Texas Family Code - Section 54.04. Disposition Hearing
Legal Research Home >
Texas Laws > Family Code > Texas Family Code - Section 54.04. Disposition Hearing
§ 54.04. DISPOSITION HEARING. (a) The disposition
hearing shall be separate, distinct, and subsequent to the
adjudication hearing. There is no right to a jury at the
disposition hearing unless the child is in jeopardy of a
determinate sentence under Subsection (d)(3) or (m), in which case,
the child is entitled to a jury of 12 persons to determine the
sentence.
(b) At the disposition hearing, the juvenile court may
consider written reports from probation officers, professional
court employees, or professional consultants in addition to the
testimony of witnesses. Prior to the disposition hearing, the
court shall provide the attorney for the child with access to all
written matter to be considered in disposition. The court may order
counsel not to reveal items to the child or the child's parent,
guardian, or guardian ad litem if such disclosure would materially
harm the treatment and rehabilitation of the child or would
substantially decrease the likelihood of receiving information
from the same or similar sources in the future.
(c) No disposition may be made under this section unless the
child is in need of rehabilitation or the protection of the public
or the child requires that disposition be made. If the court or
jury does not so find, the court shall dismiss the child and enter a
final judgment without any disposition. No disposition placing the
child on probation outside the child's home may be made under this
section unless the court or jury finds that the child, in the
child's home, cannot be provided the quality of care and level of
support and supervision that the child needs to meet the conditions
of the probation.
(d) If the court or jury makes the finding specified in
Subsection (c) allowing the court to make a disposition in the case:
(1) the court or jury may, in addition to any order
required or authorized under Section 54.041 or 54.042, place the
child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as the court
may determine:
(A) in the child's own home or in the custody of a
relative or other fit person; or
(B) subject to the finding under Subsection (c)
on the placement of the child outside the child's home, in:
(i) a suitable foster home; or
(ii) a suitable public or private
institution or agency, except the Texas Youth Commission;
(2) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that violates a penal law of this state or the United States of the
grade of felony or, if the requirements of Subsection (s) or (t) are
met, of the grade of misdemeanor, and if the petition was not
approved by the grand jury under Section 53.045, the court may
commit the child to the Texas Youth Commission without a
determinate sentence;
(3) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of the
adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent conduct
that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section 53.045(a)
and if the petition was approved by the grand jury under Section
53.045, the court or jury may sentence the child to commitment in
the Texas Youth Commission with a possible transfer to the
institutional division or the pardons and paroles division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice for a term of:
(A) not more than 40 years if the conduct
constitutes:
(i) a capital felony;
(ii) a felony of the first degree; or
(iii) an aggravated controlled substance
felony;
(B) not more than 20 years if the conduct
constitutes a felony of the second degree; or
(C) not more than 10 years if the conduct
constitutes a felony of the third degree;
(4) the court may assign the child an appropriate
sanction level and sanctions as provided by the assignment
guidelines in Section 59.003; or
(5) if applicable, the court or jury may make a
disposition under Subsection (m).
(e) The Texas Youth Commission shall accept a person
properly committed to it by a juvenile court even though the person
may be 17 years of age or older at the time of commitment.
(f) The court shall state specifically in the order its
reasons for the disposition and shall furnish a copy of the order to
the child. If the child is placed on probation, the terms of
probation shall be written in the order.
(g) If the court orders a disposition under Subsection
(d)(3) or (m) and there is an affirmative finding that the defendant
used or exhibited a deadly weapon during the commission of the
conduct or during immediate flight from commission of the conduct,
the court shall enter the finding in the order. If there is an
affirmative finding that the deadly weapon was a firearm, the court
shall enter that finding in the order.
(h) At the conclusion of the dispositional hearing, the
court shall inform the child of:
(1) the child's right to appeal, as required by Section
56.01; and
(2) the procedures for the sealing of the child's
records under Section 58.003.
(i) If the court places the child on probation outside the
child's home or commits the child to the Texas Youth Commission, the
court:
(1) shall include in its order its determination that:
(A) it is in the child's best interests to be
placed outside the child's home;
(B) reasonable efforts were made to prevent or
eliminate the need for the child's removal from the home and to make
it possible for the child to return to the child's home; and
(C) the child, in the child's home, cannot be
provided the quality of care and level of support and supervision
that the child needs to meet the conditions of probation; and
(2) may approve an administrative body to conduct
permanency hearings pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 675 if required
during the placement or commitment of the child.
(j) If the court or jury found that the child engaged in
delinquent conduct that included a violation of a penal law of the
grade of felony or jailable misdemeanor, the court:
(1) shall require that the child's thumbprint be
affixed to the order; and
(2) may require that a photograph of the child be
attached to the order.
(k) Except as provided by Subsection (m), the period to
which a court or jury may sentence a person to commitment to the
Texas Youth Commission with a transfer to the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice under Subsection (d)(3) applies without regard to
whether the person has previously been adjudicated as having
engaged in delinquent conduct.
