Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

Tex. Health & Safety Code § 571.020

CRIMINAL PENALTIES

Known as the Texas Mental Health Code

The act spans §§ 571–580 (237 sections).

Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case Rent v. State (1998)

Most recently applied in Gordon v. Neugebauer (October 2014)

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

199520002010201420
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 person commits an offense if the person intentionally causes, conspires with another to cause, or assists another to cause the unwarranted commitment of a person to a mental health facility.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly violates a provision of this subtitle.

(c) An individual who commits an offense under this section is subject on conviction to:

(1) a fine of not less than $50 or more than $25,000 for each violation and each day of a continuing violation;

(2) confinement in jail for not more than two years for each violation and each day of a continuing violation; or

(3) both fine and confinement.

(d) A person other than an individual who commits an offense under this section is subject on conviction to a fine of not less than $500 or more than $100,000 for each violation and each day of a continuing violation.

(e) If it is shown on the trial of an individual that the individual has previously been convicted of an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by:

(1) a fine of not less than $100 or more than $50,000 for each violation and each day of a continuing violation;

(2) confinement in jail for not more than four years for each violation and each day of a continuing violation; or

(3) both fine and confinement.

(f) If it is shown on the trial of a person other than an individual that the person previously has been convicted of an offense under this section, the offense is punishable by a fine of not less than $1,000 or more than $200,000 for each violation and each day of a continuing violation.

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