Tex. Penal Code § 8.08 · Chapter 8. GENERAL DEFENSES TO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHILD WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, DISABILITY, OR LACK OF CAPACITY.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) On motion by the state, the defendant, or a person standing in parental relation to the defendant, or on the court's own motion, a court with jurisdiction of an offense described by Section 8.07(a)(4) or (5) shall determine whether probable cause exists to believe that a child, including a child with a mental illness or developmental disability:
(1) lacks the capacity to understand the proceedings in criminal court or to assist in the child's own defense and is unfit to proceed; or
(2) lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of the child's own conduct or to conform the child's conduct to the requirement of the law.
(b) If the court determines that probable cause exists for a finding under Subsection (a), after providing notice to the state, the court may dismiss the complaint.
(c) A dismissal of a complaint under Subsection (b) may be appealed as provided by Article 44.01, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) In this section, "child" has the meaning assigned by Article 45A.453(a), Code of Criminal Procedure.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1407 (S.B. 393), Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2013.
Amended by:
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 2.154, eff. January 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.8.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 1075601f89402f7a6371b138ebdfa5579edbf948010f4a6c76239279e05359a0
- 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
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Code of Criminal Procedure
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Tex. Penal Code § 8.08. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
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.