Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1353 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R878 ADM-F
2	2	By: Miles S.B. No. 1353
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital
8	8	offense committed by a person with an intellectual disability.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Article 44.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) The state is entitled to appeal an order of a court in a
14	14	criminal case if the order:
15	15	(1) dismisses an indictment, information, or
16	16	complaint or any portion of an indictment, information, or
17	17	complaint;
18	18	(2) arrests or modifies a judgment;
19	19	(3) grants a new trial;
20	20	(4) sustains a claim of former jeopardy;
21	21	(5) grants a motion to suppress evidence, a
22	22	confession, or an admission, if jeopardy has not attached in the
23	23	case and if the prosecuting attorney certifies to the trial court
24	24	that the appeal is not taken for the purpose of delay and that the
25	25	evidence, confession, or admission is of substantial importance in
26	26	the case; or
27	27	(6) is issued under Chapter 46D or 64.
28	28	(a-1) The state's appeal of an order issued under Chapter
29	29	46D is a direct appeal to the court of criminal appeals. The court
30	30	of criminal appeals shall expeditiously review the appeal.
31	31	SECTION 2. Title 1, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended
32	32	by adding Chapter 46D to read as follows:
33	33	CHAPTER 46D. CAPITAL CASE: EFFECT OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
34	34	Art. 46D.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
35	35	(1) "Deficits in adaptive behavior" means sufficient
36	36	deficits in adaptive functioning under prevailing medical
37	37	standards for determining intellectual disability.
38	38	(2) "Developmental period" means the developmental
39	39	period of a person's life, as determined by prevailing medical
40	40	standards.
41	41	(3) "Intellectual disability" means significantly
42	42	subaverage general intellectual functioning that is concurrent
43	43	with deficits in adaptive behavior and originates during the
44	44	developmental period.
45	45	(4) "Significantly subaverage general intellectual
46	46	functioning" refers to a measured intelligence quotient on a
47	47	standardized psychometric instrument of approximately two or more
48	48	standard deviations below the age-group mean for the test used,
49	49	considering the standard error of measurement applicable to the
50	50	instrument.
51	51	Art. 46D.002. RESTRICTION ON DEATH PENALTY. A defendant
52	52	who is a person with an intellectual disability may not be sentenced
53	53	to death.
54	54	Art. 46D.003. HEARING; DETERMINATION. (a) The attorney
55	55	for a defendant in a capital case, not later than the first
56	56	anniversary of the date of the defendant's indictment, may request
57	57	in writing that the judge hearing the case hold a hearing to
58	58	determine whether the defendant is a person with an intellectual
59	59	disability.
60	60	(b) On receipt of a request under this article, if the judge
61	61	determines that the request was timely filed, the judge shall hold a
62	62	hearing to determine the issue. The hearing must be held:
63	63	(1) not earlier than the 180th day after the date that
64	64	the written request was submitted under Subsection (a); and
65	65	(2) not later than the 120th day before the date the
66	66	trial is scheduled to begin.
67	67	(c) If the attorney for a defendant files an untimely
68	68	request under Subsection (a), or after the time for filing a request
69	69	under Subsection (a) otherwise presents evidence that the defendant
70	70	is a person with an intellectual disability, the judge may hold a
71	71	hearing under this chapter outside the presence of the jury if the
72	72	attorney can show good cause for not filing a request within the
73	73	time limit prescribed by Subsection (a).
74	74	Art. 46D.004. APPOINTMENT OF DISINTERESTED EXPERT. (a) On
75	75	the request of either party or on the judge's own motion, the judge
76	76	shall appoint a disinterested expert experienced and qualified in
77	77	the field of diagnosing intellectual disabilities to examine the
78	78	defendant and determine whether the defendant is a person with an
79	79	intellectual disability.
80	80	(b) The judge may order the defendant to submit to an
81	81	examination by an expert appointed under this article.
82	82	(c) An examination described by this article must be
83	83	narrowly tailored to determine whether the defendant has an
84	84	intellectual disability.
85	85	Art. 46D.005. BURDEN OF PROOF. (a) At a hearing under this
86	86	chapter, the burden is on the defendant to prove by a preponderance
87	87	of the evidence that the defendant is a person with an intellectual
88	88	disability.
89	89	(b) The state may offer evidence to rebut evidence offered
90	90	by the defendant.
91	91	Art. 46D.006. PREVAILING MEDICAL STANDARDS. Evidence
92	92	offered by either party for purposes of a hearing under this chapter
93	93	must be consistent with prevailing medical standards for the
94	94	diagnosis of intellectual disabilities.
95	95	Art. 46D.007. DETERMINATION AND ORDER RELATED TO
96	96	INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY. (a) As soon as practicable but not later
97	97	than the 30th day after the conclusion of a hearing under this
98	98	chapter, the judge shall determine whether the defendant is a
99	99	person with an intellectual disability and issue an appropriate
100	100	order. The order must contain findings of fact explaining the
101	101	judge's reasoning for the determination and citing evidence in the
102	102	record.
103	103	(b) If the judge does not determine that the defendant is a
104	104	person with an intellectual disability, the judge shall conduct the
105	105	trial of the offense in the same manner as if a hearing under this
106	106	chapter had not been held. At the trial:
107	107	(1) the jury may not be informed of the fact that the
108	108	judge held a hearing under this chapter; and
109	109	(2) the defendant may present evidence of intellectual
110	110	disability as otherwise permitted by law.
111	111	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
112	112	a trial that commences on or after the effective date of this Act,
113	113	regardless of whether the alleged offense was committed before, on,
114	114	or after that date.
115	115	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.