Assault that causes bodily injury in Texas is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code Section 22.01, carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.01 – Assault2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.21 – Class A Misdemeanor Depending on who the victim was, whether the defendant has a prior family violence conviction, and whether the assault involved choking, the same underlying conduct can be charged as a third-degree or second-degree felony instead, with years of prison time attached.
What Counts as Bodily Injury
Texas defines bodily injury as physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code PENAL 1.07 – Definitions The threshold is low. A victim does not need stitches, broken bones, or even a bruise. Testimony that the contact caused pain is regularly enough to satisfy this element at trial.
That surprises people. A shove that leaves a sore shoulder, a grab that leaves no mark, or a slap to the face can all qualify. The question is whether the victim felt pain, not whether a doctor could document an injury afterward. Most cases at this level turn on credibility about that pain, not on dramatic physical evidence.
Penalties for the Standard Misdemeanor Charge
Without any of the enhancement factors described below, the charge is a Class A misdemeanor, the most serious misdemeanor classification in Texas. The maximum punishment is up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $4,000, or both.
First-time offenders at this level often receive community supervision rather than jail time. Probation conditions typically include anger management classes, community service hours, and regular check-ins with a probation officer. The court may also order restitution to the victim. Those conditions carry real teeth: violating any of them can result in revocation and imposition of the original jail sentence, so a probation offer that looks lenient on paper is not a free pass.
Prosecutors also have to prove a mental state. A Section 22.01 conviction requires that the defendant acted intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly. Intentional conduct means causing the injury was the conscious goal. Knowing conduct means the defendant was aware the conduct was reasonably certain to cause the result. Recklessness, the broadest of the three, covers being aware of a substantial risk of injury and disregarding it.
Recklessness is where the charge catches defendants off guard. You don’t have to mean to hurt anyone. Throw an object across a room during an argument, and if it strikes someone, a prosecutor can argue you were aware of the risk and ignored it. The flip side is that the mental state element is often the most productive area for a defense. If the contact was genuinely accidental, with no awareness of any risk, the state’s case can fall apart.
When the Charge Becomes a Felony
Several circumstances push the same conduct into felony territory, and the jump is steep.
Third-Degree Felony
The charge is elevated to a third-degree felony when the defendant knew, at the time of the assault, that the victim was any of the following:
- A public servant, including a teacher, performing official duties or targeted in retaliation for performing those duties
- Emergency services personnel actively providing emergency services
- A security officer performing their duties
Two family-violence-related scenarios also raise the charge to a third-degree felony: when the defendant has a prior conviction for a family violence offense against a family member, household member, or dating partner; or when the assault involves choking or blocking the victim’s ability to breathe, regardless of prior history.
A third-degree felony carries two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a fine of up to $10,000.4State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.34 – Third Degree Felony Punishment
Second-Degree Felony
Two situations push the charge all the way to a second-degree felony. The first is assaulting a peace officer or judge who is performing official duties or targeting them in retaliation for those duties.
The second involves a combination of factors: the victim is a family member, household member, or dating partner; the defendant has a prior family violence conviction; and the current offense involved choking or blocking breathing. When all three conditions overlap, the charge becomes a second-degree felony. That level carries two to twenty years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.5State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
The Family Violence Finding
When the court determines the victim was a family member, household member, or someone in a current or former dating relationship, the judge can attach an affirmative finding of family violence to the case.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 71.004 – Family Violence That finding triggers consequences that outlast the sentence, and defendants often don’t appreciate them until it’s too late to negotiate them away.
Federal Firearms Ban
Under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g)(9), anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is banned from possessing firearms or ammunition.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The federal prohibition applies even though the underlying Texas charge is a misdemeanor, and the ban is effectively permanent for offenses involving spouses, cohabitants, and family members.8Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions For anyone who owns firearms, hunts, or works in a field requiring one, this consequence can be more disruptive than the jail time.
Automatic Enhancement for Future Offenses
A family violence finding also acts as a permanent escalator. Any later assault causing bodily injury against a family member, household member, or dating partner is automatically a third-degree felony. If that later offense also involves choking or blocking breathing, it becomes a second-degree felony. The prior finding does not expire, and there is no mechanism to reset the enhancement clock.
Records Cannot Be Sealed
Texas law bars orders of nondisclosure for offenses involving family violence. Under Government Code Section 411.074, a person cannot petition to seal their criminal record if the court made an affirmative finding of family violence, and a person who has ever been convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication for a family violence offense is ineligible for nondisclosure on that offense.9State of Texas. Texas Government Code GOV’T 411.074 Even defendants who successfully complete deferred adjudication and avoid a final conviction cannot seal the record. The case remains visible on background checks indefinitely.
When the Injury Is Serious: Aggravated Assault
Section 22.01 has a ceiling. If the injury crosses from ordinary bodily injury into serious bodily injury, or if the defendant used or displayed a deadly weapon during the assault, the charge shifts to aggravated assault under Section 22.02, which starts as a second-degree felony carrying two to twenty years.10State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 22.02 – Aggravated Assault
Serious bodily injury means an injury creating a substantial risk of death, causing permanent disfigurement, or resulting in long-term loss of function in a body part or organ.3State of Texas. Texas Penal Code PENAL 1.07 – Definitions In practical terms, a broken arm that heals fully is typically bodily injury, while a skull fracture creating a risk of death is serious bodily injury. Where a case falls on that line drives the entire range of punishment.
Self-Defense
Texas Penal Code Section 9.31 allows the use of force when a person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect against someone else’s unlawful force. Texas does not impose a duty to retreat. If you have a right to be where you are, you are not legally required to back away before defending yourself.11State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 9.31 – Self-Defense
The defense has hard limits. Force is not justified in response to words alone, no matter how provocative. You cannot claim self-defense if you provoked the confrontation, unless you clearly tried to disengage and the other person kept coming. And you cannot use force to resist an arrest by a peace officer, even if you believe the arrest is unlawful. The level of force also has to match the threat. Throwing a punch at someone who shoved you may be reasonable; hitting them with a bat probably is not.
The law also presumes force was reasonable in certain situations: when someone is unlawfully forcing their way into your home, vehicle, or workplace, or when someone is committing a violent felony against you. In those scenarios, the defendant gets the benefit of the doubt rather than having to build reasonableness from scratch.
How Long the State Has to File Charges
For misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury, the standard limitations period is two years from the date of the offense. When the assault involves family violence and is prosecuted as a felony, the state has five years to bring charges.12State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure CRIM P Art 12.01 – Felonies Other felony assault charges that don’t involve family violence carry a three-year limitations period.
These deadlines run from the date the offense was committed, not the date it was reported or discovered. If the limitations period expires before charges are filed, the prosecution is barred. Time spent outside the state may not count toward the deadline under certain circumstances, so the clock does not always run as cleanly as defendants hope.
Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens
An assault conviction involving family violence carries a separate and severe consequence for non-citizens. Under 8 U.S.C. Section 1227(a)(2)(E), any non-citizen convicted after admission of a crime of domestic violence is deportable.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Federal immigration law defines a crime of domestic violence broadly as any crime of violence against a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or a person protected under domestic violence laws.
The Texas classification, misdemeanor or felony, matters less than most people assume. Immigration authorities look at the conduct and the relationship, not the state-level label. A Class A misdemeanor assault with a family violence finding can trigger removal proceedings just as effectively as a felony conviction. Non-citizens facing these charges need immigration-specific counsel alongside criminal defense, because a plea that looks favorable in criminal court can be catastrophic in immigration court.