HBA-LJP H.B. 2753 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2753
By: Martinez Fischer
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/8/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a criminal conviction or adjudication of a juvenile for
delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision cannot be
based on the testimony of an accomplice unless corroborated by other
evidence.  However, federal law currently authorizes a jury to decide how
much weight to grant the testimony of an accomplice and because federal law
does not require additional corroborating evidence, cases may be treated
differently in federal courts than in state courts.  House Bill 2753
provides for a criminal conviction or adjudication of a juvenile for
certain conduct based on the testimony of an accomplice, regardless of
whether the testimony is corroborated or whether the accomplice has entered
into a plea agreement. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2753 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Family Code
to remove provisions that prohibit a conviction based upon the testimony of
an accomplice unless corroborated by other evidence. The bill authorizes a
criminal conviction or adjudication of a juvenile for delinquent conduct or
conduct indicating a need for supervision based on the testimony of an
accomplice, regardless of whether the testimony is corroborated or whether
the accomplice has entered into a plea agreement.  The bill prohibits a
conviction based on testimony of the accomplice if the finder of fact does
not believe the testimony beyond a reasonable doubt.  The bill provides
that the fact that an accomplice as entered a plea of guilty is not, by
itself, evidence of the defendant's guilt. 

The bill amends the Penal Code to remove provisions regarding the
establishment of the knowledge or intent of a person with the testimony of
an accomplice to prove the unlawful appropriation of property. 

The bill amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code to repeal the provision
relating to a conviction for an alcohol related offense based on the
testimony of an accomplice and other corroborating evidence. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.