By: Turner S.B. No. 1582
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to creating the offense of obstruction of justice and the
1-2 imposition of criminal penalties.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 38.05, Penal Code, is amended to read as
1-5 follows:
1-6 Sec. 38.05. OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE <HINDERING APPREHENSION
1-7 OR PROSECUTION>. (a) A person commits an offense if, with intent
1-8 to hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, arrest,
1-9 apprehension, detention, adjudication, prosecution, conviction, or
1-10 punishment of another person, including a juvenile, for the
1-11 commission of an offense other than an offense punishable by a fine
1-12 only, he commits any of the following acts:
1-13 (1) harbors or conceals the other;
1-14 (2) provides or aids in providing the other with
1-15 money, transportation, a weapon, a disguise, or any other thing to
1-16 be used in <any means of> avoiding discovery, arrest, or effecting
1-17 escape; or
1-18 (3) warns the other of impending discovery or
1-19 apprehension.
1-20 (b)(1) A person commits an offense if, with intent to
1-21 hinder, delay, or prevent the discovery, detection, apprehension,
1-22 detention, adjudication, prosecution, or conviction of any person,
1-23 including a juvenile, for the commission of an offense other than
2-1 an offense punishable by fine only, he:
2-2 (A) by force, intimidation, or deception,
2-3 obstructs, hinders, or impairs anyone in the performance of any act
2-4 which might aid in the discovery, detection, apprehension,
2-5 detention, adjudication, prosecution, or conviction of another; or
2-6 (B) conceals, takes, destroys, or alters any
2-7 physical evidence, record, document, or other thing; or
2-8 (C) makes, presents, or uses any record,
2-9 document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to
2-10 effect the course or outcome of an investigation or official
2-11 proceeding.
2-12 (2) This subsection shall not apply if the record,
2-13 document, or thing concealed is privileged or is the work product
2-14 of the parties to the investigation or official proceeding.
2-15 (c) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(3)
2-16 that the warning was given in connection with an effort to bring
2-17 another into compliance with the law.
2-18 (d) <(c)> An offense under this section is one category
2-19 lower than the offense committed by the person for whom the actor
2-20 acted or attempted to act to hinder, delay, or prevent the person's
2-21 discovery, detection, arrest, apprehension, detention,
2-22 adjudication, prosecution, conviction, or punishment, unless the
2-23 offense committed by the person was a state jail felony, in which
2-24 event the offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor<,
2-25 except that the offense is a felony of the third degree if the
3-1 person who is harbored, concealed, provided with a means of
3-2 avoiding arrest or effecting escape, or warned of discovery or
3-3 apprehension is under arrest for, charged with, or convicted of a
3-4 felony and the person charged under this section knew that the
3-5 person they harbored, concealed, provided with a means of avoiding
3-6 arrest or effecting escape, or warned of discovery or apprehension
3-7 is under arrest for, charged with, or convicted of a felony>.
3-8 (e) If conduct constitutes an offense under this section as
3-9 well as an offense under another section, prosecution may be
3-10 brought under either section.
3-11 SECTION 2. Section 37.09, Penal Code, is repealed.
3-12 SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made to Section 38.05,
3-13 Penal Code, by this Act applies only to a criminal offense
3-14 committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
3-15 (b) The repeal by this Act of Section 37.09, Penal Code,
3-16 does not apply to an offense committed under that section before
3-17 the effective date of this Act. An offense committed under Section
3-18 37.09, Penal Code, before the effective date of this Act is covered
3-19 by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former
3-20 law is continued in effect for that purpose.
3-21 (c) For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
3-22 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
3-23 occurs before that date.
3-24 SECTION 4. If any section, sentence, clause, or part of this
3-25 Act shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such invalidity shall
4-1 not affect the remaining portions of the Act, and it is hereby
4-2 declared to be the intention of this legislature to have passed
4-3 each section, sentence, clause, or part irrespective of the fact
4-4 that any other section, sentence, clause, or part may be declared
4-5 invalid.
4-6 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-7 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
4-8 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-9 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-10 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-11 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.