Title PE, Penal Code

Sec. 1.05. CONSTRUCTION OF CODE. (a) The rule that a penal statute is to be strictly construed does not apply to this code. The provisions of this code shall be construed according to the fair import of their terms, to promote justice and effect the objectives of the code. (b) Un…

Sec. 1.06. COMPUTATION OF AGE. A person attains a specified age on the day of the anniversary of his birthdate. Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Sec. 1.07. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this code: (1) "Act" means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. (2) "Actor" means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. Whenever the term "suspect" is used in this code, it mean…

Sec. 1.08. PREEMPTION. No governmental subdivision or agency may enact or enforce a law that makes any conduct covered by this code an offense subject to a criminal penalty. This section shall apply only as long as the law governing the conduct proscribed by this code is legally …

Sec. 1.09. CONCURRENT JURISDICTION UNDER THIS CODE TO PROSECUTE OFFENSES THAT INVOLVE STATE PROPERTY. With the consent of the appropriate local county or district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with that consenting local prosecutor to prosecute under t…

Sec. 1.10. ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAWS REGULATING FIREARMS, FIREARM ACCESSORIES, AND FIREARM AMMUNITION. (a) In this section: (1) "Ammunition" has the meaning assigned by Section 229.001, Local Government Code. (2) "Firearm" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.01. (3) …

Sec. 2.01. PROOF BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. All persons are presumed to be innocent and no person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact that he has been arrested, confined, or indicted for, or otherwise cha…

Sec. 2.02. EXCEPTION. (a) An exception to an offense in this code is so labeled by the phrase: "It is an exception to the application of . . . ." (b) The prosecuting attorney must negate the existence of an exception in the accusation charging commission of the offense and prove …

Sec. 2.03. DEFENSE. (a) A defense to prosecution for an offense in this code is so labeled by the phrase: "It is a defense to prosecution . . . ." (b) The prosecuting attorney is not required to negate the existence of a defense in the accusation charging commission of the offens…

Sec. 2.04. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE. (a) An affirmative defense in this code is so labeled by the phrase: "It is an affirmative defense to prosecution . . . ." (b) The prosecuting attorney is not required to negate the existence of an affirmative defense in the accusation charging com…

Sec. 2.05. PRESUMPTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), when this code or another penal law establishes a presumption with respect to any fact, it has the following consequences: (1) if there is sufficient evidence of the facts that give rise to the presumption, the iss…

Sec. 3.01. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "criminal episode" means the commission of two or more offenses, regardless of whether the harm is directed toward or inflicted upon more than one person or item of property, under the following circumstances: (1) the offenses are committed…

Sec. 3.02. CONSOLIDATION AND JOINDER OF PROSECUTIONS. (a) A defendant may be prosecuted in a single criminal action for all offenses arising out of the same criminal episode. (b) When a single criminal action is based on more than one charging instrument within the jurisdiction o…

Sec. 3.03. SENTENCES FOR OFFENSES ARISING OUT OF SAME CRIMINAL EPISODE. (a) When the accused is found guilty of more than one offense arising out of the same criminal episode prosecuted in a single criminal action, a sentence for each offense for which the accused has been found …

Sec. 3.04. SEVERANCE. (a) Whenever two or more offenses have been consolidated or joined for trial under Section 3.02, the defendant shall have a right to a severance of the offenses. (b) In the event of severance under this section, the provisions of Section 3.03 do not apply, a…

Sec. 6.01. REQUIREMENT OF VOLUNTARY ACT OR OMISSION. (a) A person commits an offense only if he voluntarily engages in conduct, including an act, an omission, or possession. (b) Possession is a voluntary act if the possessor knowingly obtains or receives the thing possessed or is…

Sec. 6.02. REQUIREMENT OF CULPABILITY. (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person does not commit an offense unless he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence engages in conduct as the definition of the offense requires. (b) If the definition of …

Sec. 6.03. DEFINITIONS OF CULPABLE MENTAL STATES. (a) A person acts intentionally, or with intent, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to a result of his conduct when it is his conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result. (b) A person acts …

Sec. 6.04. CAUSATION: CONDUCT AND RESULTS. (a) A person is criminally responsible if the result would not have occurred but for his conduct, operating either alone or concurrently with another cause, unless the concurrent cause was clearly sufficient to produce the result and the…

Sec. 7.01. PARTIES TO OFFENSES. (a) A person is criminally responsible as a party to an offense if the offense is committed by his own conduct, by the conduct of another for which he is criminally responsible, or by both. (b) Each party to an offense may be charged with commissio…

Sec. 7.02. CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONDUCT OF ANOTHER. (a) A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of another if: (1) acting with the kind of culpability required for the offense, he causes or aids an innocent or nonresponsible person to eng…

Sec. 7.03. DEFENSES EXCLUDED. In a prosecution in which an actor's criminal responsibility is based on the conduct of another, the actor may be convicted on proof of commission of the offense and that he was a party to its commission, and it is no defense: (1) that the actor belo…

