Section 45A.452 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Plea; Appearance By Defendant And Parent(a) This article applies to a defendant who has not had the disabilities of minority removed and has been:(1) charged with an offense other than an offense under Section 43.261, Penal Code, if the defendant is younger than 17 years of age; or(2) charged with an offense under Section 43.261, Penal Code, if the defendant is younger than 18 years of age.(b) The judge or justice shall:(1) take the defendant's plea in open court; and(2) issue a summons to compel the defendant's parent, guardian, or managing conservator to be present during: (A) the taking of the defendant's plea; and(B) all other proceedings relating to the case.(c) If the court is unable to secure the appearance of the defendant's parent, guardian, or managing conservator by issuing a summons, the court may, without the defendant's parent, guardian, or managing conservator present, take the defendant's plea and proceed against the defendant.(d) If the defendant resides in a county other than the county in which the alleged offense occurred, the defendant may, with approval of the judge of the court of original jurisdiction, enter a plea, including a plea under Article 45A.401, before a judge in the county in which the defendant resides.(e) A justice or municipal court shall endorse on the summons issued to a parent an order to appear personally at a hearing with the defendant. The summons must include a warning that the failure of the parent to appear is a Class C misdemeanor and may result in arrest. (Code Crim. Proc., Art. 45.0215.)Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 45A.452
Added by Acts 2023, Texas Acts of the 88th Leg.- Regular Session, ch. 765,Sec. 1.001, eff. 1/1/2025.