Understanding the Texas misdemeanor punishment ladder
Texas grades misdemeanors under Penal Code §§12.21 through 12.23. Three grades exist: Class A, Class B, and Class C. Each carries its own punishment range, its own jurisdictional court, and its own collateral-consequence profile. Class A and Class B misdemeanors are jailable offenses filed in county criminal courts at law. Class C misdemeanors are fine-only offenses filed in justice court or municipal court depending on where the offense allegedly occurred.
The grade of the charged offense — assigned in the charging instrument the prosecutor files — drives every downstream decision: bond exposure, eligibility for pretrial diversion, deferred-adjudication availability under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.101, and the record-relief pathway after disposition. Misdemeanor practice also varies more by county than felony practice does. Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant prosecutors each maintain distinct diversion programs, plea structures, and judicial preferences. Counsel familiar with the local court is essential.
A Texas misdemeanor charge sits between a Class C traffic-court fine and a felony indictment — and the gap between those two endpoints is wide. Class A misdemeanors carry up to one year in county jail and a permanent criminal record that triggers background-check disclosure, licensing review, and immigration consequences. Even a Class C — fine-only on the punishment side — can stay on a record for life if it isn't handled through the right procedural off-ramp at the right moment.
L and L Law Group, PLLC defends misdemeanor cases at every grade across the nine DFW counties we serve: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Hunt. Co-founding partners Reggie London and Njeri London — both licensed Texas attorneys since 2005 — handle each case personally from initial setting through resolution.
Statutory punishment ranges under Penal Code §§12.21-12.23
The Penal Code grades misdemeanors as follows:
| Grade | Statute | Confinement range | Fine max |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A misdemeanor | §12.21 | Up to 1 year county jail | $4,000 |
| Class B misdemeanor | §12.22 | Up to 180 days county jail | $2,000 |
| Class C misdemeanor | §12.23 | No confinement (fine only) | $500 |
Class A misdemeanors include offenses like Driving While Intoxicated under Penal Code §49.04 with a second offense, Assault Causing Bodily Injury under §22.01(a)(1) (first offense), Theft of property valued at $750 to $2,499 under §31.03(e)(3), Possession of Marijuana over 2 ounces under Health & Safety Code §481.121(b)(2), Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon under §46.02, and Resisting Arrest under §38.03.
Class B misdemeanors include first-offense Driving While Intoxicated under §49.04, Theft of property valued at $100 to $749 under §31.03(e)(2), Possession of Marijuana 2 ounces or less under Health & Safety Code §481.121(b)(1), Criminal Trespass under §30.05, and Terroristic Threat under §22.07 in defined circumstances.
Class C misdemeanors include Theft under $100 under §31.03(e)(1), Assault by Contact under §22.01(a)(3), Public Intoxication under §49.02, Disorderly Conduct under §42.01, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia under Health & Safety Code §481.125, and the typical traffic-court offenses charged under the Transportation Code.
Which court hears Texas misdemeanors?
The trial court of jurisdiction depends on the grade and the location of the alleged offense:
Class A and Class B misdemeanors proceed in the county criminal courts at law. Collin County uses County Court at Law Nos. 1 through 7. Dallas County uses County Criminal Court Nos. 1 through 11 plus the County Criminal Courts of Appeals. Denton County uses County Criminal Court Nos. 1 through 5 plus the Denton County Court at Law Nos. 1 and 2 for criminal matters. Tarrant County uses County Criminal Court Nos. 1 through 10. Each county runs its own docketing system and its own pretrial diversion program.
Class C misdemeanors proceed in either justice court (for offenses occurring in unincorporated areas of the county) or municipal court (for offenses occurring within a city limits). Class C cases in Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, and the smaller municipalities in our service area all proceed in the respective city's municipal court. The applicable rules are governed by Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 45 and the local court's standing orders.
