(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code requiring that a plea or a waiver of a defendant‘s right be made in open court, a court may accept the plea or waiver by videoconference to the court if:
(1) the defendant and the attorney representing the state file with the court written consent to the use of videoconference;
(2) the videoconference provides for a simultaneous, compressed full motion video, and interactive communication of image and sound between the judge, the attorney representing the state, the defendant, and the defendant’s attorney; and
(3) on request of the defendant, the defendant and the defendant’s attorney are able to communicate privately without being recorded or heard by the judge or the attorney representing the state.
(b) On motion of the defendant or the attorney representing the state or in the court’s discretion, the court may terminate an appearance by videoconference at any time during the appearance and require an appearance by the defendant in open court.

Terms Used In Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 27.18

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
  • Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) A record of the communication shall be made by a court reporter or by electronic recording and preserved by the court reporter or by electronic recording until all appellate proceedings have been disposed of. A court reporter or court recorder is not required to transcribe or make a duplicate electronic recording of a plea taken under this article unless an appeal is taken in the case and a party requests a transcript.
(c-1) The defendant may obtain a copy of the record, including any electronic recording, on payment of a reasonable amount to cover the costs of reproduction or, if the defendant is indigent, the court shall provide a copy to the defendant without charging a cost for the copy.
(c-2) The loss or destruction of or failure to create a court record or an electronic recording of a plea entered under this article is not alone sufficient grounds for a defendant to withdraw the defendant’s plea or to request the court to set aside a conviction, sentence, or plea.
(d) A defendant who is confined in a county other than the county in which charges against the defendant are pending may use the videoconference method provided by this article or by Article 15.17 to enter a plea or waive a right in the court with jurisdiction over the case.
(e) A defendant who enters a plea or waiver under Subsection (d):
(1) consents to venue in the county in which the court receiving the plea or waiver is located; and
(2) waives any claim of error related to venue.
(f) Subsection (e) does not prohibit a court from granting a defendant’s motion for a change of venue during the trial of the defendant.
(g) If a defendant enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere under Subsection (d), the attorney representing the state may request at the time the plea is entered that the defendant submit a fingerprint of the defendant suitable for attachment to the judgment. On request for a fingerprint under this subsection, the county in which the defendant is confined shall obtain a fingerprint of the defendant and use first-class mail or other means acceptable to the attorney representing the state and the county to forward the fingerprint to the court accepting the plea.

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