Monday, June 8, 2015

The new Texas Rules of Evidence (TRE) Where to find them online


TEX. R. EVID. (2015) (all of them)

The most recent update of rules governing the litigation process in Texas courts involves the Texas Rules of Evidence. The Texas Supreme Court re-promulgated the entire set of rules, mostly without substantives changes. They went into effect on April 1, 2015.

The new rules were duly published in the Texas Bar Journal, the official organ of the State Bar of Texas, but a more user-friendly version is available on-line on the Texas Judiciary's website. The entire set is available as a single pdf file (58 pages), which is text-searchable either online, or when downloaded and saved to hard disk. Here is the link:


Unfortunately, there are no hotlinks from the Table of Contents (reproduced below) and no internal hyperlinks (which have made the on-line Texas Statutes much more user-friendly).

WEb address for Texas Rules of Courts Online - Location of Rules of Evidence
http://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/rules-standards.aspx 



TEXAS RULES OF EVIDENCE
Effective April 1, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ARTICLE I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Rule 101. Title, Scope, and Applicability of the Rules; Definitions
Rule 102. Purpose
Rule 103. Rulings on Evidence
Rule 104. Preliminary Questions
Rule 105. Evidence That Is Not Admissible Against Other Parties or for Other Purposes
Rule 106. Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements
Rule 107. Rule of Optional Completeness

ARTICLE II. JUDICIAL NOTICE
Rule 201. Judicial Notice of Adjudicative Facts
Rule 202. Judicial Notice of Other States’ Law
Rule 203. Determining Foreign Law
Rule 204. Judicial Notice of Texas Municipal and County Ordinances, Texas Register
Contents, and Published Agency Rules

ARTICLE III. PRESUMPTIONS
Rule 301. [No Rules Adopted at This Time]

ARTICLE IV. RELEVANCE AND ITS LIMITS
Rule 401. Test for Relevant Evidence
Rule 402. General Admissibility of Relevant Evidence
Rule 403. Excluding Relevant Evidence for Prejudice, Confusion, or Other Reasons
Rule 404. Character Evidence; Crimes or Other Acts
Rule 405. Methods of Proving Character
Rule 406. Habit; Routine Practice
Rule 407. Subsequent Remedial Measures; Notification of Defect
Rule 408. Compromise Offers and Negotiations
Rule 409. Offers to Pay Medical and Similar Expenses
Rule 410. Pleas, Plea Discussions, and Related Statements
Rule 411. Liability Insurance
Rule 412. Evidence of Previous Sexual Conduct in Criminal Cases

ARTICLE V. PRIVILEGES
Rule 501. Privileges in General
Rule 502. Required Reports Privileged By Statute
Rule 503. Lawyer–Client Privilege
Rule 504. Spousal Privileges
Rule 505. Privilege For Communications to a Clergy Member
Rule 506. Political Vote Privilege
Rule 507. Trade Secrets Privilege
Rule 508. Informer’s Identity Privilege
Rule 509. Physician–Patient Privilege

2

Rule 510. Mental Health Information Privilege in Civil Cases
Rule 511. Waiver by Voluntary Disclosure
Rule 512. Privileged Matter Disclosed Under Compulsion or Without Opportunity to
Claim Privilege
Rule 513. Comment On or Inference From a Privilege Claim; Instruction

ARTICLE VI. WITNESSES
Rule 601. Competency to Testify in General; “Dead Man’s Rule”
Rule 602. Need for Personal Knowledge
Rule 603. Oath or Affirmation to Testify Truthfully
Rule 604. Interpreter
Rule 605. Judge’s Competency as a Witness
Rule 606. Juror’s Competency as a Witness
Rule 607. Who May Impeach a Witness
Rule 608. A Witness’s Character for Truthfulness or Untruthfulness
Rule 609. Impeachment by Evidence of a Criminal Conviction
Rule 610. Religious Beliefs or Opinions
Rule 611. Mode and Order of Examining Witnesses and Presenting Evidence
Rule 612. Writing Used to Refresh a Witness’s Memory
Rule 613. Witness’s Prior Statement and Bias or Interest
Rule 614. Excluding Witnesses
Rule 615. Producing a Witness’s Statement in Criminal Cases

ARTICLE VII. OPINIONS AND EXPERT TESTIMONY
Rule 701. Opinion Testimony by Lay Witnesses
Rule 702. Testimony by Expert Witnesses
Rule 703. Bases of an Expert’s Opinion Testimony
Rule 704. Opinion on an Ultimate Issue
Rule 705. Disclosing the Underlying Facts or Data and Examining an Expert About
Them
Rule 706. Audit in Civil Cases

ARTICLE VIII. HEARSAY
Rule 801. Definitions That Apply to This Article; Exclusions from Hearsay
Rule 802. The Rule Against Hearsay
Rule 803. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay—Regardless of Whether the
Declarant Is Available as a Witness
Rule 804. Exceptions to the Rule Against Hearsay—When the Declarant Is Unavailable
as a Witness
Rule 805. Hearsay Within Hearsay
Rule 806. Attacking and Supporting the Declarant’s Credibility

ARTICLE IX. AUTHENTICATION AND IDENTIFICATION
Rule 901. Authenticating or Identifying Evidence
Rule 902. Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating
Rule 903. Subscribing Witness’s Testimony

3

ARTICLE X. CONTENTS OF WRITINGS, RECORDINGS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Rule 1001. Definitions That Apply to This Article
Rule 1002. Requirement of the Original
Rule 1003. Admissibility of Duplicates
Rule 1004. Admissibility of Other Evidence of Content
Rule 1005. Copies of Public Records to Prove Content
Rule 1006. Summaries to Prove Content
Rule 1007. Testimony or Statement of a Party to Prove Content
Rule 1008. Functions of the Court and Jury
Rule 1009. Translating a Foreign Language Document

 FINAL APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS TO TEXAS RULES OF EVIDENCE
March 10, 2015 Texas Supreme Court Order

(pages 1-3 only, signature page and Texas CCA companion order omitted)
Link to full order here (pdf) 





















No comments:

Post a Comment