Texas Family Code - FAM § 54.012. Remote Conduct of Detention Hearing

(a) A detention hearing under Section 54.01 may be conducted as a remote proceeding if the parties to the proceeding have the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses.Consent of the parties is not required for the detention hearing to be held in the manner specified by this subsection unless the United States or Texas Constitution requires consent.

(a-1) A juvenile court may allow or require a party, attorney, witness, court reporter, or any other individual to participate in a detention hearing conducted as a remote proceeding.

(a-2) The judge of a juvenile court shall submit to the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System a plan for conducting a detention hearing as a remote proceeding under this section. The plan must:

(b) Repealed by Acts 2023, 88th Leg., ch. 801 (H.B. 422), § 3.

(c) A recording of the communications shall be made. The recording shall be preserved until the earlier of:

(d) An attorney for the child may obtain a copy of the recording on payment of the reasonable costs of reproducing the copy.

(e) In this section, “remote proceeding” means a proceeding in which one or more of the participants, including a judge, party, attorney, witness, court reporter, or other individual, attends the proceeding remotely through the use of technology and the Internet, including through teleconferencing or videoconferencing.