Sec. 7.21. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Agent" means a director, officer, employee, or other person authorized to act in behalf of a corporation, an association, a limited liability company, or another business entity. (1-a) "Business entity" means an entity or organizat…

Sec. 7.22. CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, OR OTHER BUSINESS ENTITY. (a) If conduct constituting an offense is performed by an agent acting in behalf of a corporation, an association, a limited liability company, or another business…

Sec. 7.23. CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF PERSON FOR CONDUCT IN BEHALF OF CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, OR OTHER BUSINESS ENTITY. (a) An individual is criminally responsible for conduct that the individual performs in the name of or in behalf of a corporation, …

Sec. 7.24. DEFENSE TO CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CORPORATION, ASSOCIATION, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, OR OTHER BUSINESS ENTITY. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of a corporation, an association, a limited liability company, or another business entity under Section 7.22…

Sec. 8.01. INSANITY. (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that, at the time of the conduct charged, the actor, as a result of severe mental disease or defect, did not know that his conduct was wrong. (b) The term "mental disease or defect" does not include an abnormali…

Sec. 8.02. MISTAKE OF FACT. (a) It is a defense to prosecution that the actor through mistake formed a reasonable belief about a matter of fact if his mistaken belief negated the kind of culpability required for commission of the offense. (b) Although an actor's mistake of fact m…

Sec. 8.03. MISTAKE OF LAW. (a) It is no defense to prosecution that the actor was ignorant of the provisions of any law after the law has taken effect. (b) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the actor reasonably believed the conduct charged did not constitute a crim…

Sec. 8.04. INTOXICATION. (a) Voluntary intoxication does not constitute a defense to the commission of crime. (b) Evidence of temporary insanity caused by intoxication may be introduced by the actor in mitigation of the penalty attached to the offense for which he is being tried.…

Sec. 8.05. DURESS. (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the actor engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was compelled to do so by threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury to himself or another. (b) In a prosecution for an offense that does not cons…

Sec. 8.06. ENTRAPMENT. (a) It is a defense to prosecution that the actor engaged in the conduct charged because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement agent using persuasion or other means likely to cause persons to commit the offense. Conduct merely affording a person an o…

Sec. 8.07. AGE AFFECTING CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY. (a) A person may not be prosecuted for or convicted of any offense that the person committed when younger than 15 years of age except: (1) perjury and aggravated perjury when it appears by proof that the person had sufficient disc…

Sec. 8.08. CHILD WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, DISABILITY, OR LACK OF CAPACITY. (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 (…

Sec. 8.09. VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING OR COMPELLING PROSTITUTION. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), it is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the actor: (1) was a victim of an offense under Section 20A.02 or 43.05; and (2) engaged in the conduct that is the subject of t…

Sec. 9.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) "Custody" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.01. (2) "Escape" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.01. (3) "Deadly force" means force that is intended or known by the actor to cause, or in the manner of its use or intended use is…

Sec. 9.02. JUSTIFICATION AS A DEFENSE. It is a defense to prosecution that the conduct in question is justified under this chapter. Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.

Sec. 9.03. CONFINEMENT AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. Confinement is justified when force is justified by this chapter if the actor takes reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as he knows he safely can unless the person confined has been arrested for an offense. Acts 19…

Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified by this chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or serious bodily injury by the production of a weapon or otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose …

Sec. 9.05. RECKLESS INJURY OF INNOCENT THIRD PERSON. Even though an actor is justified under this chapter in threatening or using force or deadly force against another, if in doing so he also recklessly injures or kills an innocent third person, the justification afforded by this…

Sec. 9.06. CIVIL REMEDIES UNAFFECTED. The fact that conduct is justified under this chapter does not abolish or impair any remedy for the conduct that is available in a civil suit. Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., …

Sec. 9.21. PUBLIC DUTY. (a) Except as qualified by Subsections (b) and (c), conduct is justified if the actor reasonably believes the conduct is required or authorized by law, by the judgment or order of a competent court or other governmental tribunal, or in the execution of leg…

Sec. 9.22. NECESSITY. Conduct is justified if: (1) the actor reasonably believes the conduct is immediately necessary to avoid imminent harm; (2) the desirability and urgency of avoiding the harm clearly outweigh, according to ordinary standards of reasonableness, the harm sought…

Sec. 9.31. SELF-DEFENSE. (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), a person is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to protect the actor against the other's use or attempted use of unlawfu…

Sec. 9.32. DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON. (a) A person is justified in using deadly force against another: (1) if the actor would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.31; and (2) when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the deadly force is…

Sec. 9.33. DEFENSE OF THIRD PERSON. A person is justified in using force or deadly force against another to protect a third person if: (1) under the circumstances as the actor reasonably believes them to be, the actor would be justified under Section 9.31 or 9.32 in using force o…