(l) Except as provided by Subsection (q), a court or jury
may place a child on probation under Subsection (d)(1) for any
period, except that probation may not continue on or after the
child's 18th birthday. Except as provided by Subsection (q), the
court may, before the period of probation ends, extend the
probation for any period, except that the probation may not extend
to or after the child's 18th birthday.
(m) The court or jury may sentence a child adjudicated for
habitual felony conduct as described by Section 51.031 to a term
prescribed by Subsection (d)(3) and applicable to the conduct
adjudicated in the pending case if:
(1) a petition was filed and approved by a grand jury
under Section 53.045 alleging that the child engaged in habitual
felony conduct; and
(2) the court or jury finds beyond a reasonable doubt
that the allegation described by Subdivision (1) in the grand jury
petition is true.
(n) A court may order a disposition of secure confinement of
a status offender adjudicated for violating a valid court order
only if:
(1) before the order is issued, the child received the
full due process rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the
United States or the Texas Constitution; and
(2) the juvenile probation department in a report
authorized by Subsection (b):
(A) reviewed the behavior of the child and the
circumstances under which the child was brought before the court;
(B) determined the reasons for the behavior that
caused the child to be brought before the court; and
(C) determined that all dispositions, including
treatment, other than placement in a secure detention facility or
secure correctional facility, have been exhausted or are clearly
inappropriate.
(o) In a disposition under this title:
(1) a status offender may not, under any
circumstances, be committed to the Texas Youth Commission for
engaging in conduct that would not, under state or local law, be a
crime if committed by an adult;
(2) a status offender may not, under any circumstances
other than as provided under Subsection (n), be placed in a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility; and
(3) a child adjudicated for contempt of a county,
justice, or municipal court order may not, under any circumstances,
be placed in a post-adjudication secure correctional facility or
committed to the Texas Youth Commission for that conduct.
(p) Except as provided by Subsection (l), a court that
places a child on probation under Subsection (d)(1) for conduct
described by Section 54.0405(b) and punishable as a felony shall
specify a minimum probation period of two years.
(q) If a court or jury sentences a child to commitment in the
Texas Youth Commission under Subsection (d)(3) for a term of not
more than 10 years, the court or jury may place the child on
probation under Subsection (d)(1) as an alternative to making the
disposition under Subsection (d)(3). The court shall prescribe the
period of probation ordered under this subsection for a term of not
more than 10 years. The court may, before the sentence of probation
expires, extend the probationary period under Section 54.05, except
that the sentence of probation and any extension may not exceed 10
years. The court may, before the child's 18th birthday, discharge
the child from the sentence of probation. If a sentence of
probation ordered under this subsection and any extension of
probation ordered under Section 54.05 will continue after the
child's 18th birthday, the court shall discharge the child from the
sentence of probation on the child's 18th birthday unless the court
transfers the child to an appropriate district court under Section
54.051.
(r) If the judge orders a disposition under this section and
there is an affirmative finding that the victim or intended victim
was younger than 17 years of age at the time of the conduct, the
judge shall enter the finding in the order.
(s) The court may make a disposition under Subsection (d)(2)
for delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the grade of
misdemeanor if:
(1) the child has been adjudicated as having engaged
in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of
misdemeanor on at least two previous occasions;
(2) of the previous adjudications, the conduct that
was the basis for one of the adjudications occurred after the date
of another previous adjudication; and
(3) the conduct that is the basis of the current
adjudication occurred after the date of at least two previous
adjudications.
(t) The court may make a disposition under Subsection (d)(2)
for delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of the grade of
misdemeanor if:
(1) the child has been adjudicated as having engaged
in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony
on at least one previous occasion; and
(2) the conduct that is the basis of the current
adjudication occurred after the date of that previous adjudication.
(u) For the purposes of disposition under Subsection
(d)(2), delinquent conduct that violates a penal law of this state
of the grade of felony or misdemeanor does not include conduct that
violates a lawful order of a county, municipal, justice, or
juvenile court under circumstances that would constitute contempt
of that court.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1973.
Amended by Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 2158, ch. 693, § 23, eff.
Sept. 1, 1975; Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 1802, ch. 394, § 1, eff.
Aug. 31, 1981; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 161, ch. 44, art. 1, § 3,
eff. April 26, 1983; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3261, ch. 565, § 2,
eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 385, § 9, eff.
Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1052, § 6.11, eff.
Sept. 1, 1987; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 2, § 16.01(17), eff.
Aug. 28, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 80, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 557, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991;
Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 574, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts
1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 784, § 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993,
73rd Leg., ch. 1048, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th
Leg., ch. 262, § 38, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch.
669, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1086,
§ 11, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1193, § 9,
eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1415, § 19, eff.
Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1448, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1477, § 10, eff. Sept. 1, 1999;
Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1297, § 23, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts
2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 5.001, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 137, § 13, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Section: 54.02 54.021 54.03 54.031 54.032 54.033 54.034 54.04 54.0405 54.0406 54.0407 54.0408 54.041 54.0411 54.042
Last modified: August 11, 2007
|
