§ 8.01 Insanity
§ 8.02 Mistake of Fact
§ 8.03 Mistake of Law
§ 8.04 Intoxication
§ 8.05 Duress
§ 8.06 Entrapment
§ 8.07 Age Affecting Criminal Responsibility
§ 8.08 Child With Mental Illness, Disability, or Lack of Capacity
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Terms Used In Texas Penal Code Chapter 8 - General Defenses to Criminal Responsibility

  • Act: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary, and includes speech. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Agency: includes authority, board, bureau, commission, committee, council, department, district, division, and office. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Another: means a person other than the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Bodily injury: means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Charitable organization: means :
    (1) a nonprofit corporation, trust, community chest, fund, foundation, or other entity that is:
    (A) exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, by being described by Section 501(c)(3) of that code; and
    (B) organized and operated exclusively for:
    (i) religious, charitable, scientific, educational, or literary purposes;
    (ii) testing for public safety;
    (iii) preventing cruelty to children or animals; or
    (iv) promoting amateur sports competition; or
    (2) any other entity that is organized and operated exclusively for the purposes listed in Section 501(c)(3), Internal Revenue Code of 1986. See Texas Estates Code 22.003
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conduct: means an act or omission and its accompanying mental state. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Controlled substance: has the meaning assigned by § 481. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Court: means and includes:
    (1) a county court in the exercise of its probate jurisdiction;
    (2) a court created by statute and authorized to exercise original probate jurisdiction; and
    (3) a district court exercising original probate jurisdiction in a contested matter. See Texas Estates Code 22.007
  • Death: includes , for an individual who is an unborn child, the failure to be born alive. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Devisee: includes a legatee. See Texas Estates Code 22.009
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Estate: means a decedent's property, as that property:
    (1) exists originally and as the property changes in form by sale, reinvestment, or otherwise;
    (2) is augmented by any accretions and other additions to the property, including any property to be distributed to the decedent's representative by the trustee of a trust that terminates on the decedent's death, and substitutions for the property; and
    (3) is diminished by any decreases in or distributions from the property. See Texas Estates Code 22.012
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
  • Felony: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by death or confinement in a penitentiary. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Governmental agency of the state: means :
    (1) a municipality;
    (2) a county;
    (3) a public school district;
    (4) a special-purpose district or authority;
    (5) a board, commission, department, office, or other agency in the executive branch of state government, including an institution of higher education, as defined by § 61. See Texas Estates Code 22.014
  • Heir: means a person who is entitled under the statutes of descent and distribution to a part of the estate of a decedent who dies intestate. See Texas Estates Code 22.015
  • Individual: means a human being who is alive, including an unborn child at every stage of gestation from fertilization until birth. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • 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.
  • Law: means the constitution or a statute of this state or of the United States, a written opinion of a court of record, a municipal ordinance, an order of a county commissioners court, or a rule authorized by and lawfully adopted under a statute. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Minor: means a person younger than 18 years of age who:
    (1) has never been married; and
    (2) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes. See Texas Estates Code 22.022
  • Misdemeanor: means an offense so designated by law or punishable by fine, by confinement in jail, or by both fine and confinement in jail. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Person: includes a natural person and a corporation. See Texas Estates Code 22.027
  • Person: means an individual or a corporation, association, limited liability company, or other entity or organization governed by the Business Organizations Code. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Reasonable belief: means a belief that would be held by an ordinary and prudent man in the same circumstances as the actor. See Texas Penal Code 1.07
  • Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
  • United States: includes a department, bureau, or other agency of the United States of America. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.