The procedural posture matters. Misdemeanor cases are commenced by a charging instrument — for Class A and B misdemeanors, that is an information filed by the county or district attorney under CCP Article 21.20, supported by a complaint sworn under §21.22. The Court of Criminal Appeals in State v. Drummond, 501 S.W.3d 78 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016), confirmed that a single document may function as both an information and the supporting complaint so long as it meets the statutory requirements for each and the affiant is not the prosecutor.
Pretrial diversion and pretrial intervention by county
Pretrial diversion (PTD) — sometimes called pretrial intervention (PTI) — is the most powerful first-time-offender off-ramp in Texas misdemeanor practice. Successful completion of PTD results in dismissal of the case, opening eligibility for expunction under Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55. There is no statewide PTD statute; each county prosecutor maintains its own program with its own eligibility criteria.
Collin County operates pretrial diversion through the District Attorney's Office, with separate tracks for misdemeanor and felony cases. The misdemeanor PTD program typically requires no prior felony or Class A misdemeanor convictions, an in-person interview with the program coordinator, completion of community-service hours, payment of fees, and a clean period of supervision. Successful completion results in dismissal.
Dallas County operates a pretrial-diversion program through the Dallas County District Attorney's Office that takes referrals from misdemeanor and select felony cases. The DA evaluates each application individually and assigns a supervision plan including community service, restitution where applicable, and often a treatment or class component.
Denton County and Tarrant County each maintain misdemeanor diversion programs administered by the respective District Attorney's Office. Eligibility and conditions are county-specific. The smaller counties in our service area — Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Hunt — have more discretion-based diversion practice, often negotiated directly with the assigned prosecutor rather than through a formal program application.
The strategic value of PTD over a guilty plea is significant: PTD dismissal unlocks expunction under Chapter 55, which physically destroys the record. A guilty plea — even a successful deferred adjudication — opens only the lesser non-disclosure remedy under Government Code §411.0725, which seals the record but does not destroy it.
Class C deferred disposition under CCP Article 45.051
Class C misdemeanors have their own dedicated off-ramp: deferred disposition under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 45.051. On a plea of guilty or no contest in a misdemeanor case punishable by fine only, the justice or municipal court judge may defer further proceedings without entering a finding of guilt and place the defendant on a period not to exceed 180 days. Conditions typically include payment of court costs, completion of a defensive driving course or other class, and a clean record during the deferral period.
Successful completion under Article 45.051 results in dismissal of the case. The dismissal opens expunction eligibility under CCP Article 55.01(a)(2)(A)(ii) after the applicable waiting period. Class C deferred disposition is the standard disposition for first-time municipal-court offenses where the defendant does not have a recent record.
Important limits on Article 45.051: the statute does not apply to offenses involving the operation of a commercial motor vehicle as defined in §522.003 of the Transportation Code, and it has specific limits on offenses involving alcohol or controlled substances under §106.07 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code and related provisions. The defendant's eligibility under Article 45.051 should be confirmed against the specific charging instrument before plea.
A separate Class C procedural tool — Article 45.0541 — provides for expunction of certain Class C convictions where the underlying conduct relates to identity theft and the defendant was the victim of that identity theft. The Class C expunction and deferred-disposition framework is distinct from the adult-felony and jailable-misdemeanor framework under Chapter 55.
Deferred adjudication on Class A and B misdemeanors
Class A and Class B misdemeanors may be resolved via deferred adjudication under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42A.101. On a plea of guilty or no contest, the court may defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt and place the defendant on community supervision. The supervision period is typically 6 to 24 months for misdemeanors. Successful completion results in dismissal, and the case is not a conviction for most purposes.
The Court of Criminal Appeals in Scott v. State, 55 S.W.3d 593 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001), held that where the deferred-adjudication statute explicitly restricts the collateral consequences of a discharge, the defendant is entitled to rely on that restriction. Disqualifications and disabilities imposed by law for conviction of an offense are subject to the statutory carve-out for successfully discharged deferred adjudication, with the enumerated statutory exceptions.
