Does anyone know how long someone can take to file charges against someone else who abused them physically in Texas?

Thanks!

Mike

You can make a police report at any time afterwards. The DA's office is the entity who decides if actual charges will be brought, and in the case of misdemeanor domestic violence they typically have two years. HOWEVER, if the violence wasn't reported quickly, if no injuries were documented, or there was any substantial delay without GOOD reason (being in the hospital, or some circumstance that would have prevented reporting), they aren't going to be jumping up and down to pursue the case. Juries typically hold delayed reporting of any violent crime to be suspect, and DA's don't pursue cases they don't think they can win.

What kind of time frame are you talking about?

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While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

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My girlfriend married her ex-husband 4/2006. The pushing started soon after they were married. She and her sister photographed the bruise he left on her arm in 1/2009. He was trying to force her into a closet to scream and fight with her so their child who was around 1.5 years old couldn't see and she was bruised defending herself. She told her sister about this soon afterward. We're about to hire an attorney to try to get his parental rights revoked as he's supposed to have the girls the 1st 3rd and 5th weekends of the month and sees them maybe once every two months. He's supposed to pick them up 6pm Friday and return them 6pm Sunday but shows up when he wants to if he shows up at all. He drinks till he's drunk daily and takes Xanax and Lorcets (way more than perscribed) daily and goes to multiple doctors per month to supply his demand.The bruise she thinks was caused during him pushing her into the closet by a gun strapped to his arm.

Mike

She can try to make a report, but I wouldn't expect anything to come of it almost a year later. As far as the pictures, courts typically won't even look at photos of injuries unless those photos are part of either a police report or a medical record - documentation obtained by a professional third party. It's way too easy to fake injuries to photograph, and there is no way to independently document how legit the photo it, when it was taken, who took it, etc. Courts believe that if someone is injured, they seek treatment and documentation. It's not a do it yourself thing. Similarly, if she's planning to go to court and allege abuses, the first words out of the judges mouth are going to be "do you have police reports for any of these incidents" - PARTICULARLY if she's going to try to tell a court that someone with a gun strapped to her arm pushed her into a closet as part of a domestic dispute. There's simply no part of NOT reporting abuse that is going to help victims who later decide to try to get out and get courts to act. Courts act on evidence, and this is why domestic violence advocates tell people until blue in the face: you've GOT to report the incidents WHEN THEY HAPPEN. Failing to do so sends mixed messages to the courts who later get to rule on things like restraining orders, and custody of children!!

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While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

Aardvarc has provided excellent suggestions. However, you're looking backward. I would encourage you to be proactive in an effort to protect the children, who appear to be placed in a very precarious situation.

I would encourage you to consult with a competent Family Law attorney ASAP. I would also encourage discussing the need to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order, or some other means by which the children will be protected, if and when they are in the ex-husband's custody.

I would also encourage you to discuss the environment in which the children are placed with someone with the Attorney General's office and/or Child Protective Services ("CPS").

If you have any evidence to support your allegation that "[h]e drinks till he's drunk daily and takes Xanax and Lorcets (way more than perscribed) daily and goes to multiple doctors per month to supply his demand," CPS is likely to take an interest in this matter.

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I agree with both the posters. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.