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Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 30.012

This is the official text of Tex. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 30.012, part of Texas’s Civil Practice and Remedies Code — sets procedural rules and available remedies for civil lawsuits.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 30.012. USE OF COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT IN CERTAIN PROCEEDINGS.

Official statutory text

(a) With the agreement of the parties, and subject to Subsection (b), a trial judge may order that a hearing of a preliminary matter or witness testimony at trial may be conducted by electronic means, including satellite transmission, closed-circuit television transmission, or any other method of two-way electronic communication that is available to the parties, approved by the court, and capable of visually and audibly recording the proceedings.

(b) Witness testimony at trial in a district or statutory county court may be conducted by electronic means only if the witness is deposed before the commencement of the trial. Neither the court nor any party may waive the requirement to depose the witness under this subsection if any party objects.

(c) A court that allows a transmission made under this section shall consider it accurate and include it in the record of the case, unless the court determines otherwise.

(d) A party to a transmission made under this section that is not in court:

(1) shall provide at the party's own expense any equipment that is compatible with the equipment used in court; and

(2) may record the proceedings at the party's own expense.

(e) A copy of a proceeding videotaped by a court under this section may be obtained from the clerk of the court on payment of a reasonable amount to cover the cost of producing the copy.

(f) Expenses incurred by a court in conducting a proceeding or recording a transmission under this section shall be assessed and collected as court costs.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.