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FAMILY CODE TITLE 3. JUVENILE JUSTICE CODE
CHAPTER 51. GENERAL PROVISIONS
(g) Except for a child detained in a juvenile processing office, a place of nonsecure custody, a secure
detention facility as provided by Subsection (j), or a facility as provided by Subsection (l), a child
detained in a building that contains a jail or lockup may not have any contact with:
(1) part-time or full-time security staff, including management, who have contact with adults
detained in the same building; or
(2) direct-care staff who have contact with adults detained in the same building.
(h) This section does not apply to a person:
(1) after transfer to criminal court for prosecution under Section 54.02; or
(2) who is at least 17 years of age and who has been taken into custody after having:
(A) escaped from a juvenile facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Youth Commission;
or
(B) violated a condition of release under supervision of the Texas Youth Commission.
(i) Except for a facility as provided by Subsection (l), a governmental unit or private entity that
operates or contracts for the operation of a juvenile pre-adjudication secure detention facility under
Subsection (b-1) in this state shall:
(1) register the facility annually with the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
(2) adhere to all applicable minimum standards for the facility.
(j) After being taken into custody, a child may be detained in a secure detention facility until the
child is released under Section 53.01, 53.012, or 53.02 or until a detention hearing is held under
Section 54.01(a), regardless of whether the facility has been certified under Subsection (c), if:
(1) a certified juvenile detention facility is not available in the county in which the child is taken
into custody;
(2) the detention facility complies with:
(A) the short-term detention standards adopted by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
(B) the requirements of Subsection (f); and
(3) the detention facility has been designated by the county juvenile board for the county in which
the facility is located.
(k) If a child who is detained under Subsection (j) or (l) is not released from detention at the
conclusion of the detention hearing for a reason stated in Section 54.01(e), the child may be detained
after the hearing only in a certified juvenile detention facility.
(l) A child who is taken into custody and required to be detained under Section 53.02(f) may be
detained in a county jail or other facility until the child is released under Section 53.02(f) or until a
detention hearing is held as required by Section 54.01(p), regardless of whether the facility complies
with the requirements of this section, if:
(1) a certified juvenile detention facility or a secure detention facility described by Subsection (j) is
not available in the county in which the child is taken into custody or in an adjacent county;
(2) the facility has been designated by the county juvenile board for the county in which the facility
is located;
(3) the child is separated by sight and sound from adults detained in the same facility through
architectural design or time-phasing;
(4) the child does not have any contact with management or direct-care staff that has contact with
adults detained in the same facility on the same work shift;
(5) the county in which the child is taken into custody is not located in a metropolitan statistical
area as designated by the United States Bureau of the Census; and
(6) each judge of the juvenile court and a majority of the members of the juvenile board of the county
in which the child is taken into custody have personally inspected the facility at least annually and
have certified in writing to the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission that the facility complies with
the requirements of Subdivisions (3) and (4).
(m) The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission may deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of any
facility required to register under Subsection (i) if the facility fails to:
(1) adhere to all applicable minimum standards for the facility; or
(2) timely correct any notice of noncompliance with minimum standards.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1973. Amended by Act 263, Sec. 5, eff. June 8,
2007.
Sec. 51.125. POST-ADJUDICATION CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. (a) A post-adjudication secure
correctional facility for juvenile offenders may be operated only by:
(1) a governmental unit in this state as defined by Section 101.001, Civil Practice and Remedies Code;
or
(2) a private entity under a contract with a governmental unit in this state.
(b) In each county, each judge of the juvenile court and a majority of the members of the juvenile
board shall personally inspect all public or private juvenile post-adjudication secure correctional
facilities that are not operated by the Texas Youth Commission and that are located in the county at
least annually and shall certify in writing to the authorities responsible for operating and giving
financial support to the facilities and to the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission that the facility
or facilities are suitable or unsuitable for the confinement of children. In determining whether a
facility is suitable or unsuitable for the confinement of children, the juvenile court judges and
juvenile board members shall consider:
(1) current monitoring and inspection reports and any noncompliance citation reports issued by the
Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, including the report provided under Subsection (c), and the
status of any required corrective actions; and
(2) the other factors described under Sections 51.12(c)(2)-(7).
