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Senate Bill 372 |
Senate Author: Huffman et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-23 |
House Sponsor: Leach et al. |
Senate Bill 372 amends the Government Code to create a Class A misdemeanor offense for a person, other than a justice or judge, who has access to non‑public judicial work product and knowingly discloses, wholly or partly, the contents of any such work product to a person who is not court staff routinely involved in crafting an opinion or decision for an adjudicatory proceeding. The bill establishes as a defense to prosecution for the offense that the disclosure is authorized either in writing by the justice or judge for whom the work product is prepared or under the Texas Supreme Court's rules. The bill requires a justice or judge of an applicable court to comply with supreme court rules governing the confidentiality of non‑public judicial work product and requires a person, other than a justice or judge, who is involved in crafting an opinion or decision for an adjudicatory proceeding, including a court staff attorney, court clerk, or law clerk, to maintain the confidentiality of all such work product in accordance with those rules.