CHAPTER 22. WITNESSES
CIVIL PRACTICE AND REMEDIES CODE
TITLE 2. TRIAL, JUDGMENT, AND APPEAL
SUBTITLE B. TRIAL MATTERS
CHAPTER 22. WITNESSES
SUBCHAPTER A. WITNESSES
Sec. 22.001. WITNESS FEES. (a) Except as provided by Section
22.002, a witness is entitled to 10 dollars for each day the
witness attends court. This fee includes the entitlement for
travel and the witness is not entitled to any reimbursement for
mileage traveled.
(b) The party who summons the witness shall pay that witness's
fee for one day, as provided by this section, at the time the
subpoena is served on the witness.
(c) The witness fee must be taxed in the bill of costs as other
costs.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 103, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1,
1994; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 449, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.
Sec. 22.002. DISTANCE FOR SUBPOENAS. A witness who is
represented to reside 150 miles or less from a county in which a
suit is pending or who may be found within that distance at the
time of trial on the suit may be subpoenaed in the suit.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 103, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
Sec. 22.003. FEES FOR WITNESSES SUMMONED BY A STATE AGENCY. (a)
In this section:
(1) "Commercial lodging establishment" means a motel, hotel,
inn, apartment, or similar entity that offers lodging to the
public in exchange for compensation.
(2) "Commercial transportation company" means an entity that
offers transportation of people or goods to the public in
exchange for compensation.
(b) A witness summoned by a state agency is entitled to receive
from the agency:
(1) one dollar for each day the witness attends court;
(2) mileage at the rate provided by law for state employees if
the witness uses the witness's personally owned or leased motor
vehicle to attend court;
(3) reimbursement of the witness's transportation expenses if
the witness does not use the witness's personally owned or leased
motor vehicle to attend court; and
(4) reimbursement of the witness's meal and lodging expenses
while attending court if the court is at least 25 miles from the
witness's place of residence.
(c) A state agency may directly pay a commercial transportation
company for the transportation expenses and a commercial lodging
establishment for the lodging expenses of a witness if this
section otherwise requires the agency to reimburse the witness
for those expenses.
(d) A state agency may not pay a commercial transportation
company or a commercial lodging establishment or reimburse a
witness for transportation, meal, or lodging expenses under this
section at a rate that exceeds the maximum rates provided by law
for state employees.
(e) After receiving the witness's affidavit, the court clerk
shall issue a certificate showing the fees incurred under this
section.
(f) The witness fees must be taxed in the bill of costs as other
costs.
Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 449, Sec. 17, eff. Sept. 1,
1993. Renumbered from Civil Practice & Remedies Code Sec.
22.002 by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 17.01(2), eff. Sept.
1, 1995.
Sec. 22.004. FEE FOR PRODUCTION OR CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS.
(a) A custodian of a record who receives a request for
production or certification of a record under a subpoena, a
request for production, or other instrument issued under the
authority of a tribunal that compels production or certification
of a record is entitled to $1 for production or certification of
the record. If more than one record is produced or certified, the
custodian of the records is entitled to only one fee under this
section.
(b) A custodian of a record who produces or certifies a record
under Subsection (a), but who is not required to appear in court,
is not entitled to a witness fee under Section 22.001.
(c) The party who requests production or certification of a
record shall pay the fee required for the record, as provided by
this section, at the time the subpoena, request, or other
instrument is served.
(d) The fee required by this section must be taxed in the bill
of costs as other costs.
(e) The fee required by this section is in addition to any other
fee imposed by law for the production or certification of a
record.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 452, Sec. 1, eff. June 9,
1995.
SUBCHAPTER B. PRIVILEGES
Sec. 22.011. PRIVILEGE FROM ARREST. (a) A witness is
privileged from arrest while attending, going to, and returning
from court.
(b) The privilege provided by this section extends for a period
computed by allowing one day of travel for each 150 miles of the
distance from the courthouse to the witness's residence.
(c) This section does not apply to an arrest for a felony,
treason, or breach of the peace.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.
Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 103, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1,
1994.
SUBCHAPTER C. JOURNALIST'S QUALIFIED TESTIMONIAL PRIVILEGE IN
CIVIL PROCEEDINGS
Sec. 22.021. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Communication service provider" means a person or the
parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a person who
transmits information chosen by a customer by electronic means,
including:
(A) a telecommunications carrier, as defined by Section 3,
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
(B) a provider of information service, as defined by Section 3,
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153);
(C) a provider of interactive computer service, as defined by
Section 230, Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 230);
and
(D) an information content provider, as defined by Section 230,
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 230).
