in the Matter of D.S., 02-17-00050-CV

In 2016 the State filed a section 54.02(j) juvenile waiver/transfer petition seeking to transfer 23‑year‑old D.S. (allegedly 15 at the time of the acts) to criminal court for alleged sexual offenses against D.R. occurring in 2009.
Allegations included three counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and two counts of indecency with a child by contact.
The juvenile court held a waiver/transfer hearing, found all §54.02(j) criteria met (including probable cause), and signed an order transferring the case to criminal district court.
Evidence at the hearing consisted mainly of Detective Corporal Banes’s testimony recounting D.R.’s out‑of‑court statements, identification via a photograph provided by D.R.’s father, and reference to a polygraph showing "no deception indicated."
D.S. appealed, arguing (1) insufficient evidence to support the court’s probable‑cause finding and (2) reversible error in admitting hearsay (D.R.’s statements) through the detective.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for probable cause under Tex. Fam. Code §54.02(j)(5)	State: Detective’s testimony recounting D.R.’s detailed allegations, ID from father’s photograph, and polygraph provide more than a scintilla and meet preponderance standard	D.S.: Evidence insufficient; possible misidentification (another person with same first name), lack of reliable ID or direct testimony from D.R.	Court: Probable‑cause finding is supported by legally and factually sufficient evidence; waiver/transfer was not an abuse of discretion.
Admission of hearsay (Detective recounting D.R.’s statements)	State: Even if hearsay rules apply, admission was harmless because the same substance of the statements was later elicited without objection	D.S.: Admission over hearsay objection violated rules of evidence and was reversible error	Court: Even assuming error, it was harmless—the very same testimony was later elicited without objection—so no reversible error.

In re N.J.A., 997 S.W.2d 554 (Tex. 1999) (juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction when alleged offense occurred while defendant was a child; post‑18 jurisdiction limited)
Moon v. State, 451 S.W.3d 28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (standards for review of juvenile waiver/transfer decisions and sufficiency principles)
In re H.Y., 512 S.W.3d 467 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2016) (review of waiver/transfer sufficiency and harmless‑error analysis)
In re C.M.M., 503 S.W.3d 692 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2016) (definition of probable cause in juvenile transfer context)
Bay Area Healthcare Grp., Ltd. v. McShane, 239 S.W.3d 231 (Tex. 2007) (error in admitting evidence is generally harmless when the same evidence is later admitted without objection)