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Results from the 81st
Legislative Session
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
IMPROPER PHOTOGRAPHY OR VISUAL RECORDING - SEXTING:...............
JUSTICE FOR THE WRONGLY
CONVICTED.......................................................
INFORMANTS.............................................................................................................
ACCESS TO
EVIDENCE..........................................................................................
JAIL RELEASE AND
BONDS................................................................................... |
IMPROPER PHOTOGRAPHY OR VISUAL RECORDING -
SEXTING:
A person commits a state jail felony if the person photographs or visually
records another without that person’s consent and with the intent to
arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
In the 2007 Legislative Session an amendment passed making it a state jail
felony to promote a photograph or visual recording, knowing that the
photograph or visual recording was made without the consent of the person
being photographed or recorded, and intended to arouse or gratify the
sexual desire of any person.
Proponents of this new law felt the amendment was needed to prevent
violations of privacy made possible by new technologies that the original
law did not foresee, such as cell phones or micro-cameras that transmit
live without necessarily recording an image.
This amendment has also lead to some unanticipated prosecutions. As camera
phones have become all pervading, the practice of sexting has increased as
well.
Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos
electronically, primarily between cell phones.
Sexting prosecutions have occurred in Texas and ignorance of the law is no
defense. See my video interview about this problem at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ozajHIG228
JUSTICE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED
Tim Cole was a college student who was falsely convicted of Sexually
Assaulting a Texas woman. He was sent to prison where he died before
serving his sentence. DNA was later tested and showed that Cole did not
commit the crime and another man came forward and confessed.
In addition to paying damages to the wrongfully convicted person, the
legislature passed a law that allows the families of a wrongfully
convicted person to be compensated for their loss.
INFORMANTS
A defendant cannot be convicted on the testimony of a person to whom the
defendant made a statement against the defendant’s interest during a time
when the person was imprisoned or confined in the same correctional
facility as the defendant unless the testimony is corroborated.
ACCESS TO EVIDENCE
Under Senate Bill 595 a court shall provide defense counsel and designated
defense experts an ample opportunity for the inspection, viewing, and
examination of any visual images allegedly depicting child pornographic
material at a facility under the control of the state.
The court shall deny any request by the defense to copy, photograph,
duplicate, or otherwise reproduce these images provided that the state
makes the material available to the defense.
JAIL RELEASE AND BONDS
If a judge releases a person on bond who is charged with sexual or
assaultive offenses involving a child younger than 14, the judge is now
required to set conditions on the bond that the person is not to have
direct communication with the complainant, or go near any residence,
school, or other location, as specifically described in the bond,
frequented by the complainant. If a defendant were to violate that
condition of bond, the defendant would be taken into custody and denied
release on bail pending trial.
Judges can take advantage of technology by ordering defendants to wear and
pay for a GPS device as a condition of bond. This generally costs the
defendant about $12 a day. A GPS device electronically determines and
reports the location of an individual through the use of a transmitter
carried or worn by the individual that transmits latitude and longitude
data to a monitoring entity through global positioning satellite
technology. Now, a judge can also order the defendant to pay the costs
associated with providing the complainant with an electronic receptor
device that is capable of receiving the GPS information and notifies the
complainant if the defendant is at or near a location that the defendant
has been ordered to refrain from going near.
If the magistrate determines that a defendant is indigent, the magistrate
may require the defendant to pay costs in an amount that is less than the
full amount of the costs associated with operating the monitoring system. |
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David B. Frank
Attorney And Counselor At Law
The Penthouse Condominiums
1212 Guadalupe Street, Suite 103
Austin, Texas 78701
Tel. 512-499-0969
Fax. 512-499-8220 |
"Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas board of Legal Specialization"
Reproduction of any material on this site without written
permission is strictly prohibited.
© Copyright
2002-2009 David Frank, Attorney at Law. All Rights Reserved. |
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