78R799 GWK-D

By:  Dutton                                                       H.B. No. 360



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the admissibility of certain confessions in capital 
cases.      
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 3, Article 38.22, Code of Criminal 
Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding 
Subsection (f) to read as follows:
	(a)  No oral or sign language statement of an accused made as 
a result of custodial interrogation shall be admissible against the 
accused in a criminal proceeding unless:
		(1)  an electronic recording[, which may include motion 
picture, video tape, or other visual recording,] is made of the 
statement;
		(2)  prior to the statement but during the recording 
the accused is given the warning in Subsection (a) of Section 2 
above and the accused knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily 
waives any rights set out in the warning;
		(3)  the recording device was capable of making an 
accurate recording, the operator was competent, and the recording 
is accurate and has not been altered;
		(4)  all voices on the recording are identified;  and                         
		(5)  not later than the 20th day before the date of the 
proceeding, the attorney representing the defendant is provided 
with a true, complete, and accurate copy of all recordings of the 
defendant made under this article.
	(f)  If the defendant is charged with an offense other than a 
capital offense the electronic recording required by Subsection (a) 
may consist of an audio recording or a motion picture, video tape, 
or other visual recording.  If the defendant is charged with a 
capital offense, the electronic recording must consist of a motion 
picture, video tape, or other visual recording.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies only to a statement made on or after the effective date of 
this Act.  A statement made before the effective date of this Act is 
covered by the law in effect when the statement was made, and the 
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.