Sec. 157.163. APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEY. (a) In a motion for enforcement or motion to revoke community service, the court must first determine whether incarceration of the respondent is a possible result of the proceedings.
(b) If the court determines that incarceration is a possible result of the proceedings, the court shall inform a respondent not represented by an attorney of the right to be represented by an attorney and, if the respondent is indigent, of the right to the appointment of an attorney.
(c) If the court determines that the respondent will not be incarcerated as a result of the proceedings, the court may require a respondent who is indigent to proceed without an attorney.
(d) If the respondent claims indigency and requests the appointment of an attorney, the court shall require the respondent to file an affidavit of indigency. The court may hear evidence to determine the issue of indigency.
(d-1) The court may conduct a hearing on the issue of indigency through the use of teleconferencing, videoconferencing, or other remote electronic means if the court determines that conducting the hearing in that manner will facilitate the hearing.
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the respondent if the court determines that the respondent is indigent.
(f) If the respondent is not in custody, an appointed attorney is entitled to not less than 10 days from the date of the attorney's appointment to respond to the movant's pleadings and prepare for the hearing.
(g) If the respondent is in custody, an appointed attorney is entitled to not less than five days from the date the respondent was taken into custody to respond to the movant's pleadings and prepare for the hearing.
(h) The court may shorten or extend the time for preparation if the respondent and the respondent's attorney sign a waiver of the time limit.
(i) The scope of the court appointment of an attorney to represent the respondent is limited to the allegation of contempt or of violation of community supervision contained in the motion for enforcement or motion to revoke community supervision.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.
Amended by:
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 961 (S.B. 1965), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2017.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
52
cases (
7 in the last 5 years), 1997–2025 · leading case:
In re Dooley, 129 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2004).
In re Dooley, 129 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2004).
· cites it 5× “Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163(a), (b) (Vernon 2002).”
Ex Parte Acker, 949 S.W.2d 314 (Tex. 1997).
· cites it 2× “TEX. FAM.CODE § 157.163(b). This provision clearly required the court to admonish Mary Ann of her right to counsel, which the court did not do.”
In re Butler, 45 S.W.3d 268 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2001).
“Tex.Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163 (Vernon 1996).”
In re Luebe, 983 S.W.2d 889 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999).
· cites it 3× “Pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 157.163 (b),(d) (Vernon 1996), the judge held an indigency hearing.”
In re Rivas-Luna, 528 S.W.3d 167 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2017).
“(d) If the respondent claims indigency and requests the appointment of an attorney, the court shall require the respondent to file an affidavit of indigency.”
In re Marks, 365 S.W.3d 843 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2012).
· cites it 2× “See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 157.163 (West 2008).”
In re Pruitt, 6 S.W.3d 363 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 1999).
“The Statutory Mandate Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163 (Vernon 1996) 2 sets out the procedures for a case *365 of this nature.”
In re Ohiri, 95 S.W.3d 413 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003).
“Tex. Fam.Code ANN. § 157.163(a),(b) (Vernon 2002).”
In re Aarons, 10 S.W.3d 833 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2000).
“The Texas Family Code guarantees his right to counsel: If the court determines that incarceration is a possible result of the proceedings, the court shall inform a respondent not represented by an attorney of the right to be represented by an attorney and, if the respondent is…”
In the Interest of J.A.G., 18 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2000).
“See Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163 (Vernon 1996); Ex parte Strickland, 724 S.”
In re Castro, 998 S.W.2d 935 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999).
“Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(a), (b) (1996). Ortiz does not dispute that relator’s incarceration was a possible result of her motion to revoke suspension of commitment.”
In re Stephanie Dunlap Hadsall, No. 02-22-00436-CV (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Feb. 6, 2023).
· cites it 6× “1 See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 157.163 ; In re Rivas-Luna, 528 S.”
Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(a): 12 cases
In re Dooley, 129 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2004).
“Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163(a), (b) (Vernon 2002).”
In re Ohiri, 95 S.W.3d 413 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2003).
“Tex. Fam.Code ANN. § 157.163(a),(b) (Vernon 2002).”
In re Castro, 998 S.W.2d 935 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999).
“Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(a), (b) (1996). Ortiz does not dispute that relator’s incarceration was a possible result of her motion to revoke suspension of commitment.”
Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(b): 5 cases
Ex Parte Acker, 949 S.W.2d 314 (Tex. 1997).
“TEX. FAM.CODE § 157.163(b). This provision clearly required the court to admonish Mary Ann of her right to counsel, which the court did not do.”
In re Dooley, 129 S.W.3d 277 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 2004).
“Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 157.163(a), (b) (Vernon 2002).”
In re Aarons, 10 S.W.3d 833 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2000).
“The Texas Family Code guarantees his right to counsel: If the court determines that incarceration is a possible result of the proceedings, the court shall inform a respondent not represented by an attorney of the right to be represented by an attorney and, if the respondent is…”
Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(d): 1 case
Tex. Fam. Code § 157.163(e): 1 case
In re Luebe, 983 S.W.2d 889 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999).
“Pursuant to Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 157.163 (b),(d) (Vernon 1996), the judge held an indigency hearing.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.