Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 1.16 · Chapter 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
LIBERTY OF SPEECH AND PRESS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
Every person shall be at liberty to speak, write or publish his opinion on any subject, being liable for the abuse of that privilege; and no law shall ever be passed curtailing the liberty of speech or of the press. In prosecutions for the publication of papers investigating the conduct of officers or men in public capacity, or when the matter published is proper for public information, the truth thereof may be given in evidence. In all indictments for libels, the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court, as in other cases.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Acts 1965, 59th Leg., vol. 2, p. 317, ch. 722.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CR/htm/CR.1.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 188b822b43e4fb9887f4e47bfe83335515b07cff832e2053d7dc0bc0e208466c
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.