Assault Charges in Hays County — The Charge Spectrum and What It Means for Your Defense
Assault in Texas is defined under Penal Code §22.01 and §22.02 and covers a wider range of conduct than most people realize. A threat of bodily injury — without any physical contact at all — is a Class C misdemeanor. A simple punch that causes bodily injury is a Class A misdemeanor. If the alleged victim is a family or household member, a family violence finding attaches — and that finding triggers a lifetime federal firearms prohibition under the Lautenberg Amendment, regardless of whether you’re ever convicted of anything else. Aggravated assault involving serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon starts at a second-degree felony and escalates to a first-degree felony against certain victims.
I’ve defended assault charges in Hays County courts for over 20 years. The defense strategy depends entirely on the specific facts: who said what happened, what the camera shows, whether self-defense applies, and whether the alleged injury actually meets the legal definition the charge requires. Allison Tisdale prosecuted assault cases as a Texas state prosecutor before joining our firm. She knows exactly how DA Kelly Higgins’s office builds these cases, what it considers sufficient evidence to proceed, and where the prosecution’s file tends to have holes.
The most important thing to understand about any assault charge in Hays County is this: the complaining witness does not control whether the case proceeds. Once DA Kelly Higgins’s office files charges, it is the state’s case — not the alleged victim’s. Even if the complaining witness recants or refuses to cooperate, the prosecution may proceed on other evidence. The defense strategy has to account for that possibility from day one. Call 737-937-5786 the moment you are aware of a potential charge.
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