Articles Posted in Texas Penal Code

Deadly Conduct should be a simple charge to understand right? Was there conduct? Was it deadly? Ok, then that’s “Deadly Conduct.” But like anything in law we make the simple complicated so guys like me can wear a suit and argue in court.

What is Deadly Conduct in Texas? Two ways to get there.

A It’s any conduct that places another person in danger of serious bodily injury. The conduct has to be reckless or better, so negligence won’t get there. Pointing a gun at someone counts as well.

Welcome back to our ongoing series on Assault crimes in Texas. Today we are going to leave Texas Penal Code 22.01, which has many typical assault offenses and take a closer look at TPC 22.04. 22.04 deals with victims (or complaining witnesses) in 3 unique classes- children, elderly, and disabled.

Let’s start with some definitions. In Texas, a “child” for the purposes of 22.04 is anyone under 14. An “elderly” person is anyone over 65. A “disabled” individual is anyone with

-autism spectrum disorder, as defined by Section 1355.001, Insurance Code;-

Assault – Family Violence is probably the most serious misdemeanor offense in Texas. As we discussed last time when we reviewed TPC 22.01 a normal Assault is a Class A Misdemeanor, and adding a family violence allegation doesn’t change that. Family Violence Assaults are still Class A Misdemeanor, the problem is that a plea of guilty, even without a conviction carries serious consequences beyond just being on probation (employment, immigration, child custody, inter alia).

A few years ago the legislature added another enhancement to Family Violence Assault which makes the offense a 3rd degree felony (2-10 years in prison, up to $10k fine). Lawyers usually call this enhancement “choking”, but the actual language of 22.01(a)(1)(b)(2) doesn’t include the work choke anywhere.

Here is what it says-