By Graham Norris

The knock on the door isn’t from a neighbor. The paperwork in your hands isn’t a jury summons. It’s a protective order, served on you after an assault allegation, and in an instant, the rules of your life have changed.

In Tarrant County, this civil order doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s a direct offshoot of the criminal charges you’re facing, creating a parallel set of legal dangers. Recognizing this dual threat—what the order demands and how a misstep can cripple your defense—is your first, most critical step toward protecting your future.

Why an Assault Allegation Often Leads to a Protective Order in Texas

In Texas, the path from an assault accusation to a judge signing a protective order is often short and swiftly traveled. This is especially true when the allegation involves someone you know. Prosecutors and courts frequently use protective orders as a preemptive tool in assault cases, particularly once the “family violence” label comes into play.

The Broad “Family Violence” Label in Texas

Many people mistakenly believe protective orders only apply in marital disputes. Texas law applies the family violence designation much more broadly. An allegation involving a roommate, a cousin, or other relatives can trigger the same legal mechanisms as one between intimate partners. This wide net means protective orders are a common feature in a vast array of assault cases, not just traditional domestic disputes. The moment this label is attached, the court’s priority shifts toward issuing protective measures.

The Prosecution’s Dual Strategy

It’s important to recognize the strategic role a protective order plays in the broader case against you. For the state, it serves two purposes. First, it ostensibly provides a layer of protection for the accuser. Second, and just as significantly, it establishes a clear, court-ordered boundary for you. This creates a powerful tool for prosecutors: if you violate that boundary, they can pursue separate criminal charges for the violation, which they will then use to argue you are disrespectful of the court and a continuing threat.

Your Restrictions: What a Protective Order Forbids

A protective order is not a suggestion or a warning. It is a binding command from the court, and violating it is a separate criminal offense, even if the underlying assault case is later dropped. The restrictions are explicit and must be followed to the letter, with no room for interpretation or “harmless” exceptions.

Common prohibitions in a Tarrant County protective order include:

• No Contact of Any Kind: You cannot directly call, text, email, or message the protected person. This also includes indirect contact, such as having a friend or family member pass along a message for you.
• Maintain Physical Distance: You will be ordered to stay a specific number of feet away from the applicant, as well as their home, place of work, vehicle, and sometimes their children’s school.
• Residence Exclusion: If you shared a home with the applicant, you will almost certainly be ordered to move out immediately and not return while the order is in effect.
• Firearm Surrender and Prohibition: You will be required to surrender any firearms you own or possess and will be legally barred from purchasing new ones for the duration of the order.

The Path to Modifying or Overturning Your Protective Order

While compliance is mandatory, a protective order is not necessarily permanent. Texas law provides a legal pathway to challenge its terms or seek its dismissal entirely. This civil process happens in court alongside your criminal case, and successfully handling it requires specific procedures and standards.

Requesting a Hearing – Your First Formal Step

To formally contest the order, your attorney must file a motion or answer with the issuing court, often within a tight deadline after you are served. This request triggers a hearing before a judge, where both sides can present evidence and testimony.

The Burden of Proof at the Hearing

At this hearing, the applicant (the person who sought the order) typically must show by a “preponderance of the evidence” that family violence occurred and is likely to occur again. Your defense focuses on undermining this claim by presenting counter-evidence—such as witness statements, communications, or proof of fabrication—to demonstrate that the order is unnecessary or based on a false or exaggerated narrative.

Possible Outcomes of a Hearing

The judge has several options after the hearing. They can uphold the order as written, modify its terms (for example, by shortening its length or allowing limited contact for child custody matters), or vacate (dismiss) the order entirely. A successful challenge that modifies or vacates the order significantly weakens the prosecution’s narrative in the parallel criminal case.

The Critical Connection: How a Protective Order Violation Destroys Your Criminal Defense

Even a minor violation, like a single text message, can have catastrophic consequences for your life and your assault case. The fallout operates on three devastating levels.

First, you will face immediate new criminal charges for violating the protective order. This is typically a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine, entirely separate from your original assault allegation. It guarantees an arrest and complicates your bail situation.

Second, and more strategically dire, a violation annihilates your credibility in your main assault case. To a prosecutor and judge, it transforms you from someone presumed innocent into someone who defies court authority. According to the National Institute of Justice, violations are used as evidence of continuing threat, undermining any argument for leniency and destroying plea bargain leverage.

Finally, a conviction for violating a protective order permanently compounds the severe collateral damage you already face from an assault allegation. It solidifies the loss of gun rights, creates an even higher barrier to securing housing or employment, and leaves a permanent mark on your record.

Your Strategic Response: Fighting the Order and the Underlying Allegation

Compliance is your immediate, non-negotiable duty. But silent compliance does not mean surrender. While you meticulously follow the order’s rules, your legal team must wage an aggressive, two-front defense to challenge both the validity of the protective order and the heart of the assault allegation itself.

• The Investigation: Every detail of the allegation must be examined. Context is everything. What was said, the environment, the history between the parties, and your reasonable perceptions in the moment are all critical pieces of the truth. A strategic defense begins by reconstructing the full, accurate story.
• Challenging Credibility: With the full context in hand, the next phase is gathering evidence that tests the accuser’s narrative. This involves obtaining phone records, reviewing messages, interviewing independent witnesses, and analyzing any available video. The goal is to identify inconsistencies, biases, or proof that the allegation was exaggerated or fabricated.
• Presenting the Truth: The compiled evidence and context are then strategically deployed to key decision-makers, from the investigating detective to the prosecutor, to persuade them to dismiss the case or avoid taking it to a grand jury.

Secure Your Defense and Your Future: Act Now

Handling a protective order and criminal assault charges is a complex, high-stakes battle that should not be faced alone. The strategies, restrictions, and consequences outlined here underscore the critical need for an experienced, dedicated advocate in your corner.

At Norris Legal Group, we provide powerful defense founded on Dignity, Trust, and Fight. With a proven track record of securing dismissals and protecting futures in even the most challenging cases, we offer the transparent communication and relentless advocacy you need. Contact us today for a confidential consultation and let us start building your defense.