Texas Family Code 54.031 – Hearsay Statement of Certain Abuse Victims
(a) This section applies to a hearing under this title in which a child is alleged to be a delinquent child on the basis of a violation of any of the following provisions of the Penal Code, if a child 12 years of age or younger or a person with a disability is the alleged victim of the violation:
(1) Chapter 21 (Sexual Offenses) or 22 (Assaultive Offenses);
(2) Section 25.02 (Prohibited Sexual Conduct);
(3) Section 43.25 (Sexual Performance by a Child);
(4) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) (Trafficking of Persons); or
(5) Section 43.05(a)(2) (Compelling Prostitution).
(b) This section applies only to statements that describe the alleged violation that:
(1) were made by the child or person with a disability who is the alleged victim of the violation; and
(2) were made to the first person, 18 years of age or older, to whom the child or person with a disability made a statement about the violation.
Terms Used In Texas Family Code 54.031
- Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
- Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) A statement that meets the requirements of Subsection (b) is not inadmissible because of the hearsay rule if:
(1) on or before the 14th day before the date the hearing begins, the party intending to offer the statement:
(A) notifies each other party of its intention to do so;
(B) provides each other party with the name of the witness through whom it intends to offer the statement; and
(C) provides each other party with a written summary of the statement;
(2) the juvenile court finds, in a hearing conducted outside the presence of the jury, that the statement is reliable based on the time, content, and circumstances of the statement; and
(3) the child or person with a disability who is the alleged victim testifies or is available to testify at the hearing in court or in any other manner provided by law.
(d) In this section, “person with a disability” means a person 13 years of age or older who because of age or physical or mental disease, disability, or injury is substantially unable to protect the person’s self from harm or to provide food, shelter, or medical care for the person’s self.