NE GENERAL 

F EXAS 

October13, 1969 

Honorable Frank R. Rye, Jr. Opinion NO. M-489 

District Attorney 

229th Judicial District 

Rio Grande City, Texas 

Re: The construction of 

Section 5 of House Bill 

292, Acts 61st Legislature, Regular Session, 

1969, Chapter 239, page 

292, relating to the 

Dear Mr. Rye: 

terms of grand and petit 

jurors for the 229th Judicial District Court. 

In your recent letter you requested the ooinion of this 

office with regard to the proper interpretation to be placed 

on a portion of House Bill 292, Acts of the 61st Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1969, Chapter 239, page 697. This Act 

created a new judicial district, the 229th Judicial District, 

and reorganized the 49th and 79th Judicial Districts. 

Your concern is with the 229th Judicial District and 

you note that Section 3 of the Act creates the 229th Judicial District. In Section 3 of the Act, the terms for the 

229th District Court are set as follows: 

"Sec. 3. The terms of the 229th District 

Court shall be: 

"(a) In the County of Duval, beginning on 

the first Monday in February and the first 

Monday in August of each year, and each term 

of the court shall continue until the beginning 

of the next term. 

"(b) In the County of Starr, beginning on 

the first Monday in April and the first Monday 

in October of each year, and each term of the 

court shall continue until the beginning of 

the next term. 

"(c) In the County of Jim Hogg, beginning 

on the first Monday in June and the first 

Monday in December of each year, and each 

term of the court shall continue until the 

beginning of the next term. 

II II . . . 

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Honorable Frank R. Rye, Jr., Page 2, (M-498) 

Then in Section 5 of the Act, the Legislature provided 

that: 

"Sec. 5. All grand and petit juries drawn 

and selected under existing laws for Duval, 

Starr and Jim Hogg Counties shall be considered 

lawfully drawn and selected for the next ensuing term of the 229th District Court." 

With regard to above cited Section 5, you ask the 

following question: 

"Under the terms of the statute must 

the District Court retain the present 

grand jury for the next ensuing term 

or may the District Judge vacate the 

existing grand jury and appoint a new 

jury commission to name a new grand 

jury?" 

In interpreting the language of Section 5, quoted 

above, it should be first observed that the 229th Judicial 

District was constituted by the removal of Jim Nogg County 

from the 49th Judicial District and Duval and Starr Counties 

from the 79th Judicial District. It should further be 

noted that House Bill 292 became effective September 1, 

1969. 

Before the passage of the Act under discussion, the terms 

of court as prescribed for the 49th Judicial District included 

a term for Jim Hogg County commencing on the first Mondays 

in March, June, and October, and so the June term was still 

in effect at the' time the instant Act became effective. 

See Article 199, Subdivision 49, V.A.C.S., since the subdivision was written before being amended by House Bill 

292, the legislation presently under consideration. Moreover, the grand jury selected for the term under the provisions of Article 19.01, V.C.C.P. et seq, was still 

legally in session. 

Likewise, the terms of court set for the 79th Judicial 

District, before September 1, 1969, included terms for Starr 

and Duval Counties, which did not begin or end on the effective date of House Bill 292. See Article 199, Subdivision 

79, V.A.C.S., since the subdivision was written before the 

passage of House Bill 292. Accordingly, there were terms 

of court in Starr and Duval Counties still in mid-point 

on September 1, and there were grand juries still constituted for such terms. 

- 2331- 
, 

Honorable Frank Nye, Jr., Page 3, (M- 499 1 

It is the opinion of this office that the language in 

Section 5 of House Bill 292'that "the grand and petit jurors 

drawn under the existing laws for Duval, Starr and Jim Hogg 

Counties shall be considered lawfully drawn for the next 

ensuing term of the 229th District Court" must logically 

mean that these jurors are considered legally able to act 

in their respective capacities from September 1, 1969, 

when the 229th Judicial District came into legal existence 

until the next terms of court for these three counties 

involved as set by House Bill 292, i.e., 

from September 1, 1969, to the first Monday in February, 

1970, in the case of Duval County, 

from September 1, 1969, to the first Monday in October, 

1969, in the case of Starr County, and 

from September 1, 1969, to the first Monday in December, 

1969, in the case of Jim Hogg County. 

As of September 1, 1969, the 229th Judicial District 

Court began its existence and commenced to dispose of cases 

previously filed in Duval, Starr and Jim Hogg Counties as 

well as cases filed in these Counties after September 1. 

This judicial business in each of the respective counties 

necessarily constitutes a term of the 229th Judicial 

District Court; these terms are the terms of the court 

"next ensuing" after the effective date of House Bill 292. 

During these terms of court, the grand and petit jurors 

previously selected under prior laws may and shall validly 

serve in their particular capacities. 

The only other possible interpretation of Section 5 of 

House Bill 292 would be that jurors previously drawn and 

selected for the counties involved would serve, not only 

from September 1, 1969, until the next term as prescribed 

by House Bill 292, but also for the next term as well. 

This would mean that for Duval County, jurors would serve 

from the first Monday in April, 1969, until the first 

Monday in February, 1970, when the new term will start 

for the 229th Judicial District, and then serve for this 

February term until the first Monday in August, 1970, a 

total service of some sixteen months. There would be 

additional service for jurors in Starr and Jim Hogg Counties, although not as lengthy as in the case of Duval 

County jurors. 

It is presumed that the Legislature, when House Bill 

292 was enacted, did not intend to require an absurd, 

foolish or unreasonable thing, nor did they intend to 

- 2332 - 
. 

Honorable Frank Nye, Jr., Page 4, (M-489 ) 

require that which would lead to an injustice. Dental 

Examiners v. Fenlow, 357 S.W.2d 185, (Tex. Civ. App. 

Dallas Railroad and Terminal Co., 

. APP. 1948. no writ). Therefore, any interpretation that-would require some jurors 

to serve sixteen months must be rejected. 

Accordingly, as earlier noted above, the presently 

selected grand and petit jurors of Duval, Starr and Jim Hogg 

Counties will serve the 229th Judicial District Court only 

from September 1, 1969, until the beginning of new terms 

in those counties as fixed by Section 3 of House Bill 

292, unless the court orders that the terms of the grand 

jurors be extended as is provided for by Article 19.07, 

Vernon's Code of Criminal Procedure. 

SUMMARY 

Grand and Petit jurors selected for Jim Hogg 

County by the 49th Judicial District Court and 

for Duval and Starr Counties by the 79th Judicial District Courts are legally selected jurors 

for the 229th Judicial District Court from 

September 1, 1969, until a new term of court 

begins in such counties as provided for by Section 3 of House Bill 292, Acts, 61st Legislature, 

Regular Session, 1969, Chapter 239, Page 697. 

Y@s very truly, 

. 

eneral of Texas 

Prepared by Lenny F. Zwiener 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Kelton, Vice-Chairman 

Monroe Clayton 

Charles Parrett 

Fisher Tyler 

Bob Lattimore 

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Honorable Frank Nye, Jr., Page 5, (M- 489 ) 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

HAWTHORNE PHILLIPS 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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