[{"_1":2,"_124":-5,"_125":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100,112],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6229125,"mediaKeyId","3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03","parentId",3464620,"title","Committee considers video recordings of depositions for elderly and disabled witnesses in criminal cases","audioSeconds",148,"startMs",2117000,"endMs",2265000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03&start=2117&end=2265","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03/thumbnail_2117000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6229125/Texas/Committee-considers-video-recordings-of-depositions-for-elderly-and-disabled-witnesses-in-criminal-cases","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229125-f2c7b288baca503a95ce3f94ac0acb6d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198846&Signature=LwSKvPfjzLDlO5vIfsBmEdoKVSoBEDsz34DaKuo6Bm8E-HJtO5zAeTti5TdmOxZ4cW4ZYey8xDl7KTmL2pGuIMZkx1qLYl3Sivc2vGrbuyymwzQAekJ--wjEfTvOCG-nZbPxTV4FOAOVIck52QLVgaIDaw2nlIIQalpDK-nhObB-R~Wte50NZcjCfg49lPeYlW1lgxtp95oQ8MinzkAnpJLTFNdzgH~akfYSkA7Gel5ryEEnTMz5co9wwn4VEPFJreUYcnugN~kr7NQdo4SeWybKXmq5-Xjw6yw19cREScwpviL2neRYKSswlruzGDVtMO7ETahCrP~9MrGbKp3jEg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Texas Legislature","date","2025-05-22T00:00:00Z","article","Senators heard House Bill 2,348, a measure that would authorize video recording of depositions for elderly or disabled witnesses in criminal cases to preserve tone, demeanor and nonverbal evidence. Sponsor Sen. Hagenboo said the bill responds to practical challenges such witnesses face when appearing in court.

Alicia Patterson, chief elder-abuse prosecutor in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office, testified in support, saying the change would let \"elderly and disabled individuals... have their voice heard in court, even if they can't physically be present in the courtroom, and this bill simply allows them to both be seen and heard.\" Patterson said rules of evidence would still govern the deposition and the recording operator would need to be able to authenticate the video in court.

The committee had no invited opposition registered; the chair closed public testimony and left the bill pending for future committee action.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Criminal Justice May 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Committee on Criminal Justice considered a bill to allow video recording of depositions for elderly and disabled witnesses in criminal cases.","taxTitle","Committee on Criminal Justice, Senate, Legislative, Texas","taxId",16924,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6229137,"Texas Senate committee hears survivor-backed bill to expand legal definition of consent",72,3250000,3178000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03&start=3250&end=3178","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03/thumbnail_3250000.jpg","/articles/6229137/Texas/Texas-Senate-committee-hears-survivor-backed-bill-to-expand-legal-definition-of-consent","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229137-67a99cfef8e331e6716c557856e25b1f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198846&Signature=e8NZw9kjKIQ47btItoZSHSe2~x71ycspc1EFba8GwjIZSPdo~bYUshJUHmh2eO1iYH0wDdLUITZJvAZjrsCks52db22W3qOQt0kKJYs0vRHKJb9X1ZdqHKaKsgYYlT7RjnYS31z-P~ftR6rfy1kkqN7I9hMOPnYxnUwPK08Z53nx4cs5bt~p5wOMQOOnM1ND~DhvsZNThfl3TRmfz28B9IaoX8B1JXs0C~3f31MDpzmQGCOjC~QoNW~3eRX6c3WYfMhe4krUzpFd6p3qz5RE3Iv0PSNcZ~xCdt5F7f~2stRivhKeH7kCuIkcFQmnSsW-RxUYgVjUer6pK8Zoe-4TpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice on Tuesday heard testimony on House Bill 3,073, known as the Summer Willis Act, a bill that would add a uniform statutory definition of consent to Texas's penal code and expand protections for people who are incapacitated by alcohol or other substances. Sponsor Sen. Charles Paxton explained the substitute and the bill's aim to close what supporters called a gap in current law.

