| 1 | 1 | | 85R5401 MK-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Goldman H.B. No. 2441 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to public access to juvenile court proceedings. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 54.08, Family Code, is amended to read as |
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| 10 | 10 | | follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 54.08. PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT PROCEEDINGS [HEARINGS]. |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) Except as provided by this section, the court shall open |
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| 13 | 13 | | proceedings [hearings] under this title to the public unless the |
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| 14 | 14 | | court, on the motion of any party to a proceeding and based on the |
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| 15 | 15 | | evidence presented [for good cause shown], determines that: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) there exists a reasonable and substantial basis |
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| 17 | 17 | | for believing that public access to the proceeding could harm the |
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| 18 | 18 | | child, endanger the child's right to a fair trial, or endanger a |
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| 19 | 19 | | victim of the conduct of the child; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) the potential for harm to the child or a victim |
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| 21 | 21 | | outweighs the benefits of public access to the proceeding; and |
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| 22 | 22 | | (3) the harm can be remedied only by excluding the |
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| 23 | 23 | | public from the proceeding [the public should be excluded]. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) A motion by a party to exclude the public from a |
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| 25 | 25 | | proceeding must be made in writing and served on all parties not |
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| 26 | 26 | | later than the third day before the date the proceeding is scheduled |
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| 27 | 27 | | to occur. |
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| 28 | 28 | | (c) On receipt of a motion to exclude the public from a |
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| 29 | 29 | | proceeding, the court must conduct an evidentiary hearing in open |
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| 30 | 30 | | court on the motion to determine whether exclusion of the public |
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| 31 | 31 | | from the proceeding is warranted under Subsection (a). General |
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| 32 | 32 | | considerations, including concern for rehabilitation of the child, |
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| 33 | 33 | | are insufficient to warrant exclusion of the public from a |
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| 34 | 34 | | proceeding. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (d) On conclusion of the evidentiary hearing under |
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| 36 | 36 | | Subsection (c), the court shall order the proceeding to be open to |
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| 37 | 37 | | the public unless the court issues written findings of fact and |
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| 38 | 38 | | conclusions of law stating that the evidence of potential harm to |
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| 39 | 39 | | the child or to a victim presented under Subsection (a) clearly |
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| 40 | 40 | | outweighs the public interest in a proceeding that is open to the |
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| 41 | 41 | | public. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (e) Any party or member of the public has standing to appeal |
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| 43 | 43 | | an order of the court excluding the public from a proceeding. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (f) Any party or member of the public objecting to an order |
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| 45 | 45 | | excluding the public from a proceeding is entitled to an immediate |
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| 46 | 46 | | appeal of that order. The notice of appeal must be filed not later |
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| 47 | 47 | | than the seventh day after the date the order is entered or the date |
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| 48 | 48 | | the public is excluded from a proceeding. The filing of a notice of |
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| 49 | 49 | | appeal shall stay further proceedings pending the disposition of |
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| 50 | 50 | | the interlocutory appeal. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (g) The court of appeals shall expeditiously review an |
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| 52 | 52 | | appeal under this section. |
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| 53 | 53 | | (h) The court may not prohibit a person who is a victim of |
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| 54 | 54 | | the conduct of a child, or the person's family, from personally |
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| 55 | 55 | | attending a proceeding [hearing] under this title relating to the |
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| 56 | 56 | | conduct by the child unless the victim or member of the victim's |
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| 57 | 57 | | family is to testify in the proceeding [hearing] or any subsequent |
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| 58 | 58 | | proceeding [hearing] relating to the conduct and the court |
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| 59 | 59 | | determines that the victim's or family member's testimony would be |
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| 60 | 60 | | materially affected if the victim or member of the victim's family |
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| 61 | 61 | | hears other testimony at trial. |
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| 62 | 62 | | (i) [(c)] If a child is under the age of 14 at the time of |
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| 63 | 63 | | the proceeding: [hearing,] |
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| 64 | 64 | | (1) Subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) |
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| 65 | 65 | | do not apply to a proceeding involving the child; and |
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| 66 | 66 | | (2) the court shall close the proceeding [hearing] to |
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| 67 | 67 | | the public unless the court finds that the interests of the child or |
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| 68 | 68 | | the interests of the public would be better served by opening the |
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| 69 | 69 | | proceeding [hearing] to the public. |
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| 70 | 70 | | (j) [(d)] In this section, "family" has the meaning |
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| 71 | 71 | | assigned by Section 71.003. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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