| 1 | 1 | | S.B. No. 1681 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | AN ACT |
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| 5 | 5 | | relating to requiring the corroboration of certain testimony to |
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| 6 | 6 | | support a criminal conviction. |
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| 7 | 7 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 8 | 8 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, is |
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| 9 | 9 | | amended by adding Article 38.075 to read as follows: |
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| 10 | 10 | | Art. 38.075. CORROBORATION OF CERTAIN TESTIMONY REQUIRED. |
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| 11 | 11 | | (a) A defendant may not be convicted of an offense on the testimony |
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| 12 | 12 | | of a person to whom the defendant made a statement against the |
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| 13 | 13 | | defendant's interest during a time when the person was imprisoned |
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| 14 | 14 | | or confined in the same correctional facility as the defendant |
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| 15 | 15 | | unless the testimony is corroborated by other evidence tending to |
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| 16 | 16 | | connect the defendant with the offense committed. In this |
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| 17 | 17 | | subsection, "correctional facility" has the meaning assigned by |
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| 18 | 18 | | Section 1.07, Penal Code. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (b) Corroboration is not sufficient for the purposes of this |
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| 20 | 20 | | article if the corroboration only shows that the offense was |
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| 21 | 21 | | committed. |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to any |
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| 23 | 23 | | case in which a judgment has not been entered before the effective |
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| 24 | 24 | | date of this Act. A case in which a judgment has been entered before |
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| 25 | 25 | | the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when |
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| 26 | 26 | | the judgment was entered, and the former law is continued in effect |
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| 27 | 27 | | for that purpose. |
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| 28 | 28 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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| 29 | 29 | | ______________________________ ______________________________ |
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| 30 | 30 | | President of the Senate Speaker of the House |
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| 31 | 31 | | I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1681 passed the Senate on |
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| 32 | 32 | | April 16, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. |
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| 33 | 33 | | ______________________________ |
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| 34 | 34 | | Secretary of the Senate |
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| 35 | 35 | | I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1681 passed the House on |
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| 36 | 36 | | May 20, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, two |
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| 37 | 37 | | present not voting. |
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| 38 | 38 | | ______________________________ |
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| 39 | 39 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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| 40 | 40 | | Approved: |
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| 41 | 41 | | ______________________________ |
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| 42 | 42 | | Date |
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| 43 | 43 | | ______________________________ |
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| 44 | 44 | | Governor |
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