Supporters said the change would make it easier to prosecute cases where the victim was incapacitated and to align criminal law with current understandings of trauma and consent. \"If we don't scream, if we don't fight, if we have been drugged and made too incapacitated to say no, it doesn't count,\" survivor Summer Willis told the committee during invited testimony.

The substitute clarifies that consent should be defined as the same \"assent in fact, whether express or apparent\" used elsewhere in the penal code and removes some House language about withdrawal of consent that the committee substitute did not carry forward. Hillary England, deputy director for victim services in the Office of the Governor, said the changes reflect recommendations from the Governor's Sexual Assault Survivors Task Force and emphasized the task force's multi-year work on consent language.

Several survivors testified about personal experiences they and others faced under the current statute. Summer Willis described being drugged and later raped, and urged the committee to adopt the bill: \"This bill isn't for me. It is for every Texan who deserves to be protected from the horror that I endured.\" Williamson County Special Victims Unit chief prosecutor Ryan Bounds told the panel the prior statutory requirement that the person who administered a substance also be the one who committed the assault made successful prosecutions difficult: \"I have never charged it under that provision because it's almost impossible.\" He said the substitute's standard that a perpetrator 'knows' the other person cannot consent would be a meaningful change for prosecutors.

Witnesses from victim-service organizations and medical-forensic providers described common factual patterns the bill is meant to address, such as voluntary intoxication that nonetheless renders a person unable to consent, and examples where one person drugs a victim and another assaults the victim. Multiple witnesses urged inclusion of a \"reasonably should know\" standard rather than a purely subjective \"knows\" standard; committee members questioned draft language and staff about phrasing and proof standards.

Chair Flores opened and closed invited and public testimony during the item; after the hearing the committee closed public testimony and left the bill pending for further consideration.

Public testimony session: survivor and advocate testimony, resource witnesses from the governor's task force and county prosecutors. The committee held House Bill 3,073 pending for further action.","The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice heard testimony on House Bill 3,073, the Summer Willis Act, a measure to define consent in the penal code and expand protections for people incapacitated by alcohol or other substances.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6229130,"Grand jury reform proposals draw opposition from prosecutors at criminal justice committee",1532,5842000,7374000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03&start=5842&end=7374","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03/thumbnail_5842000.jpg","/articles/6229130/Texas/Grand-jury-reform-proposals-draw-opposition-from-prosecutors-at-criminal-justice-committee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229130-d2b1691da0d4a63696a966d6c370a6b6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198846&Signature=HPgRR6mVuZ91EF3GuK6brJBoMOAwjgY6FOOb1CZZCwAK-EP6PVrEkIQjS4VtvciX6pqniNJgyL~q8pCsa1vfPu6TNO086H7-1VV4yWstfTwCMRwzR9aZ5UztPX24bvCjL~nMonxNLPZToWtmtu42WUXwPRDqKKJfYKB1ZJQVRESYEOPg4VojA50dG7954lXHtcLVq9D~9t9NKCtSdf4KpPLqIQl6soSFsZPFiGyA9d1sC7H0~OCMi5DPnoMBltovJvsPyTeYJkKBZ3GskScIMvgZveyWQCjzflSMn5sYTTw2O8HY6ZpXrloe5-0MeyLphk84g2X~kkx3L4TQCTEmBw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Committee on Criminal Justice took testimony on House Bill 36,64, a proposal that would require prospective grand jurors to complete training, require transcription (or preservation) of witness testimony before a grand jury, and limit circumstances under which a case can be re-presented to a subsequent grand jury. Sponsor Senator Huffman outlined intentions to strengthen grand-jury procedures and preserve key evidence.

Elected district attorneys and prosecutors from across Texas urged caution and opposed several provisions in the committee substitute as drafted. Jarvis Parsons, Brazos County district attorney, said existing tools already address allegations of vindictive prosecution and that an absolute bar on representment could prevent appropriate indictments in counties that initially declined to act. \"There is already a mechanism in statute and in case law that allows a defendant to... say this is vindictive,\" Parsons said, adding that restricting representment could \"hurt good prosecutors\" who inherit cases that merit indictment.

