In Texas, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a family member is a felony punishable by 2 to 99 years in prison. It starts as a second-degree felony and jumps to the first degree when the accused both used a deadly weapon and caused serious bodily injury to someone in a qualifying family, household, or dating relationship.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault A conviction also triggers an automatic firearm ban, blocks judge-ordered probation, and pushes parole eligibility years down the road.
What Makes an Assault “Aggravated”
An assault becomes aggravated in Texas when one of two things is true: the person caused serious bodily injury, or the person used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the assault.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault Only one of the two needs to be present.
Serious bodily injury is more than pain or bruising. The law defines it as injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or results in protracted loss or impairment of a body part or organ.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions Broken bones, deep lacerations needing surgery, and internal organ damage usually qualify. A black eye or minor swelling does not.
The deadly weapon element covers much more than firearms. A deadly weapon is a firearm, anything designed for the purpose of inflicting death or serious injury, or anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious injury.2State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 1.07 – Definitions A kitchen knife, a car driven at someone, or a heavy object used to strike can all count. The accused does not have to make contact with the weapon. Displaying it during a confrontation is enough.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault
Which Relationships Trigger the Domestic Enhancement
The domestic piece of this charge turns on the relationship between the accused and the other person. Three categories qualify, each defined in the Texas Family Code:
- Family members: people related by blood or marriage, former spouses, parents who share a child whether or not they were ever married, and foster parents and foster children.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.003 – Family
- Household members: people living together in the same home, whether related or not.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.005 – Household
- Dating partners: people who have or had a continuing romantic or intimate relationship. Courts look at the length, nature, and frequency of the interactions. A casual acquaintance or someone known only through work does not qualify.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code 71.0021 – Dating Violence
These definitions reach wider than people expect. Roommates with no romantic connection, a parent’s ex-partner who used to live in the home, and co-parents who never dated can all fall inside them.
Second-Degree vs. First-Degree Felony
Aggravated assault is a second-degree felony by default. It becomes a first-degree felony when the accused used a deadly weapon and caused serious bodily injury to a family member, household member, or dating partner.1State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 22.02 – Aggravated Assault Both elements have to be present for the higher classification.
The distinction often comes down to the medical evidence and how the weapon was used. Threaten a family member with a knife but cause no injury, and the charge stays at the second degree. If that same knife causes a wound requiring emergency surgery, the charge moves to first degree.
Prison Time and Fines
The gap between the two degrees is wide.
- First-degree felony: 5 to 99 years, or life, in prison, with a fine up to $10,000.6State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
- Second-degree felony: 2 to 20 years in prison, with a fine up to $10,000.7State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.33 – Second Degree Felony Punishment
The actual time served is often longer than the minimum sentence suggests, because of how parole eligibility works in weapon cases.
What Happens Right After Arrest
When someone is arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a family member, the magistrate is required to issue an emergency protective order. It is not discretionary. Because the charge involves a deadly weapon, the order lasts between 61 and 91 days.8State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 17.292 – Magistrates Order for Emergency Protection
The order can bar the defendant from contacting the protected person, going near their home, workplace, or any protected child’s school, possessing a firearm, and tracking the protected person’s vehicle or property. Violating any term is a separate crime, usually charged as a Class A misdemeanor and escalating to a state jail or third-degree felony with prior violations or a new assault.9State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.07 – Violation of Certain Court Orders or Conditions of Bond in a Family Violence Case A single text message to the protected person can produce a new arrest.
Probation Is Almost Never Available
A judge cannot place a defendant on community supervision when the judgment includes an affirmative finding that a deadly weapon was used or exhibited during a felony.10State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 42A.054 – Limitation on Judge-Ordered Community Supervision Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon carries that finding by its nature, so judge-ordered probation is off the table.
A jury can still grant probation in some cases where the sentence does not exceed ten years, but juries rarely do so in domestic weapon cases. Most people convicted of this offense go to prison.
Parole Comes Late in Weapon Cases
The deadly weapon finding also delays parole eligibility. An inmate with that finding must serve actual calendar time, not counting good-conduct credit, equal to half of the sentence or 30 years, whichever is less, before the parole board will even review the case. The minimum is two years.11State of Texas. Texas Government Code 508.145 – Eligibility for Release on Parole
A 20-year sentence means at least 10 real years before any parole review. A 50-year sentence means 25. Eligibility is not release. The board denies many applicants, especially for violent domestic offenses, so time actually served often runs well past the eligibility date.
Firearm Bans After Conviction
A conviction triggers firearm restrictions under both state and federal law, and the two run independently.
Under Texas law, a person convicted of any felony cannot possess a firearm for five years after completing the sentence, including parole or supervision. After those five years, possession is allowed only inside the person’s own home. Possession anywhere else remains illegal indefinitely, and violating this is itself a third-degree felony.12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 46.04 – Unlawful Possession of Firearm
Federal law is stricter and has no five-year exception. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), anyone convicted of a felony is permanently barred from possessing firearms or ammunition. A separate provision, 922(g)(9), permanently bars anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, which can catch people who plead a felony down to a misdemeanor and assume their gun rights survive.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 922 – Unlawful Acts The federal ban applies regardless of any state-level restoration.
The Family Violence Finding
Separate from the deadly weapon finding, a court that determines the offense involved family violence is required to enter an affirmative finding of family violence in the judgment.14State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 42.013 – Finding of Family Violence It carries its own long-term consequences.
A later family violence assault, even one that would otherwise be a misdemeanor, can be enhanced to a felony because of this finding. It also affects eligibility for deferred adjudication on future family violence cases and can be used in protective order and child custody proceedings. Because the finding is attached to the judgment, it persists after the sentence is served.
Self-Defense
Self-defense is the most common defense in these cases. Under Texas law, a person is justified in using force when they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect against another’s unlawful force. The force used must be proportional to the threat.15State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.31 – Self-Defense
Deadly force, including the use of a weapon, is justified only when the person reasonably believes it is immediately necessary to protect against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force. Texas also presumes reasonableness when someone uses force against a person unlawfully and forcibly entering their home, vehicle, or workplace.16State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.32 – Deadly Force in Defense of Person
Self-defense does not apply if the person provoked the confrontation, consented to the force, or was engaged in criminal activity beyond a minor traffic offense. Verbal provocation alone never justifies force.15State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 9.31 – Self-Defense In domestic cases, the hardest piece is often proving who started the confrontation when both people tell different stories and no outside witnesses were present.
Immigration Consequences for Non-Citizens
For non-citizens, the immigration fallout can be worse than the criminal penalty. Federal law makes any non-citizen convicted of a crime of domestic violence deportable, regardless of status. The definition covers crimes of violence committed by current or former spouses, people who share a child, current or former cohabitants, and others in similar domestic relationships.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1227 – Deportable Aliens Aggravated assault with a weapon against a family member fits.
The conviction can also be treated as an aggravated felony under immigration law, which blocks nearly every form of relief from removal and makes the person permanently inadmissible after deportation. A protective order violation can independently trigger removal proceedings. A plea that looks favorable on paper can produce mandatory removal, so the defense strategy has to account for immigration from the start.