Q: Does the state of Texas press charges for domestic violence?

A: You should hire a LOCAL criminal defense attorney, and especially one that focuses on defending cases involving Family Violence. Avoid the cheap high-volume attorneys that take a lot of cases. They are cheap because they don't spend much time on each case and that's not how you get the best results in a domestic violence case. In 2020 if you are in a major city and are not being charged at least $7,000 for a misdemeanor Family Violence or $12,000 for a felony then you are dealing with a cheap attorney so keep looking for someone who will spend more time defending your case.

In Texas, the term "pressing charges" simply means that you, the alleged victim, are willing to help the police and prosecution. The term "dropping charges" means that you have communicated that you are NOT willing to help and want the case to end. It is the prosecutor's choice whether to continue the case without the alleged victim's help and sometimes a prosecutor decides to subpoena the alleged victim, which is a court order that REQUIRES the alleged victim to come to court and testify or be put in jail.

So anyway, the police decided they had enough evidence to believe your husband committed a crime so they took him to jail. The next thing that will happen is that a judge will review the reasons for the arrest to decide if the police had "probable cause" to justify the arrest. If so, the judge will inform your husband of his rights and set an amount for bail. It sounds like the police have also requested an Emergency Protective Order so, if the judge agrees, your husband will not be allowed to return home for at least 31 days, even if he is bailed out of jail. The maximum duration of the order is 61 days unless the accusation included the use of a deadly weapon, in which case it is 91 days. Sometimes a judge will also but a "no contact" or "keep away" condition on a jail release bond and that has no expiration date.

Returning to the bail for a second... it might be possible that your husband can be released on Personal Bond so ask your attorney about this possibility and the pros and cons of Personal Bond versus Surety Bond versus Cash Bond.

OK, now back to the process... The next thing that happens is the police will give their evidence to a prosecutor, who will decide whether or not to file a formal criminal case. If the prosecutor files a case then only the prosecutor can dismiss it. Not even the judge can dismiss the case over the prosecutor's objection except in unusual circumstances when the prosecutor doesn't follow the rules. The prosecutor is required to "consider" the views of the alleged victim (you) when deciding how to handle the case. Sometimes the prosecutor is willing to dismiss if you want, sometimes they will continue the case against your wishes. Talk to your attorney about the best ways to influence the local prosecutors in your town.