Smaller, rural prosecutors raised concerns about the operational costs and logistics of transcribing or recording grand-jury witness testimony. Corio County District Attorney Dusty Boyd told senators a transcription mandate would be a hardship in counties that struggle to hire court reporters. Philip McFurlough, a district attorney from a rural district, warned the committee a requirement to record or transcribe witness testimony could have a \"significant chilling effect on [grand jurors'] willingness to ask questions when they know those questions are being recorded.\"

Shannon Edmonds of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association described national models that have moved away from mandatory grand jury presentments toward judge-administered probable-cause hearings after filing, saying states that face these concerns often adopt a different approach rather than layer due-process requirements onto a grand-jury system. Committee members said they would circulate a draft substitute for member review; public testimony was closed and the bill left pending.

Public testimony summary: multiple elected prosecutors from rural and urban counties testified; opposition focused on transcription cost, logistics, and potential chilling effects on jurors and victims.","Proposed changes to grand jury practice including witness transcription/recording and limits on 'representment' drew sustained opposition from county prosecutors and district attorneys, who warned about costs, logistics and chilling effects on juror questions and victim willingness to testify.",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6229133,"Committee hears bills giving prosecutors faster tools for cybercrime investigations",637,2347000,2984000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03&start=2347&end=2984","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03/thumbnail_2347000.jpg","/articles/6229133/Texas/Committee-hears-bills-giving-prosecutors-faster-tools-for-cybercrime-investigations","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229133-a5fb8b170b3493662f083edbae6bf0ef/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198846&Signature=Tkyr-hNsoLM~8H6puq0id5SDM06x8PBGz517tOcSgjEDaN5fAkac9q1KWVcH8RIR0NwT56ZowbIKHraqAZ5qdtpekGUbnFqlj2N3HHJMccAb5PWZQ9s29GrK0EGd3~-1NaSjPFTj74rvBIcRBzCpkSuS9cPQ7nAiJMbNYEf2Ymf~Zr6WJWv0X-jm5lPqZlZy7y2Yk1b3PMCF3p-dP61MNdCjkSq-nptUP8eIi6C2k0TL5I6wySg~liNLyzNDHjNUUcFAVb4PVYg9lVEzec5ZTsKVGgGyVuF1bCVUCwzIF-lsje8kqqzGFZMx-qZxZ9r5yrqxUnjb4bY-kyREdi9I0g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice examined two related measures aimed at modernizing prosecutors' investigative powers for online theft and cyber-enabled fraud: a committee substitute for House Bill 25,94 (updates to venue for cybercrime prosecutions) and House Bill 31,85 (allowing administrative subpoenas for non-content Internet records in cybercrime investigations). Senators and prosecutors said the changes would help local offices pursue cases where alleged criminal conduct crosses county and state lines and where service providers retain data only briefly.

Nancy Abare of the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office told the committee the venue substitute would allow prosecutors to try cases in the county where the victim lives, where the defendant is apprehended, or where the defendant is extradited to, addressing situations in which attacks originate from unknown or remote locations. \"Cyber crimes move at the speed of light and the problem is they can be done anywhere,\" Abare said. She added that the change would let prosecutors keep trials in the communities where victims were targeted and where records and witnesses are most accessible.

On the administrative-subpoena measure (HB 31,85), Montgomery County prosecutors and other witness testified the current process can be too slow: investigators sometimes must locate a judge to sign a subpoena outside normal hours, and providers often delete or purge records quickly. Supporters said the bill would allow prosecutors to issue administrative subpoenas for non-content records (IP addresses, payment methods, account identifiers) while still requiring warrants or court orders for content such as emails or browsing history.

