Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1803 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R8100 MK-F
2	2	By: Goldman H.B. No. 1803
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to public access to juvenile court proceedings.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 54.08, Family Code, is amended to read as
10	10	follows:
11	11	Sec. 54.08. PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT PROCEEDINGS [HEARINGS].
12	12	(a) Except as provided by this section, the court shall open
13	13	proceedings [hearings] under this title to the public unless the
14	14	court, on the motion of any party to a proceeding and based on the
15	15	evidence presented [for good cause shown], determines that:
16	16	(1) there exists a reasonable and substantial basis
17	17	for believing that public access to the proceeding could harm the
18	18	child, endanger the child's right to a fair trial, or endanger a
19	19	victim of the conduct of the child;
20	20	(2) the potential for harm to the child or a victim
21	21	outweighs the benefits of public access to the proceeding; and
22	22	(3) the harm can only be remedied by excluding the
23	23	public from the proceeding [the public should be excluded].
24	24	(b) A motion by a party to exclude the public from a
25	25	proceeding must be made in writing and served on all parties not
26	26	later than the third day before the date the proceeding is scheduled
27	27	to occur.
28	28	(c) On receipt of a motion to exclude the public from a
29	29	proceeding, the court must conduct an evidentiary hearing in open
30	30	court on the motion to determine whether exclusion of the public
31	31	from the proceeding is warranted under Subsection (a). General
32	32	considerations, including concern for rehabilitation of the child,
33	33	are insufficient to warrant exclusion of the public from a
34	34	proceeding.
35	35	(d) On conclusion of the evidentiary hearing under
36	36	Subsection (c), the court shall issue written findings of fact and
37	37	conclusions of law, stating a specific, serious, and substantial
38	38	interest that clearly outweighs the evidence of harm presented
39	39	under Subsection (a) before ordering that the public be excluded
40	40	from the proceeding.
41	41	(e) Any party or member of the public has standing to appeal
42	42	an order of the court excluding the public from a proceeding.
43	43	(f) Any party or member of the public objecting to an order
44	44	excluding the public from a proceeding is entitled to an immediate
45	45	appeal of that order. The notice of appeal must be filed not later
46	46	than the seventh day after the date the order is entered or the date
47	47	the public is excluded from a proceeding. The filing of a notice of
48	48	appeal shall stay further proceedings pending the disposition of
49	49	the interlocutory appeal.
50	50	(g) The court of appeals shall expeditiously review an
51	51	appeal under this section.
52	52	(h) The court may not prohibit a person who is a victim of
53	53	the conduct of a child, or the person's family, from personally
54	54	attending a proceeding [hearing] under this title relating to the
55	55	conduct by the child unless the victim or member of the victim's
56	56	family is to testify in the proceeding [hearing] or any subsequent
57	57	proceeding [hearing] relating to the conduct and the court
58	58	determines that the victim's or family member's testimony would be
59	59	materially affected if the victim or member of the victim's family
60	60	hears other testimony at trial.
61	61	(i) [(c) If a child is under the age of 14 at the time of
62	62	the hearing, the court shall close the hearing to the public unless
63	63	the court finds that the interests of the child or the interests of
64	64	the public would be better served by opening the hearing to the
65	65	public.
66	66	[(d)] In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned by
67	67	Section 71.003.
68	68	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.