Texas statute
Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 35.261 — Peremptory challenges based on race prohibited
Current through 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025)
Part of Chapter 35: FORMATION OF THE JURY, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
Full text of Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 35.261
Statutory text current through the 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025). This publication reproduces the official statutory text; it is not the official statutes of the State of Texas.
(a) After the parties have delivered their lists to the clerk under Article 35.26 of this code and before the court has impanelled the jury, the defendant may request the court to dismiss the array and call a new array in the case. The court shall grant the motion of a defendant for dismissal of the array if the court determines that the defendant is a member of an identifiable racial group, that the attorney representing the state exercised peremptory challenges for the purpose of excluding persons from the jury on the basis of their race, and that the defendant has offered evidence of relevant facts that tend to show that challenges made by the attorney representing the state were made for reasons based on race. If the defendant establishes a prima facie case, the burden then shifts to the attorney representing the state to give a racially neutral explanation for the challenges. The burden of persuasion remains with the defendant to establish purposeful discrimination. (b) If the court determines that the attorney representing the state challenged prospective jurors on the basis of race, the court shall call a new array in the case.
Official sources
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