April 9, 1952 

Hon. Sati. W. Davis, Opinion No. V-1433 

District-,Attorney 

Houston, Texas Re: Liability OP the COUntY 

from which a criminal 

I- cause is removed on 

-, change of venue for the 

expenses of a special 

venlre In the county 

to which the case was 

Dear Sir: transferred. 

Your request for an opinion of thla office reads in part a8 followa: 

"A person charged with murder In 

Harris County was tried in Tom Oreen County on a change of venue. Upon cORIPletlon of the trial Tom Oreen County, 1 

through Its District Clerk, under date 

of February 29th, 1952, billed Harris 

County not ~only for the cost of the 

regular jury selected to try the Defendant, but aleo for the ,cost of the 

Sgeclal Venlres, which Bill of Cost reads 

in part as follows: 

"'November 26, 1951, 

Special vanire;. . ,. . $ 56.00 

February 21, 1952)' 

Sneclal Venlre.:. . . . 422.00 

February 29, 195& 

fp.ijN;;,Juw, . . . : . 528.00 

, . . . . . . . , . . 

"It Is admitted that Harris County 

is liable In the sum of $528.00, being 

the expenses of the regular jury, but 

Is Harris County liable for the expenses 

of the Special Venlre on November 26th, 

1951, In the sum of $56.00, and the Special Venlre on February 21st, 19 2 In 

the sum of $422.00, a total of $ 3 76.007" 
i 

‘, 

, 

.z.;, f.3 Hon. Sam W. Davis, page 2 (V-1433) 

e 

Articles 560 to 563, V.C.C.P., provide f 

for a change of venue under certain circumstances. 

r 

i 

i 

_- 

Article 587, V.C.C.P., provides: 

"A 'special venlre' Is a writ Issued 

In a capital case by order of the district 

1 

,court, commanding the sheriff to summon i 

such a nutiber of persons, not less than [ 

thirty-six, as the court may order, to 

.appear before the court on a day named i 

ln,'the writ; from whom the jury for the 

.., trla,l of such case Is to be selected." 

: Articles 1050 and 1051, V.C.C.P., provide: i 

"In all causes where Indictments have 

been presented against persons In one county and such causes have'been removed by 

change of venue .to another 'county, and tried 

therein; the county from which such cause 

Is removed shall.be liable for all expenses 

Incurred for pay'for jurors In trying such 

causes."' 

"The county commlssloners of each 

county at each regular meeting shall ascertain whether, since the last regular 

meeting, any person has been tried for 

crime upon'a change of venue from any; 

.other county. If they find such to be 

the case they shall make out an account 

against such county from which such cause 

was removed showing the~number of days 

the jury in such case was employed therein, 

and settini forth.the amount paid for such 

jury service; such account shall then be 

certified to as correct by the county 

judge of such county, under his hand and 

seal, and be; by him, forwarded to the 

county judge of the county from which 

the said cause was removed; which account 

shall be paid In the same manner as accounts for the safe keeping of prisoners." 

, Article ,1056, V.C.C.P., reads In part as 

follows: 

"Each juror In the district or clmlnal district court, county court or county 

, 
. , 

Hon. Sam W. Davis; page 3 (V-1433) 

court at law, except special ve<lremen and 

talesmen challenged on their volr dire 

whose pay Is now fixed by law, shall receive Four Dollars ($4) for each day and 

for each fraction of a day he attends court 

as such juror, to be paid out of the jury 

fund of the county. . . .'I 

It Is our opinion that the word "jurors" 

as used In Article 1050 does not have the narrow 

meaning of persons who are actually accepted on the 

jury, but ln&udes all persons who attend court In 

response ,to a summons for jury service in connection wlth that particular Case. The purpose of 

Article 1050 was to place the jury expense In these 

cases on the county In which the case originated. 

The pay of special venlremen is necessarily a part 

of~the jury expense In cases where special~venlres 

are required. Articles 602 to 625, V.C.C.P., relatlng to the formation of a jury In capital cases,, 

refer to those persons who are summoned as ('jurors 

even though they are not selected to serve as members of the jury for the trial of the case. .Llkewise, Article 1056 in providing that "each juror 

. . . except special venlremen . . . challenged on 

their volr dire" shall receive a certain pay for 

attendlng court Includes special venlremen within 

the general term of ."juror." We believe that the 

term 'Ijurors" as used In Article 1050; when considered 

with these other statutory provisions, Includes members of special venlres. 

In vi&w of the foregoing, 'it Is our oplnIon that Harris County Is liable for the expense of 

both bf the special venlres called In the case which 

was tried In Tom Green County on a change of venue 

from Harris County. 

SUMMARY 

A county,ln which a case originated 

16 liable for the expense of special 

-. 

,~~ ,... ._. 

-, 
Hon. Sam W. Davis, page 4 (V-1433) 

venlres where the case Is tried In 

another county on a change of venue. 

Yours very truly, 

APPROVED: PRICE DANIEL 

Attorney General 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County Affairs DlVlslon A / 

.Mary X. Wall 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Asslstatit 

By&l& 

Assistant 

BA:mh