Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers | March 31, 2025 | Criminal Defense

What is a Protective Order?

A Domestic Abuse No Contact Order, or DANCO order, is the popular name for a court order that creates a legal separation between an abuser or assailant and their victim(s). In Texas, this is formally known as a Protective Order as defined by the Texas Code of Criminal Conduct § 85.001., which can take a few more specific forms depending on the situation. This type of court order is meant to prevent repeated or additional offenses when someone has been victimized by domestic violence.

A protective order can take several forms depending on the offense. Texas law names general offenses such as family violence, sexual abuse, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, and other offenses. Mostly, they are meant to apply to any cases of likely repeated abuse.

How Does a Protective Order Work?

If a court case has determined someone is legally culpable of abuse, it may also determine that the victim is at risk of further abuse by that same person. To help prevent this from happening again, the court can order that the abuser cannot contact their victim in any way. Contact includes several methods:

  • Physical contact
  • In-person verbal contact
  • Written correspondence, like letters, emails, or text messages
  • Leaving gifts or otherwise symbolic messages
  • Tracking the victim(s) or their property

These orders are intended to prohibit all contact between the abuser and the victim, no matter the method. Should an abuser break this order and somehow contact their victim, they face stiff penalties. The order stays in place for as long as it is determined to last when it is enacted and cannot be ended or ignored unless ordered by the court.

What Happens If a Protective Order is Violated?

According to the Texas Code of Criminal Conduct § 7b.006, violating a protective order is a serious offense with serious consequences. Penalties include fines up to $4,000, jail time of up to one year, or possibly both of those. Separate violations of the order are treated as separate charges, meaning the penalties can compound. 

That same law makes sure that warnings for these penalties are clearly displayed on the order served to the defendant. These warnings also include information that says anyone under one of these orders cannot possess a firearm unless they are an on-duty law enforcement officer. It also reiterates that the authority to alter or end the order lies only with the court, meaning no one else can give permission to violate the order’s terms.

If you believe you have violated a protective order, seek a criminal defense lawyer who will guide you through the legal process and use their experience to help tailor their counsel to your specific case. It will be very important during that time to not commit any more violations, or else you will face additional charges. Stick with the strategy and be patient without committing more acts.

Get in Touch With a Criminal Defense Lawyer Now

Navigating charges on top of previous charges is no easy task, and confronting those alone will not yield preferred results. This can be an emotionally taxing period while being separated from people previously close to you. It can be difficult to balance this new charge with the rest of daily life or previous charges.

Contacting a Fort Worth protection order lawyer will help keep you out of further trouble and make the whole court process as smooth as possible. A protective order is meant to keep any more trouble from happening, and we can help that happen.

For more information, please contact the criminal defense law firm of Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers for a consultation. Give us a call at (682) 777-3336 or visit our convenient location:

We serve the surrounding areas of Tarrant County and Fort Worth, TX.

Cofer Luster Criminal Defense Lawyers
604 E 4th St Ste 101
Fort Worth, TX 76102