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Senate Bill 281 |
Senate Author: Hinojosa et al. |
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Effective: Vetoed |
House Sponsor: Lucio III |
Senate Bill 281 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to make inadmissible against a defendant in a criminal trial all statements made during or after a hypnotic session by a person who has undergone investigative hypnosis for the purpose of enhancing the person's recollection of an event at issue in a criminal investigation or case. The bill's provisions do not affect the admissibility of any physical evidence or the testimony of any witness identified that independently corroborates a crime.
Governor's Reason for Veto: "The author of Senate Bill 281 is to be commended for aiming to bring accountability to the criminal justice system by addressing the use of investigative hypnosis. But the House sponsor's late amendment to the bill would dramatically expand its scope in an unacceptable way. The sponsor added language so that for any person who has undergone investigative hypnosis, all statements that person makes "after" the hypnosis—even ones made long "after" the hypnosis session and unrelated to that session—are barred from being admitted into evidence in any criminal trial. The House sponsor's amendment would grant lifetime immunity, for everyone who undergoes this type of hypnosis, from having any subsequent statements used in a criminal trial."