Proponents repeatedly framed the bills as tools to protect elderly victims and other Texans who lose large sums in romance scams, investment fraud and ransomware incidents; witnesses cited cryptocurrency losses affecting older adults. The committee received no invited opposition and left the bills pending for further consideration.","Senators considered measures to modernize cybercrime venue rules and to allow prosecutors administrative subpoenas in time-sensitive online theft and fraud cases. Prosecutors told the committee that current venue and records-access rules make it difficult to pursue complex, multi-jurisdictional cyber fraud affecting elderly victims and others.",{"_33":113,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":114,"_41":115,"_43":116,"_45":117,"_47":118,"_49":119,"_51":120,"_53":121,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":122,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":123,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6229135,"Committee hears proposal to raise minimum sentence for attempted capital murder of peace officers",916,985000,1901000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03&start=985&end=1901","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3464620-541e1ebc6a5ec1f3ed97caa3a16afc03/thumbnail_985000.jpg","/articles/6229135/Texas/Committee-hears-proposal-to-raise-minimum-sentence-for-attempted-capital-murder-of-peace-officers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6229135-afe965389433303da1db19a035934d8f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198846&Signature=gsLr8RSSZMD0uRPd9AzmhyYS5lmct99nwHkcr7-qhSOX2xNWex9-H99WjiYh5ktbrpVaq4qKYdLbAf8yOoc0DO8gkXGAKZK6hLaXaljKTfUC3fa6vEAKx5-6AfRdoaEArSN30u7RzJOj1l3F1ud5BSY0NQbvSD~UNT3Pcyf0272cydE4T4ZGQY9x4byKTDjKnvJ3BglqbV7A2WisLIIzISBU0~y3WmFnElta6clNJpUUT4gqbEpSoinPx95y2Poqw8z5iI4f7Aka9bLr9a3uV-sKdasjUSJmXFB05jB4IrU9lJ-HjCuViYquWe0l4yQUG8YLfQBzQLi6un2aRuvFUQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice considered House Bill 18,171, which would raise penalties for attempted capital murder of a peace officer and make individuals convicted of that offense ineligible for parole or mandatory supervision. Sponsor Sen. Schwertner said the measure would provide a stronger deterrent against attacks on officers and adjust punishment to reflect the seriousness and proof difficulty of attempted capital murder charges.

Jarvis Parsons, Brazos County district attorney, testified in support, saying prosecutors encounter cases where attempted capital murder and reckless aggravated assault carry the same statutory range and that the bill would allow stronger sentences for individuals who show a specific intent to kill an officer. \"Increasing the punishment from a minimum of probation to a minimum of 25 years up to life in prison,\" Parsons said, \"and it denies parole for individuals convicted of attempted capital murder of a peace officer.\"

Opposition testimony came from David Gonzalez of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, who warned the committee about moving to a mandatory 25-year floor in cases that vary widely in facts. Gonzalez said jury verdicts across published cases already produced lengthy sentences in violent firearm cases but shorter sentences in cases involving brandishing or vehicle-related incidents; he argued juries are well-positioned to assess intent. \"Our concern is that right now, the juries are listening to the evidence. They're making the decisions appropriately,\" Gonzalez said, and he suggested the minimum should apply to firearm cases but not necessarily to other fact patterns.

Prosecutors and some committee members debated whether the bill would allow prosecutors to seek the enhanced range only where facts show specific intent and whether lesser-included offenses would remain available; Parsons told senators lesser included offenses would remain an option for juries. The committee closed public testimony and left the bill pending.

Public testimony summary: invited witness Jarvis Parsons in support; David Gonzalez (Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association) opposed; multiple senators asked clarifying questions about scope and evidence standards.","Senators heard House Bill 18,171 to raise minimum sentences and deny parole for attempted capital murder of peace officers. Prosecutors argued it closes a perceived sentencing gap; defense groups warned about overbreadth and urged limiting the change to firearm cases.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee considers video recordings of depositions for elderly and disabled witnesses in criminal cases

Texas Senate committee hears survivor-backed bill to expand legal definition of consent

Grand jury reform proposals draw opposition from prosecutors at criminal justice committee

Committee hears bills giving prosecutors faster tools for cybercrime investigations

Committee hears proposal to raise minimum sentence for attempted capital murder of peace officers