(c) The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission shall annually inspect each public or private juvenile
post-adjudication secure correctional facility that is not operated by the Texas Youth Commission.
The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission shall provide a report to each juvenile court judge
presiding in the same county as an inspected facility indicating whether the facility is suitable or
unsuitable for the confinement of children in accordance with minimum professional standards for
the confinement of children in post-adjudication secure confinement promulgated by the Texas
Juvenile Probation Commission or, at the election of the juvenile board of the county in which the
facility is located, the current standards promulgated by the American Correctional Association.
(d) A governmental unit or private entity that operates or contracts for the operation of a juvenile
post-adjudication secure correctional facility in this state under Subsection (a), except for a facility
operated by or under contract with the Texas Youth Commission, shall:
(1) register the facility annually with the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
(2) adhere to all applicable minimum standards for the facility.
(e) The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission may deny, suspend, or revoke the registration of any
facility required to register under Subsection (d) if the facility fails to:
(1) adhere to all applicable minimum standards for the facility; or
(2) timely correct any notice of noncompliance with minimum standards.
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 263, Sec. 6, eff. June 8, 2007.
Sec. 51.13. EFFECT OF ADJUDICATION OR DISPOSITION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d),
an order of adjudication or disposition in a proceeding under this title is not a conviction of crime.
Except as provided by Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code, an order of adjudication or disposition
does not impose any civil disability ordinarily resulting from a conviction or operate to disqualify
the child in any civil service application or appointment.
(b) The adjudication or disposition of a child or evidence adduced in a hearing under this title may
be used only in subsequent:
(1) proceedings under this title in which the child is a party;
(2) sentencing proceedings in criminal court against the child to the extent permitted by the Texas
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965; or
(3) civil commitment proceedings under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code.
(c) A child may not be committed or transferred to a penal institution or other facility used
primarily for the execution of sentences of persons convicted of crime, except:
(1) for temporary detention in a jail or lockup pending juvenile court hearing or disposition under
conditions meeting the requirements of Section 51.12 of this code;
(2) after transfer for prosecution in criminal court under Section 54.02 of this code; or
(3) after transfer from the Texas Youth Commission under Section 61.084, Human Resources Code.
(d) An adjudication under Section 54.03 that a child engaged in conduct that occurred on or after
January 1, 1996, and that constitutes a felony offense resulting in commitment to the Texas Youth
Commission under Section 54.04(d)(2), (d)(3), or (m) or 54.05(f) is a final felony conviction only for
the purposes of Sections 12.42(a), (b), (c)(1), and (e), Penal Code.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544,
NATION. If a child is taken into custody under Section 52.01 of this code, a person may not
administer a polygraph examination to the child without the consent of the child's attorney or the
juvenile court unless the child is transferred to criminal court for prosecution under Section 54.02 of
this code.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 708, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 51.17. PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE. (a) Except for the burden of proof to be borne by the state
in adjudicating a child to be delinquent or in need of supervision under Section 54.03(f) or otherwise
when in conflict with a provision of this title, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure govern proceedings
under this title.
(b) Discovery in a proceeding under this title is governed by the Code of Criminal Procedure and by
case decisions in criminal cases.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this title, the Texas Rules of Evidence apply to criminal cases
and Articles 33.03 and 37.07 and Chapter 38, Code of Criminal Procedure, apply in a judicial
proceeding under this title.
(d) When on the motion for appointment of an interpreter by a party or on the motion of the juvenile
court, in any proceeding under this title, the court determines that the child, the child's parent or
guardian, or a witness does not understand and speak English, an interpreter must be sworn to
interpret for the person as provided by Article 38.30, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(e) In any proceeding under this title, if a party notifies the court that the child, the child's parent or
guardian, or a witness is deaf, the court shall appoint a qualified interpreter to interpret the
proceedings in any language, including sign language, that the deaf person can understand, as
provided by Article 38.31, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(f) Any requirement under this title that a document contain a person's signature, including the
signature of a judge or a clerk of the court, is satisfied if the document contains the signature of the
person as captured on an electronic device or as a digital signature. Article 2.26, Code of Criminal
Procedure, applies in a proceeding held under this title.
