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Tex. Fam. Code § 55.51

LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCT DETERMINATION; EXAMINATION

Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case In re S.C. (2007)

Most recently applied in In re H.C. (October 2018)

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

20062010201820
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) A child alleged by petition to have engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision is not responsible for the conduct if at the time of the conduct, as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability, the child lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of the child's conduct or to conform the child's conduct to the requirements of law.

(b) On a motion by a party in which it is alleged that a child may not be responsible as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability for the child's conduct, the court shall order the child to be examined under Section 55.04. The information obtained from the examinations must include expert opinion as to:

(1) whether the child is a child with mental illness or an intellectual disability;

(2) whether the child is not responsible for the child's conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability;

(3) whether the child meets criteria for court-ordered mental health or intellectual disability services under Section 55.05 or 55.06; and

(4) if applicable, the specific criteria the child meets under Subdivision (3).

(c) The issue of whether the child is not responsible for the child's conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability shall be tried to the court or jury in the adjudication hearing.

(d) Lack of responsibility for conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability must be proved by a preponderance of the evidence.

(e) In its findings or verdict the court or jury must state whether the child is not responsible for the child's conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability.

(f) If the court or jury finds the child is not responsible for the child's conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability, the court shall proceed under Section 55.52.

(g) A child found to be not responsible for the child's conduct as a result of mental illness or an intellectual disability shall not be subject to proceedings under this title with respect to such conduct, other than proceedings under Section 55.52.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.