Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB507 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3623 MEW-F
2	2	By: Gervin-Hawkins H.B. No. 507
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to policies and standards for providing legal
10	10	representation to indigent defendants in certain capital felony
11	11	cases.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Article 26.052, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
14	14	amended by adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) and amending
15	15	Subsections (d) and (m) to read as follows:
16	16	(c-1) Each local selection committee described by
17	17	Subsection (c) shall evaluate and determine the list of attorneys
18	18	in the applicable administrative judicial region qualified under
19	19	this article to be appointed to represent indigent defendants in
20	20	capital cases in which the death penalty is sought and post the list
21	21	on the Internet website of that administrative judicial region.
22	22	(c-2)(1) A statewide capital defense training and standards
23	23	committee is created. The committee must be composed of nine
24	24	members, including:
25	25	(A) two judges jointly selected by the presiding
26	26	judges of the administrative judicial regions;
27	27	(B) a criminal defense attorney appointed by the
28	28	president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association;
29	29	(C) the chief public defender of the Regional
30	30	Public Defender for Capital Cases office, or the chief public
31	31	defender's designee;
32	32	(D) the chief capital defender of a county public
33	33	defender office appointed by the executive director of the Texas
34	34	Indigent Defense Commission;
35	35	(E) a member of the State Bar of Texas committee
36	36	on legal services to the poor in criminal matters selected by the
37	37	chair of the committee; and
38	38	(F) three attorneys appointed by the executive
39	39	director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
40	40	(2) Each member of the statewide capital defense
41	41	training and standards committee must:
42	42	(A) be a licensed attorney; and
43	43	(B) have significant experience in capital
44	44	defense or indigent criminal defense policy or practice.
45	45	(3) A member of the statewide capital defense training
46	46	and standards committee may not be a prosecutor, a law enforcement
47	47	officer, or an employee of the office of capital and forensic writs.
48	48	(4) Members of the statewide capital defense training
49	49	and standards committee serve four-year terms and may be
50	50	reappointed. If a vacancy occurs, the appropriate appointing
51	51	authority shall appoint a successor in the same manner as the
52	52	original appointment to serve for the remainder of the unexpired
53	53	term.
54	54	(5) The members of the statewide capital defense
55	55	training and standards committee shall select a chair from among
56	56	the committee's members.
57	57	(6) A member of the statewide capital defense training
58	58	and standards committee may not receive compensation for service on
59	59	the committee but is entitled to be reimbursed for actual and
60	60	necessary expenses incurred in discharging committee duties. The
61	61	expenses are paid from funds appropriated to the Texas Indigent
62	62	Defense Commission.
63	63	(7) The Texas Indigent Defense Commission shall
64	64	provide administrative support to the statewide capital defense
65	65	training and standards committee as necessary to carry out the
66	66	purposes of the committee.
67	67	(d)(1) The statewide capital defense training and standards
68	68	committee created under Subsection (c-2) shall adopt policies and
69	69	standards for providing legal representation [the qualification of
70	70	attorneys to be appointed] to [represent] indigent defendants in
71	71	capital cases in which the death penalty is sought. The policies and
72	72	standards must include, with respect to the qualification of
73	73	attorneys to be appointed in capital cases, the following:
74	74	(A) training requirements and curricula;
75	75	(B) qualification standards;
76	76	(C) continuing legal education requirements; and
77	77	(D) other policies and standards as necessary to
78	78	ensure quality legal representation in capital cases.
79	79	(2) The standards described by Subdivision (1) must
80	80	require that a trial attorney appointed as lead counsel to a capital
81	81	case:
82	82	(A) be a member of the State Bar of Texas;
83	83	(B) exhibit proficiency and commitment to
84	84	providing quality representation to defendants in death penalty
85	85	cases;
86	86	(C) have not been found by a local selection
87	87	committee described by Subsection (c) to have provided deficient
88	88	legal representation [a federal or state court to have rendered
89	89	ineffective assistance of counsel] during the trial or appeal of
90	90	any capital case if [, unless] the local selection committee has
91	91	determined [determines under Subsection (n)] that the conduct
92	92	underlying the deficient representation [finding no longer]
93	93	accurately reflects the attorney's inability [ability] to provide
94	94	effective representation in the future;
95	95	(D) have at least five years of criminal law
96	96	experience;
97	97	(E) have tried to a verdict as lead defense
98	98	counsel a significant number of felony cases, including homicide
99	99	trials and other trials for offenses punishable as second or first
100	100	degree felonies or capital felonies;
101	101	(F) have trial experience in[:
102	102	[(i)] the use of and challenges to mental
103	103	health or forensic expert witnesses[;] and have:
104	104	(i) trial experience in [(ii)]
105	105	investigating and presenting mitigating evidence at the penalty
106	106	phase of a death penalty trial, regardless of whether:
107	107	(a) the case resulted in a judgment or
108	108	dismissal; or
109	109	(b) the state subsequently waived the
110	110	death penalty in the case; or
111	111	(ii) an equivalent amount of trial
112	112	experience, as determined by the applicable local selection
113	113	committee; and
114	114	(G) have participated in continuing legal
115	115	education courses or other training relating to criminal defense in
116	116	death penalty cases.