(g) Articles 21.07, 26.07, 26.08, 26.09, and 26.10, Code of Criminal Procedure, relating to the name of
an adult defendant in a criminal case, apply to a child in a proceeding held under this title.
(h) Articles 57.01 and 57.02, Code of Criminal Procedure, relating to the use of a pseudonym by a
victim in a criminal case, apply in a proceeding held under this title.
(i) Except as provided by Section 56.03(f), the state is not required to pay any cost or fee otherwise
imposed for court proceedings in either the trial or appellate courts.CTION BETWEEN JUVENILE
COURT AND ALTERNATE JUVENILE COURT. (a) This section applies only to a child who has a right
to a trial before a juvenile court the judge of which is not an attorney licensed in this state.
(b) On any matter that may lead to an order appealable under Section 56.01 of this code, a child may
be tried before either the juvenile court or the alternate juvenile court.
(c) The child may elect to be tried before the alternate juvenile court only if the child files a written
notice with that court not later than 10 days before the date of the trial. After the notice is filed, the
child may be tried only in the alternate juvenile court. If the child does not file a notice as provided
by this subsection, the child may be tried only in the juvenile court.
(d) If the child is tried before the juvenile court, the child is not entitled to a trial de novo before the
alternate juvenile court.
(e) The child may appeal any order of the juvenile court or alternate juvenile court only as provided
by Section 56.01 of this code.
Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1112, ch. 411, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 1977. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd
Leg., ch. 168, Sec. 3, eff. Aug. 30, 1993.
Sec. 51.19. LIMITATION PERIODS. (a) The limitation periods and the procedures for applying the
limitation periods under Chapter 12, Code of Criminal Procedure, and other statutory law apply to
proceedings under this title.
(b) For purposes of computing a limitation period, a petition filed in juvenile court for a transfer or
an adjudication hearing is equivalent to an indictment or information and is treated as presented
when the petition is filed in the proper court.
(c) The limitation period is two years for an offense or conduct that is not given a specific limitation
period under Chapter 12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other statutory law.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 51.20. PHYSICAL OR MENTAL EXAMINATION. (a) At any stage of the proceedings under this
title, the juvenile court may order a child who is referred to the juvenile court or who is alleged by a
petition or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision
to be examined by a disinterested expert, including a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist,
qualified by education and clinical training in mental health or mental retardation and
experienced in forensic evaluation, to determine whether the child has a mental illness as defined
by Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, or is a person with mental retardation as defined by
Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code. If the examination is to include a determination of the
child's fitness to proceed, an expert may be appointed to conduct the examination only if the expert is
qualified under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, to examine a defendant in a
criminal case, and the examination and the report resulting from an examination under this
subsection must comply with the requirements under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal
Procedure, for the examination and resulting report of a defendant in a criminal case.
(b) If, after conducting an examination of a child ordered under Subsection (a) and reviewing any
other relevant information, there is reason to believe that the child has a mental illness or mental
retardation, the probation department shall refer the child to the local mental health or mental
retardation authority for evaluation and services, unless the prosecuting attorney has filed a
petition under Section 53.04.
(c) If, while a child is under deferred prosecution supervision or court-ordered probation, a qualified
professional determines that the child has a mental illness or mental retardation and the child is
not currently receiving treatment services for the mental illness or mental retardation, the
probation department shall refer the child to the local mental health or mental retardation
authority for evaluation and services.
(d) A probation department shall report each referral of a child to a local mental health or mental
retardation authority made under Subsection (b) or (c) to the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
in a format specified by the commission.
(e) At any stage of the proceedings under this title, the juvenile court may order a child who has been
referred to the juvenile court or who is alleged by the petition or found to have engaged in delinquent
conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision to be subjected to a physical examination by a
licensed physician.Leg
