Aggravated Assault in Texas — What the Statute Requires and Where the Defense Lives
Aggravated assault under Texas Penal Code §22.02 is a simple assault that also either (a) causes serious bodily injury to another person, or (b) uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault. Either element alone — serious bodily injury or deadly weapon — elevates a simple assault to a second-degree felony: 2 to 20 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and up to a $10,000 fine. The charge escalates to a first-degree felony — 5 to 99 years or life — when the alleged victim is a public servant performing official duties, a family or household member, a government contractor, a security officer, a witness or informant, or a person the defendant used a vehicle against.
Both elements of aggravated assault — the injury standard and the weapon designation — are legally precise definitions that are subject to challenge. “Serious bodily injury” under §1.07(a)(46) requires injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes permanent disfigurement, or causes protracted loss or impairment of a bodily member or organ. Not every significant injury meets that standard. A “deadly weapon” under §1.07(a)(17) is either a firearm, or anything designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury, or anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. Both definitions have a factual component that the jury must evaluate — which means both are contestable.
Self-defense under Texas Penal Code §9.31 and §9.32 is a complete defense to aggravated assault when the defendant reasonably believed deadly force was immediately necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. Texas has no duty to retreat. The Castle Doctrine under §9.32(c) creates a presumption of reasonableness when deadly force is used in a home, vehicle, or workplace. I’ve tried aggravated assault cases in Hays County courts on self-defense grounds. Call 737-937-5786 now.
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