Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1253 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: West, et al. S.B. No. 1253
2		-	(Smithee)
	1	+	S.B. No. 1253
3	2
4	3
5		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	4		AN ACT
7	5		relating to the electronic recording and admissibility of certain
8	6		custodial interrogations.
9	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	8		SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	9		amended by adding Article 2.32 to read as follows:
12	10		Art. 2.32. ELECTRONIC RECORDING OF CUSTODIAL
13	11		INTERROGATIONS. (a) In this article:
14	12		(1) "Electronic recording" means an audiovisual
15	13		electronic recording, or an audio recording if an audiovisual
16	14		electronic recording is unavailable, that is authentic, accurate,
17	15		and unaltered.
18	16		(2) "Law enforcement agency" means an agency of the
19	17		state, or of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision
20	18		of this state, that employs peace officers who, in the routine
21	19		performance of the officers' duties, conduct custodial
22	20		interrogations of persons suspected of committing criminal
23	21		offenses.
24	22		(3) "Place of detention" means a police station or
25	23		other building that is a place of operation for a law enforcement
26	24		agency, including a municipal police department or county sheriff's
27	25		department, and is owned or operated by the law enforcement agency
28	26		for the purpose of detaining persons in connection with the
29	27		suspected violation of a penal law. The term does not include a
30	28		courthouse.
31	29		(b) Unless good cause exists that makes electronic
32	30		recording infeasible, a law enforcement agency shall make a
33	31		complete and contemporaneous electronic recording of any custodial
34	32		interrogation that occurs in a place of detention and is of a person
35	33		suspected of committing or charged with the commission of an
36	34		offense under:
37	35		(1) Section 19.02, Penal Code (murder);
38	36		(2) Section 19.03, Penal Code (capital murder);
39	37		(3) Section 20.03, Penal Code (kidnapping);
40	38		(4) Section 20.04, Penal Code (aggravated
41	39		kidnapping);
42	40		(5) Section 20A.02, Penal Code (trafficking of
43	41		persons);
44	42		(6) Section 20A.03, Penal Code (continuous
45	43		trafficking of persons);
46	44		(7) Section 21.02, Penal Code (continuous sexual abuse
47	45		of young child or children);
48	46		(8) Section 21.11, Penal Code (indecency with a
49	47		child);
50	48		(9) Section 21.12, Penal Code (improper relationship
51	49		between educator and student);
52	50		(10) Section 22.011, Penal Code (sexual assault);
53	51		(11) Section 22.021, Penal Code (aggravated sexual
54	52		assault); or
55	53		(12) Section 43.25, Penal Code (sexual performance by
56	54		a child).
57	55		(c) For purposes of Subsection (b), an electronic recording
58	56		of a custodial interrogation is complete only if the recording:
59	57		(1) begins at or before the time the person being
60	58		interrogated enters the area of the place of detention in which the
61	59		custodial interrogation will take place or receives a warning
62	60		described by Section 2(a), Article 38.22, whichever is earlier; and
63	61		(2) continues until the time the interrogation ceases.
64	62		(d) For purposes of Subsection (b), good cause that makes
65	63		electronic recording infeasible includes the following:
66	64		(1) the person being interrogated refused to respond
67	65		or cooperate in a custodial interrogation at which an electronic
68	66		recording was being made, provided that:
69	67		(A) a contemporaneous recording of the refusal
70	68		was made; or
71	69		(B) the peace officer or agent of the law
72	70		enforcement agency conducting the interrogation attempted, in good
73	71		faith, to record the person's refusal but the person was unwilling
74	72		to have the refusal recorded, and the peace officer or agent
75	73		contemporaneously, in writing, documented the refusal;
76	74		(2) the statement was not made as the result of a
77	75		custodial interrogation, including a statement that was made
78	76		spontaneously by the accused and not in response to a question by a
79	77		peace officer;
80	78		(3) the peace officer or agent of the law enforcement
81	79		agency conducting the interrogation attempted, in good faith, to
82	80		record the interrogation but the recording equipment did not
83	81		function, the officer or agent inadvertently operated the equipment
84	82		incorrectly, or the equipment malfunctioned or stopped operating
85	83		without the knowledge of the officer or agent;
86	84		(4) exigent public safety concerns prevented or
87	85		rendered infeasible the making of an electronic recording of the
88	86		statement; or
89	87		(5) the peace officer or agent of the law enforcement
90	88		agency conducting the interrogation reasonably believed at the time
91	89		the interrogation commenced that the person being interrogated was
92	90		not taken into custody for or being interrogated concerning the
93	91		commission of an offense listed in Subsection (b).
94	92		(e) A recording of a custodial interrogation that complies
95	93		with this article is exempt from public disclosure as provided by
96	94		Section 552.108, Government Code.
97	95		SECTION 2. Article 38.22, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
98	96		amended by adding Section 9 to read as follows:
99	97		Sec. 9. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
100	98		article, no oral, sign language, or written statement that is made
101	99		by a person accused of an offense listed in Article 2.32(b) and made
102	100		as a result of a custodial interrogation occurring in a place of
103	101		detention, as that term is defined by Article 2.32, is admissible
104	102		against the accused in a criminal proceeding unless:
105	103		(1) an electronic recording was made of the statement,
106	104		as required by Article 2.32(b); or
107	105		(2) the attorney representing the state offers proof
108	106		satisfactory to the court that good cause, as described by Article
109	107		2.32(d), existed that made electronic recording of the custodial
110	108		interrogation infeasible.
111	109		SECTION 3. Section 9, Article 38.22, Code of Criminal
112	110		Procedure, as added by this Act, applies to the use of a statement
113	111		resulting from a custodial interrogation that occurs on or after
114	112		March 1, 2018, regardless of whether the criminal offense giving
115	113		rise to that interrogation is committed before, on, or after that
116	114		date.
117	115		SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.
	116	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	117	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	118	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1253 passed the Senate on
	119	+	April 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 5.
	120	+	______________________________
	121	+	Secretary of the Senate
	122	+	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1253 passed the House on
	123	+	May 22, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 115, Nays 28, two
	124	+	present not voting.
	125	+	______________________________
	126	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	127	+	Approved:
	128	+	______________________________
	129	+	Date
	130	+	______________________________
	131	+	Governor