88R4355 CJD-D
By: Bhojani, Moody, Bowers, Canales, Leach H.B. No. 5159
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an argument before the jury after a subsequent jury
charge in a criminal case.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 36.16, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
Art. 36.16. FINAL CHARGE. (a) After the judge shall have
received the objections to the judge's [his] main charge, together
with any special charges offered, the judge [he] may make those
[such] changes in the [his] main charge as the judge [he] may deem
proper, and the defendant or the defendant's [his] counsel shall
have the opportunity to present [their] objections to the main
charge [thereto and] in the same manner as [is] provided in Article
36.15. The [, and thereupon the] judge shall read the [his] charge
to the jury as finally written, together with any special charges
given, and no further exception or objection shall be required of
the defendant [in order] to preserve any objections or exceptions
previously [theretofore] made.
(b) After the argument begins no further charge shall be
given to the jury unless required by the improper argument of
counsel or the request of the jury, or unless the judge shall, in
the judge's [his] discretion, permit the introduction of other
testimony, and in the event of a [such] further charge, the
defendant or the defendant's [his] counsel shall have the right to
present objections in the same manner as is prescribed in Article
36.15. The failure of the court to give the defendant or the
defendant's [his] counsel a reasonable time to examine the charge
and specify the ground of objection shall be subject to review
either in the trial court or in the appellate court.
(c) The court shall permit each party to present an argument
to the jury if the court delivers a further charge to the jury under
Subsection (b).
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective
date of this Act. A criminal proceeding that commences before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.