Texas Penal Code 33A.03 – Manufacture, Possession, or Delivery of Unlawful Telecommunications Device

Attorney Trey Porter
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Texas Penal Code 33A.03 – Manufacture, Possession, or Delivery of Unlawful Telecommunications Device

WHAT IS MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

Texas law prohibits manufacturing, possessing, delivering, advertising, or offering to deliver counterfeit telecommunications devices, or telecommunications devices intended for facilitating theft of telecommunications services.

Texas Penal Code 33A.03 - Manufacture, Possession, or Delivery of Unlawful Telecommunications Device

  • What is a telecommunications service? Texas Penal Code Section 33A.01 defines “telecommunications service” as the provision, facilitation, or generation of telecommunications through the use of a telecommunications device or telecommunications access device over a telecommunications system.“Telecommunications” are the origination, emission, transmission, or reception of data, images, signals, sounds, or other intelligence or equivalence of intelligence over a communications system by any method, including an electronic, magnetic, optical, digital, or analog method.
  • What are examples of telecommunications? Telecommunication technologies include telephones, telegraphs, radios, televisions, and have developed into more advanced wireless technologies such as computers and the internet.

WHAT IS THE MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE LAW IN TEXAS?

Tex. Penal Code § 33A.03. MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.

(a) A person commits an offense if the person manufactures, possesses, delivers, offers to deliver, or advertises:

(1) a counterfeit telecommunications device; or

(2) a telecommunications device that is intended to be used to:

(A) commit an offense under Section 33A.04; or

(B) conceal the existence or place of origin or destination of a telecommunications service.

(b) A person commits an offense if the person delivers, offers to deliver, or advertises plans, instructions, or materials for manufacture of:

(1) a counterfeit telecommunications device; or

(2) a telecommunications device that is intended to be used to commit an offense under Subsection (a).

(c) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.

(d) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the person was an officer, agent, or employee of a telecommunications service provider who engaged in the conduct for the purpose of gathering information for a law enforcement investigation related to an offense under this chapter.

WHAT IS THE PENALTY CLASS FOR MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

Manufacture, possession, or delivery of an unlawful telecommunications device is a third degree felony, punishable by two to ten years in prison.

WHAT IS THE PUNISHMENT RANGE FOR MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

The punishment range for manufacturing, possessing, or delivering an unlawful telecommunications device, a third degree felony, is between two and ten years in prison, and a maximum $10,000 fine.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

A person charged with manufacturing, possessing, or delivering an unlawful telecommunications device may be eligible for probation after a conviction, or deferred adjudication without a conviction. The probation term ranges from two to five years, and the period of deferred adjudication may not exceed ten years.

WHAT ARE THE DEFENSES TO MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

The statute authorizes a defense to manufacturing, possessing, or delivering an unlawful telecommunications device if the accused was an officer, agent, or employee of a telecommunications service provider who was gathering information for law enforcement investigating a telecommunications crime.

WHAT IS THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS?

The limitation period for manufacturing, possessing, or delivering an unlawful telecommunications device, a third degree felony, is three years.

MANUFACTURE, POSSESSION, OR DELIVERY OF UNLAWFUL TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN TEXAS

Making, selling, advertising, possessing, or delivering a counterfeit telecommunications device or a telecommunications device to be used to commit theft of a telecommunications service is a felony in Texas.

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Trey Porter is one of the highest-rated criminal defense attorneys in Texas. Nationally recognized, Mr. Porter relentlessly fights to protect and assert his clients’ constitutional rights in and out of courtrooms across the state.

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