Article I, Section 20 of the Texas Constitution ("Outlawry or Transportation Out of State for Offense")

As amended November 5, 1985:

No citizen shall be outlawed. No person shall be transported out of the State for any offense committed within the same. This section does not prohibit an agreement with another state providing for the confinement of inmates of this State in the penal or correctional facilities of that state.

Editor Comments

As adopted in 1876, this section read: "No citizen shall be outlawed, nor shall any person be transported out of the State for any offence [sic] committed within the same."

It has been amended once. The 1985 amendment expressly authorized interstate agreements for the confinement of Texas inmates in correctional facilities in other states.

—Attorney Steve Smith

Recent Decisions

None.

Historic Decisions

• Robin v. Ely & Walker Dry Goods Co., 137 S.W.2d 164, 167 (Tex.Civ.App.–Austin 1940, ref'd) ("The Texas constitutional provision that 'no citizen shall be outlawed, nor shall any person be transported out of the State for any offence committed within the [State],' has reference only to an offense against the constitution or laws of this State. This provision [] could not control the government of the United States in the enforcement of its penal laws, because as above pointed out, its laws and jurisdiction under the provisions of Clause 2, Art. 6 of the United States constitution are superior to the laws of this State with respect to the matter of bankruptcy laws.")

Library Resources

• Vernon's Annotated Constitution of the State of Texas (this multi-volume and up-to-date resource is available at all law libraries and many municipal libraries)

• The Texas State Constitution: A Reference Guide (this one-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

• The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis (this two-volume resource is available at most law libraries and some municipal libraries)

Online Resources

• Constitution of the State of Texas (1876) (this resource is published and maintained by the University of Texas School of Law)

• Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876 (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Council)

• Reports Analyzing Proposed Amendments (this resource is published and regularly updated by the Legislative Reference Library)