Ask anyone who has worked intake at the Harris County Joint Processing Center what Christmas looks like and they will give you the same answer: full. Family gatherings, alcohol, money stress, and old grievances produce a predictable set of charges. Former prosecutors Brian Foley and Luis Baez count them down in this video.
3. Public intoxication
A Class C misdemeanor under Penal Code § 49.02 — being intoxicated in a public place to the degree that you may endanger yourself or others. It is a fine-only offense, but it is an arrest, it goes on your record, and it is frequently the charge officers use when they want to separate people and end a situation. It is also highly defensible: "may endanger" is an opinion, and officers rarely document anything beyond the smell of alcohol.
2. DWI
Christmas Eve and Christmas night are enforcement priorities for HPD, HCSO, and DPS, and "no refusal" warrants are standing by. A first DWI is a Class B misdemeanor with a 72-hour minimum, a fine up to $2,000, a license suspension, and — if you refused or failed a test — a 15-day deadline to request the hearing that saves your license. The advice is the oldest advice there is: it is cheaper to get a hotel room, or a rideshare, than a DWI. See the 2026 DWI Survival Guide.
1. Assault family member
Number one every year. Relatives who see each other once a year, alcohol, and a small house are the ingredients, and Texas law gives officers little discretion: when they respond to a family disturbance and find any evidence of pain or injury, someone is going to jail. That arrest brings an emergency protective order that can keep you out of your own home through New Year's, a no-contact bond condition, and a charge that — if it ends in a family-violence finding — costs you your firearm rights and turns any future incident into a felony. Read our assault family member page.
If it happens
Do not talk to the police about what happened; ask for a lawyer. Do not contact the complainant, no matter who reaches out first. Call an attorney before your first court setting so the protective order and bond conditions can be addressed and the case defended from the start.
Call or text (713) 703-1718 — we answer over the holidays.