Texas Rules of Evidence

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TEXAS RULES OF EVIDENCE

ART. i general Provisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1475

ART. ii JudiCial notiCe .....................................1478

ART. iii PresumPtions .......................................1480

ART. iv relevanCe and its limits ...........................1480

ART. v Privileges ...........................................1484

ART. vi witnesses ............................................1497

ART. vii oPinions and exPert testimony ...................1503

ART. viii hearsay ..............................................1505

ART. ix authentiCation and identifiCation ...............1512

ART. x Contents of writings, reCordings, and

PhotograPhs ........................................1515

COMMENTS

These rules are eective June 1, 2020. The latest rules are available at the Texas Judicial Branch’s website

at www . txcourts . gov / rules - forms / rules - standards/.

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Texas Rules of Evidence

ARTIC LE I.

GEN ERA L PR OVI SIO NS

Rule 101. Title, Scope, and Appl icability of the Rules; Den itions

(a) Title. These rules m ay be cited as the Texas Rules of Evidence.

(b) Scope. These rules ap ply to proceedings in Texas courts exce pt as otherwise provided in

subdivisions (d)- (f).

(c) Rules on Privi lege. The rules on pr ivilege apply to all stages of a case or proceed ing.

(d) Exception for Constitut ional or Statutory Prov isions or Other Rules. Despite these

rules, a cour t must admit or exclude evidence if requir ed to do so by the United Stat es or

Texas Constitution, a federa l or Texas s tatute, or a rule prescrib ed by the United States or

Texas Supreme Court or the Texas Cour t of Criminal A ppeals. If possible, a cou rt should

resolve by reasonable constr uction any inconsistency between t hese rules and ap plicable

constitutiona l or statutory provisions or other r ules.

(e) Exceptions. These rules— except for those on privilege — do not apply to:

(1) t he court’s det erminat ion, under Ru le 104(a), on a prelimi nary quest ion of fact gov-

erning a dmissibility;

(2) grand ju ry proceedings; and

(3) the following mi scellaneous proceedings:

(A) a n application for habeas corpus in ext radition, rendit ion, or interstate de-

tainer proceedings;

(B) an inquir y by the court under Code of Crim inal Procedure art icle 46B.004

to determ ine whether evidence exist s that would support a  nding that the

defendant may be incomp etent to stand trial;

(C) ba il proceedings other than he arings to deny, revoke, or increase bail;

(D) he arings on justication for pret rial detention not involving bail;

(E) pro ceedings to issue a search or ar rest warrant; and

(F) direct contempt determination proceedings.

(f) Exception for Just ice Court Cases. These rules do not ap ply to justice cour t cases ex-

cept as authori zed by Texas Rule of Civil Procedu re 500.3.

(g) Exception for Militar y Justice Hearing s. The Texas Code of Military Justice, Tex.

Gov’t Code §§ 432.001- 432.195, governs the ad missibility of evidence in hear ings held

under that Code.

(h) Denit ions. In these rule s:

(1) “civi l case” means a civil action or procee ding;

(2) “crim inal case” means a c riminal a ction or proceedi ng, including an exa mining

trial;

(3) “public ofce” i ncludes a public agency;

(4) “re cord” includes a memorandum, rep ort, or data compilation;

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texas rules of evidenCe

(5) a “rule pr escribed by the United States or Texas Supreme Cou rt or the Texas Court

of Criminal App eals” means a rule adopted by any of those cou rts under statutor y

authority;

(6) “un sworn declaration” mea ns an unsworn d eclaration made in a ccordance with

Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 132.001; and

(7) a reference to any kin d of written material or any ot her medium includes electroni-

cally stored information.

Notes and Comments

Comment to 1998: “Crim inal proceedi ngs” rather than “cr iminal ca ses” is used since th at was

the termi nology used in the prior Rules of Crim inal Evidence. In subpar t (b), the reference to “tri-

als before magistr ates” comes from prior Crimi nal Rule 1101(a). In the prior Crimi nal Rules, both

Rule 101 and Rule 1101 dealt with the same thi ng— the applicability of the r ules. Thus, Rules

101(c) and (d) have been written to incor porate the provisions of former Crimi nal Rule 1101 and

that rule is omit ted.

Comment to 2015 Restyling: T he reference to “hierarchical governa nce” in former Rule 101(c)

has been deleted as u nnecessar y. The textual li mitation of former Rule 101(c) to criminal cases

has been elimi nated. Courts in civil cas es must also admit or exclude evidence when requi red to

do so by constitution al or statutory provisions or ot her rules that take pre cedence over these rules.

Likewise, the title to for mer Rule 101(d) has been changed to more accu rately indicate the pur pose

and scope of the subdiv ision.

RULE 102. Purpose

These ru les should be constr ued so as to ad minister every pr oceeding fairly, elimina te unjusti-

able expense and delay, and promote the developme nt of evidence law, to the end of ascer taining

the truth a nd securing a just deter mination.

RULE 103. Rulings on Evidenc e

(a) Preser ving a Claim of Err or. A party may claim er ror in a ruling to admit or exclude

evidence only if the er ror affects a substantial r ight of the party and:

(1) if t he ruling admits evide nce, a party, on the record:

(A) t imely objects or moves to strike; and

(B) states the spec ic ground, unless it was appa rent from the context; or

(2) if the r uling excludes evidence, a party i nforms the court of its substa nce by an of-

fer of proof, unless the subs tance was apparent from the co ntext.

(b) Not Needin g to Renew an Objection. When t he court hears a party’s objections outside

the presence of the jur y and rules that evidence is adm issible, a party ne ed not renew an

objection to preser ve a claim of error for appeal.

(c) Court’s Statement About the Rul ing; Directi ng an Offer of Proof. The court m ay

make any statement a bout the characte r or form of the evidence, the objec tion made, and

the ruling. T he court must allow a part y to make an offer of proof as soon as pract icable. In

a jury t rial, the court mu st allow a party to make the offer outside the ju ry’s presence and

before the court rea ds its charge to the jury. At a party’s request, the cou rt must direct that

an offer of proof be made in ques tion- and- answer form. Or t he court may do so on its own.

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