A San Antonio domestic violence attorney can do a lot to protect you if you are a victim or under threat of violence, and an attorney can also defend you if you’ve been falsely accused. Whatever your situation, having experienced help is crucial to protect your rights and take charge of your life. With our extensive experience in domestic violence cases and knowledge of Texas law, at the Aida Rojas Law Firm, we’re ready to help you.

How Can a San Antonio Domestic Violence Attorney Protect Your Rights in Texas?

At the most basic level, we will, of course, provide you with the knowledge of the law and of your rights that you need to act quickly. We can also help you quickly take legal action against an abuser to protect yourself and your children or defend yourself against false accusations.

Once you’ve gotten temporary protection set up, you’ll also need to protect yourself in the long term, and that requires going to court. Whether you are trying to defend yourself against an accusation or need to get more permanent orders or changes to custody in place to protect yourself or your child, we can help you present the most convincing case before the court with all the appropriate evidence to show what’s really going on. Here’s some of what we can do for you:

Get Temporary Orders in Place

When you need help fast, you must petition the court for temporary orders. It’s usually most appropriate to ask for these at the threatening stage, i.e., when someone starts talking about hurting you or someone in your family, either to get back at you for something or if you do not comply with something they want. You can also ask for temporary orders if you’re being constantly harassed or disparaged, such as if the other person keeps calling you at work or interfering with your job hunt or constantly contacting your child.

Your lawyer can help you ask for a temporary restraining order very quickly. A restraining order addresses the particular behavior that is an issue and forbids the other person from engaging in this behavior. In essence, it makes something that would otherwise be perfectly legal – such as calling you on the phone – illegal for that person on a temporary basis. If the person continues to call you, they could then be held in civil or criminal contempt of court, and various penalties can be brought to bear.

Bear in mind the temporary orders are just that: temporary. You’ll need to work with your lawyer to get a permanent order in place fairly quickly. Temporary orders can be issued on the basis of much less evidence as they are designed to provide immediate protection. But for that same reason, they cannot provide long-term protection. You will have to definitively prove the threat against you to get on-going protective orders.

Get a Protective Order In Place

You can usually get a protective order if the other person has committed family violence in the past or there’s a credible reason to believe they will commit violence soon. With a protective order in place, you can call the police, and the other person can be arrested for violating the order. There are various types of protective orders. An abuser can be ordered to stay away from you completely, as well as away from your children, and kept from threatening, harassing, or hurting you directly or indirectly. A protective order can also keep an abuser from carrying a gun, even if they have a license and otherwise would be able to do so, and a protective order can also forbid an abuser from tracking you, someone in your family, or personal property like a car.

These are standard orders, but the judge can add other things to them. For example, as part of the protective order, the judge can require an abuser to get drug testing or attend anger management or substance abuse classes. A judge can change the terms of an abuser’s visitation rights, even with their own children, to forbid them access or require a third party to be present at all times. A judge can order an abuser out of a shared home, even if the abuser is on the lease or deed, and also order the abuser to pay child support in that case. Protective orders for domestic violence typically last for two years but can go on indefinitely as long as the threat continues to be in place.

What to Do If You’re Being Threatened

If you’re being threatened or have already been abused and need to secure your safety and the safety of your children, the first thing to do is call the police. It’s important to start a trail of evidence that shows the threat is real, and if you call the police immediately after being threatened or actually harmed, then it goes on the record and can be helpful to your case. The police can also come immediately to protect you and your family as needed.

Once your immediate safety is secured, you should call us right away so that we can help you understand all your options, gather the evidence that’s needed to prove the protection you need, and get to work getting you temporary emergency orders and then long-term orders.

If you need to leave your home, there are options available to you. Texas law allows you to break a lease without penalty if you need to do so in order to avoid domestic violence and also protects you against discrimination from landlords if you’ve become the victim of violence. There are also state-funded shelters that are open 24/7 for emergency residence if you’re a victim, and you can find extensive information on what to do here or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) at any time.

How to Deal With False Accusations

Unfortunately, false accusations are not uncommon, particularly when there are heated custody disputes or when one party is hoping to get a larger percentage of the marital assets in a divorce. (If it can be shown that one of the partners is an abuser, more of the marital assets will often be awarded to the victim). Be assured that the Texas courts are aware that false accusations are common, and they require convincing evidence before they will put long-term protective orders in place.

If you’ve been falsely accused, call us immediately. We can advise you on just what to do to protect your rights and clear your name. If an ex-spouse or other person has already gotten temporary orders put in place against you, be sure to obey those temporary orders while you prepare for the hearing to clear your name and get those turned around.