| 1 | 1 | | By: Hodge, Dutton H.B. No. 2267 |
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| 2 | 2 | | COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2267By: Whitmire By: Whitmire |
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| 3 | 3 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 18, 2009; |
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| 4 | 4 | | May 19, 2009, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal |
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| 5 | 5 | | Justice; May 23, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable |
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| 6 | 6 | | Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; |
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| 7 | 7 | | May 23, 2009, sent to printer.) |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to the joint or separate prosecution in capital felony |
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| 13 | 13 | | cases. |
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| 14 | 14 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 15 | 15 | | SECTION 1. Article 36.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 16 | 16 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 17 | 17 | | Art. 36.09. SEVERANCE ON SEPARATE INDICTMENTS. (a) Two or |
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| 18 | 18 | | more defendants who are jointly or separately indicted or |
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| 19 | 19 | | complained against for the same offense or any offense growing out |
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| 20 | 20 | | of the same transaction may be, in the discretion of the court, |
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| 21 | 21 | | tried jointly or separately as to one or more defendants; provided |
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| 22 | 22 | | that in any event either defendant may testify for the other or on |
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| 23 | 23 | | behalf of the state; and provided further, that in cases in which, |
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| 24 | 24 | | upon timely motion to sever, and evidence introduced thereon, it is |
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| 25 | 25 | | made known to the court that there is a previous admissible |
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| 26 | 26 | | conviction against one defendant or that a joint trial would be |
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| 27 | 27 | | prejudicial to any defendant, the court shall order a severance as |
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| 28 | 28 | | to the defendant whose joint trial would prejudice the other |
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| 29 | 29 | | defendant or defendants. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the court may not join |
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| 31 | 31 | | two or more defendants in the same criminal trial if any defendant |
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| 32 | 32 | | to be tried is indicted or complained against for a capital felony |
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| 33 | 33 | | for which the state seeks the death penalty, and the court shall |
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| 34 | 34 | | order a severance as to any two or more defendants who are jointly |
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| 35 | 35 | | indicted or complained against for a capital felony if the state |
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| 36 | 36 | | seeks the death penalty for any one of those defendants. |
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| 37 | 37 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 38 | 38 | | to a trial commenced in a criminal case on or after the effective |
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| 39 | 39 | | date of this Act. A trial commenced before the effective date of |
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| 40 | 40 | | this Act is covered by the law in effect when the trial commenced, |
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| 41 | 41 | | and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 42 | 42 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| 43 | 43 | | * * * * * |
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