Texas statute
Tex. Fam. Code § 52.03 — Disposition without referral to court
Current through 89th Legislature, 2nd Called Session (2025)
Part of Chapter 52: PROCEEDINGS BEFORE AND INCLUDING REFERRAL TO COURT, Texas Family Code.
Full text of Tex. Fam. Code § 52.03
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) A law-enforcement officer authorized by this title to take a child into custody may dispose of the case of a child taken into custody or accused of a Class C misdemeanor, other than a traffic offense, without referral to juvenile court or charging a child in a court of competent criminal jurisdiction, if: (1) guidelines for such disposition have been adopted by the juvenile board of the county in which the disposition is made as required by Section 52.032 ; (2) the disposition is authorized by the guidelines; and (3) the officer makes a written report of the officer's disposition to the law-enforcement agency, identifying the child and specifying the grounds for believing that the taking into custody or accusation of criminal conduct was authorized. (b) No disposition authorized by this section may involve: (1) keeping the child in law-enforcement custody; or (2) requiring periodic reporting of the child to a law-enforcement officer, law-enforcement agency, or other agency. (c) A disposition authorized by this section may involve: (1) referral of the child to an agency other than the juvenile court; (2) a brief conference with the child and his parent, guardian, or custodian; or (3) referral of the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for services under Section 137.152 , Human Resources Code. (d) Statistics indicating the number and kind of dispositions made by a law-enforcement agency under the authority of this section shall be reported at least annually to the office or official designated by the juvenile board, as ordered by the board.
Official sources
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