| 1 | 1 | | By: Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 577 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2013; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 10, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal |
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| 4 | 4 | | Justice; May 17, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | 5 | | Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 17, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to the representation of certain applicants for writs of |
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| 11 | 11 | | habeas corpus in cases involving the death penalty. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Article 26.044(n), Code of Criminal Procedure, |
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| 14 | 14 | | is amended to read as follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (n) An attorney employed by a public defender's office may |
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| 16 | 16 | | be appointed with respect to an application for a writ of habeas |
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| 17 | 17 | | corpus filed under Article 11.071 only if: |
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| 18 | 18 | | (1) an attorney employed by the office of capital |
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| 19 | 19 | | writs is not appointed in the case; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) the attorney employed by the public defender's |
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| 21 | 21 | | office is on the list of competent counsel maintained under Section |
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| 22 | 22 | | 78.056, Government Code. |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 24 | 24 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 25 | 25 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 26 | 26 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 27 | 27 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 28 | 28 | | * * * * * |
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