What Happens When You Violate a Protective Order in Texas?
Violating a protective order in Texas is a criminal offense — separate from and in addition to whatever charge led to the protective order being issued in the first place. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of protective order law, and it produces some of the most avoidable criminal charges in Bexar County family courts and criminal district courts. People who are subject to protective orders frequently believe that if the protected person initiates contact, invites communication, or agrees to meet, any resulting contact is not a violation. That belief is wrong, and acting on it can result in a new criminal charge on top of the original case.
Understanding exactly what a protective order prohibits, what constitutes a violation, what the criminal penalties are, and how violation charges are defended gives anyone subject to a protective order in San Antonio the information they need to protect themselves from a category of charges that are entirely preventable with the right knowledge.
What a Protective Order Is and How It Gets Issued
A protective order is a court order that restricts the conduct of one person — typically a person who has committed or is alleged to have committed family violence or stalking — in relation to another person. Texas Family Code Chapter 85 governs family violence protective orders. A protective order can be issued after a hearing at which both parties have the right to appear and present evidence, or it can be issued as an emergency ex parte order under Texas Family Code Section 83.001 when the court finds that immediate harm is likely.
The standard protective order issued after a full hearing under Texas Family Code Section 85.025 remains in effect for up to two years unless the court sets a different duration. A magistrate’s order of emergency protection issued following a family violence arrest under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 17.292 takes effect immediately and typically remains in effect for 31 to 61 days — longer when a deadly weapon was involved or when certain other aggravating circumstances apply.
A protective order can require the restrained party to do or refrain from doing a wide range of things. The most common provisions prohibit committing family violence against the protected person, communicating with the protected person directly or through third parties, going near the protected person’s home or residence, going near the protected person’s place of employment, going near the protected person’s children’s school or daycare, and possessing a firearm. The specific prohibitions vary based on what the court ordered in the specific case — and the restrained party is responsible for knowing exactly what their order says.
The Criminal Offense of Violating a Protective Order
Texas Penal Code Section 25.07 criminalizes violation of a protective order. A person who knowingly or intentionally violates a protective order — by committing family violence, communicating with the protected person in violation of the order, or going near a location the order prohibits — commits a criminal offense.
A first violation of a protective order is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. The offense is elevated to a third-degree felony — carrying two to ten years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — when the defendant has two prior convictions for violation of a protective order, when the violation involves an act of family violence or a threat of family violence, when the violation is committed with a deadly weapon, or when the defendant prevented or obstructed a person from calling 911 during the violation.
These penalty ranges apply independently of whatever underlying case led to the protective order. A defendant who is on bond for assault family violence and who violates the protective order faces the assault charge, the new violation of protective order charge, and the likely revocation of bond on the original charge — three separate legal consequences arising from a single decision to make contact.
Why the Protected Person’s Consent Is Not a Defense
This is the most critical and most commonly misunderstood aspect of protective order law in Texas. The protected person — the person the order is designed to protect — cannot waive the order or give valid consent to contact that the order prohibits. The protective order is a court order issued by a judge, and only a judge can modify or dissolve it. The protected person’s agreement to meet, their text inviting communication, or their statement that they do not object to contact does not make that contact legal.
Texas courts and prosecutors are fully aware that protected persons sometimes initiate contact with restrained parties. This happens frequently in family violence cases — couples who have an ongoing relationship despite the protective order, parents who need to communicate about children, people who have reconciled and want to resume contact. In all of these situations, the only legally safe path is to petition the court to modify or dissolve the protective order before any contact occurs. Until the order is modified or dissolved by the court, any contact that violates its terms is a criminal offense regardless of the protected person’s agreement.
This means that a defendant who receives a text message from the protected person saying “it’s okay to call me” faces a choice: ignore the message and seek a modification of the order through the court, or respond and risk a violation charge. The person who cannot be prosecuted for violation of protective order is the protected person — they can initiate contact without legal consequence. The restrained party cannot respond without legal consequence, regardless of who initiated.
Common Scenarios That Produce Violation Charges in Bexar County
The most common violation scenarios seen in Bexar County criminal courts follow predictable patterns.
- Text messages and phone calls. A protective order that prohibits direct communication means exactly that — no text messages, no phone calls, no social media messages, no contact through any electronic medium. A single text message that the protected person did not solicit constitutes a violation. A responsive text message to a text the protected person initiated also constitutes a violation. The content of the message is irrelevant — even a message that says “I’m staying away, please stop contacting me” can be charged as a violation if the order prohibits all contact.
- Third-party communication. A protective order that prohibits communication through third parties means the restrained party cannot ask a friend, family member, or mutual acquaintance to deliver a message to the protected person. This provision is frequently violated by defendants who believe that routing communication through a third party circumvents the order. It does not.
- Proximity to prohibited locations. A protective order that prohibits going within a certain distance of the protected person’s residence, workplace, or children’s school creates a geographic restriction that applies regardless of the reason for being near the location. A defendant who drives past the protected person’s home on the way to a legitimate destination is potentially in violation if the route takes them within the prohibited distance.
- Firearm possession. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8) prohibits possession of a firearm by any person subject to a domestic violence protective order that meets specific criteria — including most Texas family violence protective orders. Possession of a firearm while subject to such an order is a federal offense in addition to a state violation.
How Violation of Protective Order Charges Are Defended
The defense of a violation of protective order charge begins with the specific language of the order. The order must be read carefully and precisely — what exactly does it prohibit, what geographic restrictions does it impose, what communications does it address? Charges that allege conduct that is not actually prohibited by the specific language of the order, or that allege conduct at a location or in a manner not covered by the order’s provisions, may not be legally sufficient.
The knowledge element is also subject to challenge. Texas Penal Code Section 25.07 requires that the violation be knowing or intentional. A defendant who was not served with the order, who was not aware of the order’s specific terms, or who reasonably believed that a modification had been granted may have a viable challenge to the knowledge element — though this is a narrow defense that depends heavily on the specific facts.
The protected person initiated contact defense — while not a defense to the criminal charge itself — is relevant to the circumstances surrounding the contact and to the credibility of a prosecution where the protected person’s own communications are evidence of invitation. In cases where the violation arose from a contact the protected person clearly initiated, defense counsel can present those communications as context that affects the jury’s evaluation of the defendant’s culpability, even though the protected person’s consent is not a legal defense.
Perhaps most importantly, violation of protective order charges arise in the context of a family violence or stalking case that is already pending. The strategy in the violation charge must be coordinated with the strategy in the underlying case — because evidence introduced in one proceeding affects the other, and the consequences of a violation finding extend into the original case through bond revocation and the additional criminal record it creates.
If you have been charged with violation of a protective order in San Antonio or Bexar County, or if you are subject to a protective order and need guidance on what contact is and is not permitted, call Barton & Associates at 210-500-0000. Consultations are free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
