BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 3532 |
By: Rose |
Criminal Jurisprudence |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Current law does not provide a time frame as to when criminal proceedings may be resumed after a defendant who was determined to be incompetent to stand trial has subsequently been found competent to stand trial. To facilitate efficiency within the criminal justice system, C.S.H.B. 3532 establishes a time frame during which a court must resume proceedings after a defendant has been found competent to stand trial.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 3532 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to require a court, not later than the next business day following the return of a defendant to the court after a previous determination of incompetency to stand trial, to notify the attorney representing the state and the attorney for the defendant regarding the return. The bill requires the attorney for the defendant, within three business days of receiving that notice, to meet and confer with the defendant to evaluate whether there is any suggestion that the defendant has not yet regained competency. The bill changes the deadline by which the court must make a determination following the defendant's return to court with regard to the defendant's competency to stand trial from not later than the 20th day after the date the court received notification from the facility or outpatient treatment program provider, as appropriate, that the defendant's initial restoration period will soon expire, to the earlier of that deadline or not later than the fifth day after the date of the defendant's return to court.
C.S.H.B. 3532 requires, rather than authorizes, the criminal proceedings in a case against a defendant who is determined to be incompetent to stand trial, returned to the court, and subsequently found competent to stand trial, to be resumed; requires the court to resume the proceedings on the court's own motion; and requires the proceedings to be resumed not later than the 14th day after the date of the court's determination that the defendant's competency has been restored. The bill establishes that statutory provisions regarding such a defendant's return to court do not require the criminal case to be finally resolved within any specific period.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 3532 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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