117	117	(3) The standards described by Subdivision (1) must
118	118	require that an attorney appointed as lead appellate counsel in the
119	119	direct appeal of a capital case:
120	120	(A) be a member of the State Bar of Texas;
121	121	(B) exhibit proficiency and commitment to
122	122	providing quality representation to defendants in death penalty
123	123	cases;
124	124	(C) have not been found by a local selection
125	125	committee described by Subsection (c) to have provided deficient
126	126	legal representation [a federal or state court to have rendered
127	127	ineffective assistance of counsel] during the trial or appeal of
128	128	any capital case if [, unless] the local selection committee has
129	129	determined [determines under Subsection (n)] that the conduct
130	130	underlying the deficient representation [finding no longer]
131	131	accurately reflects the attorney's inability [ability] to provide
132	132	effective representation in the future;
133	133	(D) have at least five years of criminal law
134	134	experience;
135	135	(E) have authored a significant number of
136	136	appellate briefs, including appellate briefs for homicide cases and
137	137	other cases involving an offense punishable as a capital felony or a
138	138	felony of the first degree or an offense described by Article
139	139	42A.054(a);
140	140	(F) have trial or appellate experience in[:
141	141	[(i)] the use of and challenges to mental
142	142	health or forensic expert witnesses[;] and have:
143	143	(i) trial or appellate experience in [(ii)]
144	144	the use of mitigating evidence at the penalty phase of a death
145	145	penalty trial, regardless of whether:
146	146	(a) the case resulted in a judgment or
147	147	dismissal; or
148	148	(b) the state subsequently waived the
149	149	death penalty in the case; or
150	150	(ii) an equivalent amount of trial or
151	151	appellate experience, as determined by the applicable local
152	152	selection committee; and
153	153	(G) have participated in continuing legal
154	154	education courses or other training relating to criminal defense in
155	155	appealing death penalty cases.
156	156	(4) The Texas Indigent Defense Commission [committee]
157	157	shall prominently post the policies and standards adopted by the
158	158	statewide capital defense training and standards committee under
159	159	Subdivision (1) on the commission's Internet website [in each
160	160	district clerk's office in the region with a list of attorneys
161	161	qualified for appointment].
162	162	(5) Not later than the second anniversary of the date
163	163	an attorney is placed on a local selection committee's [the] list of
164	164	attorneys qualified for appointment in death penalty cases under
165	165	Subsection (c-1) and each year following the second anniversary,
166	166	the attorney must present a list of death penalty trial, direct
167	167	appeal, and habeas corpus cases in which the attorney served as
168	168	counsel and proof to the local selection committee for the
169	169	applicable administrative judicial region that the attorney has
170	170	successfully completed the training, minimum continuing legal
171	171	education requirements, and other standards adopted by the
172	172	statewide capital defense training and standards committee under
173	173	Subdivision (1) [of the State Bar of Texas, including a course or
174	174	other form of training relating to criminal defense in death
175	175	penalty cases or in appealing death penalty cases, as applicable].
176	176	The applicable local selection committee shall remove the
177	177	attorney's name from the list of qualified attorneys under
178	178	Subsection (c-1) if the attorney fails to provide the local
179	179	selection committee with the materials required under this
180	180	subdivision [proof of completion of the continuing legal education
181	181	requirements].
182	182	(m) Each [The] local selection committee shall annually
183	183	review the list of attorneys posted under Subsection (c-1) [(d)] to
184	184	ensure that each listed attorney satisfies the requirements under
185	185	this chapter.
186	186	SECTION 2. Article 26.052(n), Code of Criminal Procedure,
187	187	is repealed.
188	188	SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
189	189	to a capital felony case that is filed on or after the effective
190	190	date of this Act. A capital felony case that is filed before the
191	191	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
192	192	date the case was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
193	193	for that purpose.
194	194	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.