Tex. Const. art. V, § 13 · Article 5. JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
GRAND AND PETIT JURIES IN DISTRICT COURTS: COMPOSITION AND VERDICT.
Text — Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
Grand and petit juries in the District Courts shall be composed of twelve persons, except that petit juries in a criminal case below the grade of felony shall be composed of six persons; but nine members of a grand jury shall be a quorum to transact business and present bills. In trials of civil cases in the District Courts, nine members of the jury, concurring, may render a verdict, but when the verdict shall be rendered by less than the whole number, it shall be signed by every member of the jury concurring in it. When, pending the trial of any case, one or more jurors not exceeding three, may die, or be disabled from sitting, the remainder of the jury shall have the power to render the verdict; provided, that the Legislature may change or modify the rule authorizing less than the whole number of the jury to render a verdict.
Notes and commentary — not constitutional text
History
(Feb. 15, 1876. Amended Nov. 6, 2001, and Sept. 13, 2003.) (TEMPORARY TRANSITION PROVISION for Sec. 13: See Appendix, Note 3.)
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the amendments approved by voters in November 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.5.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 9ee333f8e41b67aeb6c78e7a2073ee82d4209d018b53936baf7ef9c058f91722
- 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.