Texas Family Code 51.13 – Effect of Adjudication or Disposition
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (d) and (e), an order of adjudication or disposition in a proceeding under this title is not a conviction of crime. Except as provided by Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code, an order of adjudication or disposition does not impose any civil disability ordinarily resulting from a conviction or operate to disqualify the child in any civil service application or appointment.
(b) The adjudication or disposition of a child or evidence adduced in a hearing under this title may be used only in subsequent:
(1) proceedings under this title in which the child is a party;
(2) sentencing proceedings in criminal court against the child to the extent permitted by the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, 1965; or
(3) civil commitment proceedings under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code.
Terms Used In Texas Family Code 51.13
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Justice: when applied to a magistrate, means justice of the peace. See Texas Government Code 312.011
(c) A child may not be committed or transferred to a penal institution or other facility used primarily for the execution of sentences of persons convicted of crime, except:
(1) for temporary detention in a jail or lockup pending juvenile court hearing or disposition under conditions meeting the requirements of § 51.12;
(2) after transfer for prosecution in criminal court under § 54.02, unless the juvenile court orders the detention of the child in a certified juvenile detention facility under § 54.02(h);
(3) after transfer from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under § 245.151(c), Human Resources Code; or
(4) after transfer from a post-adjudication secure correctional facility, as that term is defined by Section 54.04011.
(d) An adjudication under § 54.03 that a child engaged in conduct that occurred on or after January 1, 1996, and that constitutes a felony offense resulting in commitment to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department under § 54.04(d)(2), (d)(3), or (m) or 54.05(f) or commitment to a post-adjudication secure correctional facility under Section 54.04011 for conduct that occurred on or after December 1, 2013, is a final felony conviction only for the purposes of Sections 12.42(a), (b), and (c)(1) or § 12.425, Penal Code.
(e) A finding that a child engaged in conduct indicating a need for supervision as described by § 51.03(b)(6) is a conviction only for the purposes of Sections 43.261(c) and (d), Penal Code.