ranges sit in Penal Code Chapter 12. That chapter sets the fines, jail terms and prison terms for each class of offense. Other facts can move a charge up or down, including the relationship between the accused and the complainant. That is why the charge label on your paperwork matters so much.

Simple assault: the Class C misdemeanor

A threat or offensive physical contact without injury is generally a Class C misdemeanor, punished by a fine of up to $500. Under § 22.01, a person commits this kind of offense by intentionally or knowingly threatening someone with imminent bodily injury. It also covers intentionally or knowingly causing contact the person knows, or should reasonably believe, the other will see as offensive or provocative.

In plain terms, a shove or a grab can fall in this tier when no bodily injury is involved. The facts decide which side of that line a case lands on.

A Class C misdemeanor is punished by a fine not to exceed $500, under Penal Code § 12.23. So the exact charge matters.

Even a fine-only case can matter later. A conviction stays on the record and can come up in jobs, housing applications or any future charge.

Assault causing bodily injury: the Class A misdemeanor

Assault that causes bodily injury is generally a Class A misdemeanor under § 22.01(a)(1). That subsection covers anyone who intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another, including a spouse.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine of up to $4,000, jail for up to one year, or both, under Penal Code § 12.21. The statute sets the most a court can impose.

The law defines bodily injury in Penal Code § 1.07 as physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. That definition is broad. Physical pain alone can meet it, so a case does not need a serious injury to land in this tier. The injury question often separates a Class C case from a Class A case, so reports and statements about injury matter.

Family violence assault and the consequences beyond the sentence

When the complainant is a family or household member or a dating partner, the case can carry added consequences. Texas defines family violence in Family Code § 71.004. It leaves out defensive measures to protect oneself.

Dating violence follows a similar pattern under Family Code § 71.0021. Whether a dating relationship exists depends on its length, its nature and how often the people interacted. Ordinary social or business contact does not count.

A protective order can add its own requirements. Under Family Code § 85.022, a court may order a person found to have committed family violence to complete a battering intervention program. The court may also bar that person from going near a residence or school a protected child attends. The court shall suspend a handgun license held by that person.

Prior history can raise the level. A prior conviction counts for certain family-relationship enhancements. A deferred adjudication plea can count too, even if the sentence was never imposed.

When a first assault charge is filed as a felony

Aggravated assault is generally a second-degree felony, with prison of 2 to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000. The charge requires an assault plus one of two facts: causing serious bodily injury, or using or exhibiting a deadly weapon during the assault. Either the assault causes serious bodily injury, or the person uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the assault.

Penal Code § 12.33 sets a second-degree felony at imprisonment for not more than 20 years or less than 2 years. A fine of up to $10,000 may be added.

Serious bodily injury is a higher bar than bodily injury. Serious bodily injury means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Some assault charges reach the third-degree felony level. A third-degree felony carries 2 to 10 years in prison, with a possible fine of up to $10,000. The key point is that a first offense can still reach felony level.

Probation and deferred adjudication may be possible

A judge may place a defendant on community supervision (probation) or defer adjudication, depending on the charge and the facts. After a conviction or a guilty or no-contest plea, a judge may suspend the sentence and place the defendant on community supervision. A judge may also impose a fine and place the defendant on community supervision, under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 42A.053.

Under Texas Penal Code § 12.35, an individual adjudged guilty of a state jail felony, except as provided by Subsection (c), shall be punished by confinement in a state jail for any term of not more than two years or less than 180 days, and in addition to confinement may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.053, the maximum period of community supervision in a misdemeanor case is two years, but, notwithstanding that limit, a judge may extend the maximum period in the manner provided by Article 42A.753 or 42A.757.

Deferred adjudication works differently.

The two outcomes can lead to different records. That difference matters when you weigh your options.

Frequently asked questions about first-time assault charges

Here are short answers to the questions people ask most often about first-time assault charges.

Talk through your first assault charge with Barbieri Law Firm

If a charge arrived after an argument at home or a physical confrontation, you may be trying to understand what it means. That is a hard place to be. You may be reading this for a partner, a parent or a friend, and you may not know yet which charge level applies.

Our team can review the charging papers, the charge level and the evidence with you. We will explain your options in plain language. No lawyer can promise a particular result, but a clear review is a sound first step.

Your first consultation is free, confidential and comes with no obligation to continue. Call (972) 424-1902 or send your case details through the contact page.

Heather Jean Barbieri, Board Certified, Criminal Law — Texas Board of Legal Specialization, is the responsible lawyer for this page. Barbieri Law Firm defends clients across Collin County, Dallas-Fort Worth and Texas from its base in Frisco.

Attorney responsible for this site: Heather Barbieri, Barbieri Law Firm, Frisco, Texas.