Call us now:
WE KILLED THE BROAD-FORM JURY CHARGE!
A multi-year, hard-fought battle is over, and Texas families are the victors. The broad-form jury charge is dead.
A jury charge is a series of instructions and questions given to a jury after the parties in a case have made their closing arguments. The answers to those questions determine which party wins. The broad-form jury charge allowed a Child Protective Services (CPS) attorney to throw multiple allegations (“grounds”) – up to twenty or more – at the jury in a parental termination case and then ask a single question: should the parent’s relationship with his or her child be forever severed? The problem with this approach is that it allows the jury to answer “yes” without requiring ten of the twelve jurors to find that CPS proved any single ground.
Consider this example: CPS has thrown twelve proposed grounds at the jury. Juror One decides that CPS had proven ground one (and only ground one) while all the other jurors find CPS’ evidence in support of ground one laughable. Juror Two then decides that CPS has proven ground two (and only ground two) while all the other jurors (including Juror One) find CPS’ evidence in support of ground two laughable. This scenario, repeated by the rest of the jurors, would result in a unanimous verdict in favor of termination even though CPS didn’t even come close to proving any ground to ten or more jurors, as required by Texas law.
But no more. The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that as of May 1, 2020, jurors will be questioned on each ground in the jury charge. CPS must get ten of twelve jurors to agree on at least one of those grounds. This helps families two ways. First, no more pet theory terminations as described above. Second, it will help families appeal erroneous jury decisions by showing attorneys and judges alike exactly what ground(s) the jury terminated on.
I am proud to have played a small part, along with the Texas Home School Coalition and others, in this battle. Congratulations to all who participated in this long overdue demise. None but CPS and their cronies will be mourning the departed.
Read the Texas Supreme Court’s Order Amending Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 277.
6 Comments
Comments are closed.
If a CPS Investigator has lied and purjured themselves in the initial Investigative Report presented to the Court showing a need for Emergency Removal of your children? Would that be enough to have an already “closed” CPS case reversed? Is there any legal recourse for this?
It is a terribly Sad state of affairs when those individuals who have
been Hired by the State to be responsible for the Protection of Children are the Very ones responsible for causing the Trauma and Harm.
My question is where does that leave us that got our rights terminated right before this passed.
It has no effect on previously-decided cases.
Great news Mr. Chris, I am glad they’re are hardworking and honest people like yourself fighting to make a difference for Texas Families.
If a CPS Investigator lied and purjured themselves in the initial Investigative Report presented to the Court showing a need for Emergency Removal of your children? Would that be enough to have an already “closed” CPS case reversed or thrown out? Is there any legal recourse for this?