One important misdemeanor exclusion: deferred adjudication is not available for Driving While Intoxicated under Penal Code §49.04 under CCP Article 42A.401, except in narrowly defined first-offense circumstances added by recent amendments. Defense counsel must check the current statute against the specific charging instrument before evaluating a DWI plea.
If the defendant violates the terms of misdemeanor deferred-adjudication community supervision, the State may file a motion to adjudicate guilt under CCP Article 42A.108. Once guilt is adjudicated, the full Class A or Class B punishment range — not the deferred-adjudication placement range — becomes the exposure.
Expunction and non-disclosure for Texas misdemeanors
Record relief after a Texas misdemeanor disposition falls into two main tracks:
Expunction under CCP Chapter 55 physically destroys the record. Expunction is available where the misdemeanor case ended in an acquittal, a dismissal after pretrial diversion, a dismissal after Class C deferred disposition, or a no-bill by the grand jury. The waiting periods under §55.01 vary by offense and disposition — most misdemeanor dismissals require a waiting period of 180 days from arrest under §55.01(a)(2)(A)(ii)(a) if no charge was filed, or longer where charges were filed. Class C dismissals after Article 45.051 completion are typically immediately eligible.
Order of non-disclosure under Government Code §411.0725 (and §411.073 for first-offense non-disclosure on misdemeanors with successful straight community supervision) seals the record from most private employers and licensing boards. Non-disclosure is available after successful completion of deferred adjudication on most non-violent misdemeanors, subject to the categorical exclusions in Government Code §411.074. Waiting periods range from the date of discharge to 2-5 years depending on the underlying offense.
The §411.074 exclusion list is dense and offense-specific. It includes most family-violence-related offenses, certain weapons offenses, certain offenses against children, and several enumerated categories. Misdemeanor family-violence cases (assault under Penal Code §22.01 where the State has alleged a family or dating relationship) face additional non-disclosure restrictions and trigger federal firearms prohibition under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9) — the Lautenberg Amendment.
The interaction between disposition type and record-relief eligibility should be evaluated at plea, not after disposition. A guilty plea that takes one eligibility off the table cannot be rolled back simply because the defendant later learns of the collateral consequence.
Collateral consequences of a Texas misdemeanor conviction
Misdemeanor convictions carry consequences beyond the criminal sentence:
- Background checks. Most private employers run criminal background checks through the Texas DPS Crime Records Service or third-party vendors. Class A and Class B misdemeanors appear on these reports for life unless sealed via non-disclosure under Government Code §411.0725 or expunged under CCP Chapter 55.
- Occupational licensing. Texas occupational licensing boards (nursing, teaching, real estate, securities, healthcare, legal) impose reporting obligations and discretionary discipline triggered by criminal arrests and convictions. Texas Occupations Code Chapter 53 governs how licensing boards may use criminal history. Crimes of moral turpitude and offenses directly related to the licensed activity weigh most heavily.
- Immigration. Misdemeanor convictions can trigger immigration consequences for non-citizens under INA §237 (deportability) and §212 (inadmissibility). Crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs), aggravated felonies as defined in INA §101(a)(43), controlled substance offenses, and family-violence offenses each have their own treatment under federal immigration law. Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), requires defense counsel to advise non-citizen defendants about immigration consequences of a plea.
- Family violence and firearm rights. A misdemeanor conviction for an offense involving family violence triggers federal firearms prohibition under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9) — the Lautenberg Amendment. This applies even where the Texas court did not enter a family-violence finding under Code of Criminal Procedure Article 42.013, if the underlying facts qualify under federal law.
- Commercial driver's license holders. Texas Transportation Code §522.081 imposes CDL-specific disqualifications for many traffic-related misdemeanors that would otherwise be Class C. CDL drivers face career consequences from offenses that non-CDL drivers can resolve with a deferred disposition.
This is the reason direct-attorney counsel matters in misdemeanor work. The punishment-side exposure is bounded — at most a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. The collateral exposure is unbounded and lifelong.