Texas Penal Code

§ 37.09 — TAMPERING WITH OR FABRICATING PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

PE § 37.09Title 8. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION · Ch. 37. PERJURY AND OTHER FALSIFICATION

Statute text

(a)A person commits an offense if, knowing that an investigation or official proceeding is pending or in progress, he:

(1)alters, destroys, or conceals any record, document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability as evidence in the investigation or official proceeding; or

(2)makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course or outcome of the investigation or official proceeding.

(b)This section shall not apply if the record, document, or thing concealed is privileged or is the work product of the parties to the investigation or official proceeding.

(c)An offense under Subsection (a) or Subsection (d)(1) is a felony of the third degree, unless the thing altered, destroyed, or concealed is a human corpse, in which case the offense is a felony of the second degree. An offense under Subsection (d)(2) is a Class A misdemeanor. (c-1) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) or (d)(1) that the record, document, or thing was visual material prohibited under Section 43.261 that was destroyed as described by Subsection (f)(3) of that section.

(d)A person commits an offense if the person:

…

Legislative history

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 287 (H.B. 872), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1322 (S.B. 407), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 915 (H.B. 3607), Sec. 16.004, eff. September 1, 2021.