(2) "Journalist" means a person, including a parent, subsidiary,
division, or affiliate of a person, who for a substantial portion
of the person's livelihood or for substantial financial gain,
gathers, compiles, prepares, collects, photographs, records,
writes, edits, reports, investigates, processes, or publishes
news or information that is disseminated by a news medium or
communication service provider and includes:
(A) a person who supervises or assists in gathering, preparing,
and disseminating the news or information; or
(B) notwithstanding the foregoing, a person who is or was a
journalist, scholar, or researcher employed by an institution of
higher education at the time the person obtained or prepared the
requested information, or a person who at the time the person
obtained or prepared the requested information:
(i) is earning a significant portion of the person's livelihood
by obtaining or preparing information for dissemination by a news
medium or communication service provider; or
(ii) was serving as an agent, assistant, employee, or supervisor
of a news medium or communication service provider.
(3) "News medium" means a newspaper, magazine or periodical,
book publisher, news agency, wire service, radio or television
station or network, cable, satellite, or other transmission
system or carrier or channel, or a channel or programming service
for a station, network, system, or carrier, or an audio or
audiovisual production company or Internet company or provider,
or the parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of that entity,
that disseminates news or information to the public by any means,
including:
(A) print;
(B) television;
(C) radio;
(D) photographic;
(E) mechanical;
(F) electronic; and
(G) other means, known or unknown, that are accessible to the
public.
(4) "Official proceeding" means any type of administrative,
executive, legislative, or judicial proceeding that may be
conducted before a public servant, including a proceeding under
Rule 202, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(5) "Public servant" means a person elected, selected,
appointed, employed, or otherwise designated as one of the
following, even if the person has not yet qualified for office or
assumed the person's duties:
(A) an officer, employee, or agent of government;
(B) a juror;
(C) an arbitrator, referee, or other person who is authorized by
law or private written agreement to hear or determine a cause or
controversy;
(D) an attorney or notary public when participating in the
performance of a governmental function; or
(E) a person who is performing a governmental function under a
claim of right, although the person is not legally qualified to
do so.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.022. PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to
increase the free flow of information and preserve a free and
active press and, at the same time, protect the right of the
public to effective law enforcement and the fair administration
of justice.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.023. PRIVILEGE. (a) Except as otherwise provided by
this subchapter, a judicial, legislative, administrative, or
other body with the authority to issue a subpoena or other
compulsory process may not compel a journalist to testify
regarding or to produce or disclose in an official proceeding:
(1) any confidential or nonconfidential information, document,
or item obtained or prepared while acting as a journalist; or
(2) the source of any information, document, or item described
by Subdivision (1).
(b) A subpoena or other compulsory process may not compel the
parent, subsidiary, division, or affiliate of a communication
service provider or news medium to disclose the information,
documents, or items or the source of any information, documents,
or items that are privileged from disclosure under Subsection
(a).
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.024. LIMITED DISCLOSURE GENERALLY. After notice and an
opportunity to be heard, a court may compel a journalist, a
journalist's employer, or a person with an independent contract
with a journalist to testify regarding or to produce or disclose
any information, document, or item or the source of any
information, document, or item obtained while acting as a
journalist, if the person seeking the information, document, or
item or the source of any information, document, or item makes a
clear and specific showing that:
(1) all reasonable efforts have been exhausted to obtain the
information from alternative sources;
(2) the subpoena is not overbroad, unreasonable, or oppressive
and, when appropriate, will be limited to the verification of
published information and the surrounding circumstances relating
to the accuracy of the published information;
(3) reasonable and timely notice was given of the demand for the
information, document, or item;
(4) in this instance, the interest of the party subpoenaing the
information outweighs the public interest in gathering and
dissemination of news, including the concerns of the journalist;
(5) the subpoena or compulsory process is not being used to
obtain peripheral, nonessential, or speculative information; and
(6) the information, document, or item is relevant and material
to the proper administration of the official proceeding for which
the testimony, production, or disclosure is sought and is
essential to the maintenance of a claim or defense of the person
seeking the testimony, production, or disclosure.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.025. NOTICE. An order to compel testimony, production,
or disclosure to which a journalist has asserted a privilege
under this subchapter may be issued only after timely notice to
the journalist, the journalist's employer, or a person who has an
independent contract with the journalist and a hearing. The
order must include clear and specific findings as to the showing
made by the person seeking the testimony, production, or
disclosure and the clear and specific evidence on which the court
relied in issuing the court's order.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.026. PUBLICATION OF PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. Publication
or dissemination by a news medium or communication service
provider of information, documents, or items privileged under
this subchapter is not a waiver of the journalist's privilege.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.
Sec. 22.027. NEWS MEDIA RECORDINGS. Extrinsic evidence of the
authenticity of evidence as a condition precedent to the
admissibility of the evidence in a civil proceeding is not
required with respect to a recording that purports to be a
broadcast by a radio or television station that holds a license
issued by the Federal Communications Commission at the time of
the recording. The court may take judicial notice of the
recording license as provided by Rule 201, Texas Rules of
Evidence.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
29, Sec. 1, eff. May 13, 2009.