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| The Senate Jurisprudence Committee will hold a public meeting on Friday, |
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| May 23, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel, |
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| Flamingo Room, 4800 Calhoun Street, Houston, Texas 77204. |
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| The Committee will discuss the following interim charges: |
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| (Charge 1) Study the laws governing suits affecting the parent-child |
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| relationship involving non-parents, including suits for possession of or |
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| access to a child by a grandparent, and make recommendations for providing |
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| the best care and protection for the children involved. Provide an |
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| assessment of the constitutional issues involved with these suits. |
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| (Charge 4) Identify and study best practices for representation of |
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| children in child abuse and neglect cases and determine whether to |
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| implement further training, oversight, or other requirements for judges, |
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| attorneys, and others responsible for child abuse and neglect cases, |
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| including child sexual abuse cases. Develop and implement tools for |
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| children's advocacy centers (CACs) and prosecutors to successfully |
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| investigate and prosecute child abusers. Include the following: |
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| - Explore changes to the rules of evidence that could facilitate the |
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| presentation of child testimony in court; |
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| - Explore making prior extraneous sex offenses admissible during |
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| determination of guilt, as has been adopted in the federal court |
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| - Explore possible expansion of the rules regarding how cases are |
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| consolidated and punishments are stacked in a single trial |
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| involving a crime committed against a child. |
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