Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure § 39.12

This is the official text of Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure § 39.12, part of Texas’s Code of Criminal Procedure — sets the procedural rules for criminal cases in Texas.

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.

§ 39.12. PREDICATE TO READ OR PUBLISH DEPOSITION.

Official statutory text

(a) A written or recorded deposition taken under Article 39.02, 39.025, or 39.026 in a criminal action may not be read or published unless oath be made that the witness resides out of the state; or that since the deposition was taken, the witness has died; or that the witness has removed beyond the limits of the state; or that the witness has been prevented from attending the court through the act or agency of the defendant; or by the act or agency of any person whose object was to deprive the state or the defendant of the benefit of the testimony; or that by reason of age or bodily infirmity, the witness cannot attend; or that the witness is a Medicaid or Medicare recipient or a caregiver or guardian of the recipient, and the recipient's Medicaid or Medicare account was charged for a product or service that was not provided or rendered to the recipient.

(b) When the deposition is sought to be used by the state, the oath may be made by any credible person. When the deposition is sought to be used by the defendant, the oath shall be made by the defendant in person.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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.