EA~TORNEYGENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

WILL WILSON 

ATI’O-GiZNERAX. 

January 15, ,I959 

,Honorable Dan Walton 

District Attorney 

Harris County Courthouse 

Houston 2, Texas 

Dear Mr. Walton: 

Opinion NO, WW-546 

Re: Whether Article 802e of 

Vernon’s Penal .Gode authorizes 

prosecution of ,j~uvenilcs under 

a city ordinance pertaining to 

traffic., 

Your request for an opinion reads in part as fo$lows: 

“A question question has arisen~ arisen~ concernil)(l concernil)(l the,jurisdictjon the,jurisdictjon of the Corporation Court of the City of Houston Houston to prosecute prosecute a juvenile, juvenile, between between 

the age of 14 and 17 for a violation violation of a Cify Ordinance Ordinance of the City of 

Houston, Ths specffic ordinance :concern&d is the ordinance defining 

and making penal a negligent collisk~. The City Attorney contends that 

prosecution can be maintained by reason of Article 802e, V.A.P.C., 

which reads as follows: 

‘Section I,, Any male minor who has passed hls~ 14th birthday 

but has not rtscbed bl* ~L?th~bMhd+y; and any female ,minor who has 

passed her 14th birthday but k&s not reached her 18th birthday, and ‘~ 

who drives or opsrateaan.autom6blle or any other ~mo@r vehicle on, 

at@ public road OP highway in thls state oti upon any street or alley 

within the limtts.of any city; town ‘or village, or upon any beach as 

defined in Chapter 430, Ackof the ,51st Lsgla.lature, 1949, while under 

th& iafluende ~6f intoxlcatiqj Ilquor~, 01~ who drives or oparatos any 

automobile or any other motor vehicle in such way a& to.:vlol*te an 

traffic law of this state, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor - a 

be punbhad by~a fine of not more than Cite Hundred,~($lO,O.OO) Dollars, 

As used fnthls, section, the term ‘any traffic law ,of ‘this ,s~tate’ shall 

laelude the following statutes, as heretofore or hereafter .amendsd: 

“Chapter 42, Acts of the 4lst Legislature,,,Second caLled Session, 

1929, (Article 827a, Vernon’s Texas Penal Code), except Section 9a 

thereof; Chapter 421, Acts of the 50th Legislature, Regular Session, 

1947 (Artlcle 6701d, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes); Chapter 430, Acts 

of the 51st Leglnlature, Regular Session, 1949 (Article 827f, Vernon’s 

Texas Penal Code); and Articles 795 and 801, Texas Penal Code of 

1925, 

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.’ ., Honorable’ Walton, page Z’~(WW-546)’ : : 

“. 

,: 

“Set, 4. The offenses cre&tad under this Act shall be under 

the jurisdiction of the courts regularly empowered to try misdemeanors carrying the penalty heretn affixed, and shall not be under 

the jurlsdictlon of the Juvenllt Courts; but nothing contained in 

this Act shall b% construed to otherwise repeal or effect the statutes 

regulating the powers and duties of Juvenile Courts. The provisions 

of this Act shall be cumulative of all.other laws on this subject.” 

‘“It is necessary that this office have your ,bpinion on this question 

as we are charged with the duty of prosecuting appeals from Corpora- 

‘, tion Court. (Emphasis supplied) 

“It is my optnion that Article 802e would not authorize the 

prosecution of such a person under a City Ordtnance because Article 

802e among other, things states that it shall be a violation for any 

such minor to commit the enumerated offBnses or “to drive or,oper- 

‘ate an automobile or any other motor vehicle In such way as to 

~, violate any traffic law of this state. . .” However, the statute goes, 

further and defines the term “any traffic law of this stata” and in 

such,dafinltion include9 only certain statutes of the state and does not 

include ordinance8 of incorporated cities. It is my OpMon that the 

enkmeratNn of these state statutes would exclude the application of 

any other state law or any city ordinances from the opakat@a ,of,tbk 

Act,” 

Section 1 of Article 802~ states “as mused in this section,: the tarm 

,‘ any tkafftc Iaw,of this state’ shall include the following statbtei. s e 

,* The 

word include is not, .ordltiarlly, a word of Limitation,.but rather One of 

enlargement.~ However this term ‘any traffic law of this state’ is all inchive and in our opinion could not be enlarged upon. Furthermore the 

captionof thf,,act recites “An,Act. &’ .defLning the term Iany traffic law of 

thSs state. D 0 It ,is therefora.our opinion that the,Legislature intended to 

and did define such term and Article 802c’V.A.P,C. is’ilmited in its application to the ,of&nse of driving a moton veblek whUe uuder~ the influence, of 

intoxkcating liquor and to the&s ,otfenses. denouncsd in .’ rtlcles 827a, (except 

section 9a thereof), 827f; 795 and 801, of the’ penal code 

Vernon’s Civil Statutes. 

%nd.Article 6701d 

SUMMARY 

Article 802e V.A.P.C. iS limited in its application to 

the offense of drlving a motor vehicle while under the 

inftuence’.of intoxicating liquor a,nd to those<sffenses 

denounced in Articles 827a, except section 9a~ thereof; 

827f; ~795 and 801, of the penal code and Article 6701d 

Vernon’+ Civil Statutes. 
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‘. ~Honor,&blc Walton, page 3 (WW-546)’