By Nathaniel Pitoniak on November 27th, 2025 in Criminal Defense
Texas law allows you to use force to protect yourself, but only when specific conditions are met. If you were arrested for aggravated assault after defending yourself in a fight, road-rage incident, or home invasion, whether you face prison or walk free often depends on whether the State can disprove your claim of justification beyond a reasonable doubt.
Self-defense is not a loophole. It is an affirmative defense with strict requirements: a reasonable belief, an imminent threat, a proportional response, and a lack of provocation. If you acted in lawful self-defense and raise the issue, the State must prove otherwise at trial.
The Law Office of Nathaniel Pitoniak represents Houstonians charged with aggravated assault who defended themselves, their families, or their property. Do not speak to law enforcement without counsel. Do not resist arrest. Call (832) 315-6283 for confidential guidance before you make statements that undermine your self-defense claim.
Key Facts: Self-Defense in Aggravated Assault Cases
- Texas law permits force when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect yourself against another person’s use or attempted use of unlawful force
- Deadly force is justified only when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect against another person’s use or attempted use of deadly force, or to prevent certain violent felonies like aggravated kidnapping or sexual assault
- Texas has no duty to retreat before using force or deadly force in places where you have a legal right to be, but provocation or acting as the initial aggressor destroys your self-defense claim
- Once you present credible evidence of self-defense, the burden shifts to the State to disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt
When is Force Legally Justified in Texas Self-Defense Cases?
Texas Penal Code § 9.31 permits you to use force against another person when you reasonably believe the force is immediately necessary to protect yourself against the other person’s use or attempted use of unlawful force. The key elements are reasonable belief and imminence.
Reasonable Belief
Reasonable belief means your perception must be objectively reasonable under the circumstances as they appeared to you at the time, not based on what you later learned or what a bystander might have seen. Courts evaluate reasonableness from the perspective of a person in your position, considering factors like the attacker’s size, demeanor, threats, prior violence, and whether you had time to assess the situation.
Imminence of Threat
Imminence means the threat must be happening now or about to happen immediately. Past threats, future threats, or speculative danger do not justify force. If someone threatened you yesterday and you encounter them today without any immediate threatening behavior, you cannot use force based on the prior threat alone.
Difference Between “Force” and “Deadly Force” Under Texas Law
Texas law distinguishes between two levels of force, and the distinction determines whether your actions were legally justified:
- Force: Physical action intended to cause pain or injury but not likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, such as pushing, striking with fists, restraining, or using pepper spray.
- Deadly force: Force intended or known by the actor to cause death or serious bodily injury, or used in a manner likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, like shooting, stabbing, striking someone’s head with a hard object, or running someone over with a vehicle.
Under Texas Penal Code § 9.32, deadly force is justified only when you reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect against another person’s use or attempted use of deadly force, or to prevent specific violent felonies, including murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault, or arson.
Do I Have a Duty to Retreat Before Using Force in Texas?
Texas is a “stand your ground” state. Under § 9.31(e), you have no duty to retreat before using force or deadly force if you are in a place where you have a right to be, you did not provoke the person against whom force is used, and you were not engaged in criminal activity at the time.
This applies in public spaces, your home, your vehicle, your workplace, and any other location where you are lawfully present. However, the rule has critical exceptions. If you provoked the confrontation, you cannot claim stand-your-ground protection. If you were committing a crime (other than a traffic violation) at the time, you lose the right to stand your ground and may have a duty to retreat before using force.
Texas Castle Doctrine
The castle doctrine extends these protections further when you are in your home, vehicle, or place of business. Under § 9.31 and § 9.32, you are presumed to have reasonably believed force was necessary if someone unlawfully and with force entered or attempted to enter your occupied habitation, vehicle, or place of business, or if someone attempted to remove you forcibly from those locations.
Can I Claim Self-Defense in an Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon Charge?
Yes, but you must meet the requirements for justified use of deadly force under § 9.32. Prosecutors charge aggravated assault when you use or exhibit a deadly weapon during a confrontation. If you displayed or used that weapon in lawful self-defense, you need to use credible evidence to prove justification.
Your criminal defense attorney can present evidence of the threat you faced, your reasonable belief, the imminence of danger, and your lack of provocation. Evidence includes witness testimony, 911 recordings where you reported being attacked or threatened, video footage, photographs of your injuries, medical records, and any history of prior threats or violence by the alleged victim.
What is Defense of Another in Texas?
Texas Penal Code § 9.33 permits defense of a third person under the same conditions that would justify self-defense. You may use force or deadly force to protect another person when you reasonably believe your intervention is immediately necessary to protect that person against another’s use or attempted use of unlawful force or deadly force.
The law does not require a family or personal relationship with the person you defend. You may intervene to protect a stranger if you reasonably believe they face an imminent unlawful threat. However, your reasonable belief is judged from your perspective at the time.
FAQ About Self-Defense in Aggravated Assault Cases
Does Provoking the Incident Destroy a Self-Defense Claim?
If you provoked the use of force by the other person, you generally cannot claim self-defense. Provocation means intentionally or knowingly doing something to incite violence, such as threatening someone, starting a physical confrontation, or using offensive words calculated to provoke an immediate violent response.
Can Self-Defense Apply If I Was Carrying a Firearm?
Lawfully carrying a firearm does not disqualify you from claiming self-defense. If you hold a valid license to carry (LTC) and use your firearm in response to an imminent deadly threat, you may be justified. However, prosecutors will scrutinize whether you displayed or used the weapon prematurely, whether you escalated the encounter, and whether your belief of imminent deadly force was reasonable.
How Do Jury Instructions Affect Self-Defense in Aggravated Assault Trials?
Once you present credible evidence of self-defense, the trial judge must instruct the jury on the law of justification. The jury instructions explain reasonable belief, imminence, proportionality, and the State’s burden to disprove self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Defending Your Freedom When You Defended Yourself
Aggravated assault charges carry prison sentences and felony convictions that affect employment, housing, firearm rights, and immigration status. If you were arrested after using force to protect yourself or someone else, you need an attorney who understands Texas self-defense law, evidence preservation, and trial strategy.
The Law Office of Nathaniel Pitoniak represents Houstonians charged with aggravated assault who acted in lawful self-defense. Do not speak to law enforcement without counsel. Do not resist arrest. Call (832) 315-6283 for confidential guidance on how to preserve evidence, challenge the State’s case, and present your justification claim at trial.
