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The 65th Family District Court’s plan, adopted under Texas Family Code Section 54.012, for conducting juvenile detention hearings as remote proceedings: definitions, the court’s discretion to proceed remotely, cross-examination and unobstructed-camera requirements, and the presentation and retention (including e-mail submission to the court and referee courts) of physical evidence. Submitted to the Office of Court Administration November 13, 2023.
Texas > Sixth Administrative Judicial Region > El Paso County > the 65th Family District Court and its referee courts > juvenile detention hearings conducted as remote proceedings. Registered under El Paso County (TOPICs doc 1694).
Remote Detention Hearing Procedures I. Plan Adoption In accordance with Texas Family Code 54.012, the 65th Family District Court adopts the following plan to conduct detention hearings as remote proceedings. II. Definitions A. Detention hearings have the same meaning, scope, and requirements listed in Section 54.01 of the Texas Family Code. B. Remote Proceeding means a proceeding in which one or more of the participants, including a judge, party, attorney, witness, court reporter, or other individual, attends the proceeding remotely through the use of technology and the Internet, including through teleconferencing or video conferencing. III. Procedures for Detention Hearings Conducted as a Remote Proceeding A. The court may, in its discretion, proceed with remote detention hearings, pursuant to Section 54.01 (a) of the Texas Family Code. Consistent with constitutional requirements, the court may allow or require any party, attorney, witness, or court reporter, and may allow any party or parties, to participate in a detention hearing as a remote proceeding. B. The parties to the detention hearing shall have the opportunity to cross-examine any witnesses called during the hearing. C. The camera of any party or witness who provides testimony must provide an unobstructed view of the party or witness providing testimony. An unobstructed view, for the purposes of this plan, means that the individual can be clearly seen, identified, and heard without any barrier other than a clean camera lens. Consistent with constitutional confrontation requirements, if a party or witness is not on camera, or cannot be clearly seen, the Court will not allow the person to testify or continue to testify unless the witness complies with the requirement of an unobstructed view. D. Presentation and retention of physical evidence during remote proceeding detention hearings will be conducted as follows: a. Any physical evidence offered at a remote proceeding detention hearing must be displayed so that the court, attorneys, parties, and witness can view it simultaneously. b. When digital copies of physical evidence can be prepared, such as audio / video recordings, documents, or images, the digital copies should be emailed to: 1. 65th Family District Court: the court at Mescobedo@epcounty.com, court reporter at Masanchez@epcounty.com and to counsel for the parties before the hearing, if practicable. 2. Referee Court 1: the court at Jetorres@epcounty.com, court reporter at Mmontrose@epcounty.com and to counsel for the parties before the hearing, if practicable. 3. Referee Court 2: the court at Vadame@epcounty.com, court reporter at Marivera@epcounty.com and to counsel for the parties before the hearing, if practicable. c. Physical evidence which cannot be rendered in digital form shall be tendered to the court no later than 3 days after the remote proceeding if the party offering the evidence is not present in the court when it is offered. IV. Submission to Office of Court Administration In accordance with Texas Family Code Section 54.012, this plan was submitted to the Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) on November 13, 2023, by posting on https://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/local-rules-forms-and-standing-orders/. Judge: [signature] 65th Family District Court
Remote Detention Hearing Procedures I. Plan Adoption In accordance with Texas Family Code 54.012, the 65th Family District Court adopts the following plan to conduct detention hearings as remote proceedings. II. Definitions A. Detention hearings have the same meaning, scope, and requirements listed in Section 54.01 of the Texas Family Code. B. Remote Proceeding means a proceeding in which one or more of the participants, including a judge, party, attorney, witness, court reporter, or other indiv
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-12 (AJR-6 Sixth Region build) from BenchPath custody registered/1694.pdf (application/pdf, 223520 bytes, sha256 4483dc07c1621b577dd4f88dc2d353ed659fa49b3bde96100ddc5090756f2ca4; 2 pages) — the TOPICs-registered document. The digital text layer was ligature-corrupted, so it was transcribed in full from the rendered pages; the court’s wording is preserved and the judge’s signature is shown as [signature]. The 65th Family District Court’s remote-detention plan, recorded under El Paso County.