Fighting a Magistrate’s Emergency Protective Order (MOEP) in Bexar County

If you’ve been served with a Magistrate’s Order for Emergency Protection in a Bexar County Assault & Domestic Violence case, you’re likely dealing with real, immediate restrictions — on where you can go, who you can contact, and possibly on your access to your own home or your firearms. Our companion guide on bond conditions and no-contact orders covers what a MOEP is and how it gets issued. This page covers something different: what you can actually do about one with your San Antonio criminal defense attorney, and what happens if it’s violated.

How Long Does a MOEP Actually Last?

This is worth getting exactly right, because the figures that circulate online are often outdated. Under current Texas law — following a 2025 legislative change under Senate Bill 2196 — a MOEP issued for a standard family violence arrest remains in effect for at least 61 days, up to a maximum of 91 days. If the arrest involved a deadly weapon, the more serious tier applies: the order remains in effect for at least 91 days, up to a maximum of 121 days. These durations were extended from the previous 31-to-61 and 61-to-91 day ranges specifically because the Texas Legislature found that shorter windows didn’t give people enough time to arrange shelter, finances, and safety plans. If you’re researching this online, be aware that some older content still cites the pre-2025 figures.

Can a MOEP Be Modified?

Yes, but the process and the standard the court applies are narrower than many people expect. Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.292(j), the issuing court can modify all or part of a MOEP after notice to each affected party and a hearing — but only if the court makes three specific findings:

• The order as originally issued is unworkable
• The modification will not place the alleged victim at greater risk than the original order
• The modification will not endanger any person protected under the order

What This Hearing Is — and Isn’t

This is the single most important thing to understand about a MOEP modification hearing: it does not examine whether the underlying criminal accusation against you is true. The three findings above are narrowly about whether the specific conditions of the order are workable and safe — not about guilt, innocence, or the strength of the state’s case. A modification hearing is not the venue to argue you didn’t do what you’re accused of; it’s the venue to argue that a specific condition of the order, as written, doesn’t work in practice.

This distinction matters for what kind of modification requests tend to succeed. A request grounded in a concrete, practical problem — shared minor children requiring some coordinated contact, a jointly owned business, or a household that includes family members who aren’t the protected party and who the order inadvertently affects — is the kind of argument this hearing is actually built to address.

What Happens If a MOEP Is Violated

Violating a MOEP is a separate criminal offense under Texas Penal Code Section 25.07, independent of whatever charge led to the order in the first place. A first violation is generally a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. That escalates to a third-degree felony — 2 to 10 years in prison, up to a $10,000 fine — if you have two or more prior convictions for violating a protective order, if the violation itself involved committing an assault or stalking, or if you possessed a firearm in connection with the violation. A separate statute, Section 25.072, makes two or more violations within a 12-month period its own third-degree felony.

A few points worth understanding clearly:

• Not every MOEP prohibits all contact. Some orders specifically bar only threatening or harassing contact, rather than any contact whatsoever — the exact wording of your specific order controls, so read it carefully rather than assuming what it says.
• The order restricts you, the defendant — an alleged victim reaching out first does not excuse a response that violates the order’s terms.
• The prosecution has to prove you actually knew the order existed and knew its specific terms. If the order wasn’t properly served on you, or you were released without being informed of its precise conditions, that can be a genuine, legitimate defense to a violation charge — not a technicality to be embarrassed about raising.

What This Means for Your Bexar County Case

If a MOEP’s conditions are creating a genuine, practical problem in your life — not just an inconvenience, but something like blocked access to shared children, a business you can’t operate, or a household caught in the order’s reach — a modification hearing under Article 17.292(j) is worth pursuing, built around that specific unworkability argument rather than a broader claim about the underlying charge. And if you’re already navigating a MOEP, understanding its exact terms precisely, in writing, is worth doing immediately — a violation carries consequences entirely separate from your original case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long does a MOEP last in Bexar County?
A: Under current Texas law, a standard MOEP remains in effect for at least 61 days and up to 91 days. If the arrest involved a deadly weapon, the order remains in effect for at least 91 days and up to 121 days. These durations were extended by the Texas Legislature in 2025 — older sources online may still show the previous, shorter figures.

Q: Can I get a MOEP modified or lifted early?
A: You can request a modification hearing, but the court can only modify the order if it finds the order is unworkable, the modification won’t place the alleged victim at greater risk, and it won’t endanger any protected person. This hearing does not decide whether the underlying charge against you is true.

Q: What happens if I violate my MOEP?
A: It’s a separate criminal offense under Texas Penal Code Section 25.07 — generally a Class A misdemeanor for a first violation, escalating to a third-degree felony under specific aggravating circumstances like prior violations, an assault or stalking during the violation, or firearm involvement.

Q: The alleged victim contacted me first. Does that excuse a violation?
A: No. The order restricts your conduct, not theirs. Even if they reach out first, responding can still be treated as a violation.

Q: What if I was never properly told what my MOEP actually prohibits?
A: The prosecution has to prove you knew the order existed and knew its specific terms to convict you of violating it. If you weren’t properly served or informed of the precise conditions, that can be a genuine defense — raise this with your attorney directly.

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Barton & Associates, Attorneys at Law
115 Camaron St, San Antonio, TX 78205
Office: 210-500-0000

Division: Criminal Defense San Antonio
Practice Area: Misdemeanors
Focus Area: Assault & Domestic Violence