## 634

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN GROVERSELLERS *,no”nmrGCNIRAL

. Honorable C. B. 

### Cavnerr StateAuditor Austin, 

### Texar
Dear SIP; Opinion lo. o-n41
Ret Dale8 and poverr of the Board of Pardon8 e hl'O108. A we beg to MknOVleJrige moelpt of your 1'btt)rreqUt!J8t

### lngan opinion upon the veriou8matter8 

### thepln mentioned, touohlng the above 8ubjeotmatter, vhIoh letter/in \y2tq ij a8 iOiiOV8r *'In oonneotlonvlth an audit ve amaov making of the book8 andmoord8 Plii'dQn84lld P.SYPOle8,

W find it ll80888 on the r0iioting. JOUZ'v
"(Them have been paseed by the

. Legislature, a8veil 88 th@ Ckwetltutlon83 emenibnent in 

### 1936. lg see We hav#'m& thek,ollovltig but oannot olearthe awirer to f+ese qtwrtlon8, and ve 

### rid that the 

### Maber8/df\the~Bofmdkm\~8o som8vhat unruohbut ve are not 8ure a8 to authorlsatlon).

## 635

iionorableC. H. Cavnerl, p8ge 2



### ‘1 * 3.

“‘4.

“‘5.

“‘6. Who 08n legally obtain oople8 of prIaoner8@ oaso hI8tOrie8 

### and/or yxrI8on records 

### from either the Texan lVl8on Syyatem or 

### the Board of Pwdonr 8ud Psroles, and vhat legal prooedum mu8t be folloved to obtain 8-3 m0 08n legally oontaat 

### prisoners confined in the 

### Texa8 Prison Syrtxm 

### for interviews, eta., and Vhat legal prooedum should be 

### rolloved?
Attached hereto am tvo form8 - Proolnmatlon for Cleraenoyend ProclasnMOa by Covernor to Revoke Clemency - ploa88 edvise u8 a8 to whether these form8 8re properlyvorded 80 a8 tomeet all legal asp8ct8 of the governing lam8 nov in effeot. The Board of Pardon8 **and** Paroles, and we, vi11 appreolate It greatly ifyou vi11 klndly apeolf’y

all pardon and/or reprieve lav8 nov in effect. It appaaI'8 that 8OIDB

of those listed above have re$esled soxe of the others and then in turn, perhaps have been changed (and vemay not have found all 

### 0rthem). Them IO a definite need for a olarIflcatIonby you a8 to jU8t vhere everpbody 8tand8.""
For convenience sake, ve number the paragraph8 of our 

### Sn8ver in acoordeacewith your que8tIOn8.

1. Them Is nothing In the ConstItutlon or the 

### general statutesregulating the resldenae of the members of the Board of Pardons and Parole8 except the ellglbIlIt~ requirement of the Constitution, providing that themembers shsllhave been resident oltlsens of the State of Texas for a period Of not less than two year8 immediately preceding such appointmnt."--Constitution, Article Iv, Section 11, as amended November 

### 3, 1936.

The Legislature has r ovlded In Ch. 292, ii.B. No. 1076, Sec. 2, Regular Session 

### 5th Legislature (1937) that:

"providedone member of the Board of Pardons end Paroles shallhave his headquarters atUunts-

## 636

Honorable C. H. 

### Cavne88, p8ge3

vllle, andtvombnbere of 8aldBoacd sh8llmmaIn In AU8tin, %X88, vhem the main office **0s** the Board of Pardon8 and PaPOle 18 b oated, l l 

### l .n The 8a1mprovl8lon vab oontalned in Ch. 6, 5. B. no. 427, Aots Regular Sestilon 46th I&glrlatum (1939). But the8e 

### uem not 

### general lavr. On th8 oontrary, they 

### vem the regular appropriationAot8. It 18 vsll Mttled that only ~ovl8lon8, rld8r8 and th8 like, gernuxneto the rpeolflo appFoxMatlOn8 r;ad4 my be lnoorporated In the appropriationbill. 

### At all event8, the80 appropriation bill8 of long ego expired. 'phe corresponding appropriationbill8 

### r0rthe blennlum 

### period8 

### 0s '41and ‘43, m8peotlvely, do not oontaln ruoh provl8lon.

There 18, themfom, no mqulmw3nt 0s lav rixing the place of m8ldenoe of th8 

### member8of the Board OS Pavdonr, neither I8 there any provision 

### firingtheplaae 

### vherethe 

### momhers shall keep their prln~lpl Office,hold their mtmtIng8 sad hearings, 

### or mgulatlon In thew 

### rerpeotr vhatsoever.

2. Thi8 que8tion ahould be 

### ansvemd in the negative. Eoc. 11 o? Artlole IV 0s the Conrtltutlonvest8 in the Governor Fever to 1138~8 olemsnoles a8 fOiiOV8:

"In all orlmlnal oa8e8 8roept trearon and Impeachment, the Oovornor 8hallhave pwer, after oonvlotlon, on the Vrlttin 8ignedmoonmwidatlon and advloe Of the Board Of Pardon8 and Parole8. or amajority thereof, to grant mprieve8 and cc4smutatIon80s punl8hment 8nd pardOn8; and under 8uoh rule8 a8 the LegirlatUm may presorlbe, **azld**upon the vrlttenmoonmwdatlon and advloe 0s the majority 0s the Board 0s Pardon8 and P8role8, he shallhave the powr to remit fiIMt8and rorreiture8.”
We (w advised by the Board, however, that It ha8 never iSSUed any prOClSDIatIOn,ormade any order remitting a fine or SorfeltUm, but ha8 made moommendatlons with mspeot thereto to the Governor.

3. Article 3720 of theRevised Civil Statute8 says:

## 637

:ionorabloC. R. cavne88, page 4

"Copier of the reoordr and filed papers **0s** al pub110 offioers md OU8todiPnr 

### 0s record8 

### 0sminute8 

### 0sBowd8, eta. u3d oourt8 ' of thlr State, oertlfled 

### tounder the hand and th8 8eal, if them b8 one, 0s thelavful p08f#880~ **Of** SUoh 3~100~48, 8h8U b0 **dmittOd** as evidence in all oa8e8 where the moords themwlvel would be adml88lble. l l 

### l." Momover, it is a sound pub110 policy that the reo~rdr, nlnute8, Faper8 8nd instrument8 oontained In the files and archives 0s all public Office8 8hould be open to the lnspeotlon 0s any lntemrrtod Party, 8ubjeotonly to suoh privilege8 a8 the Legislature nay ln the interest OS the 8azss pub110 polloy declare, and eubjeot**further,** 0s course, to the limitation that no inspection shouldbe permitted that would Interfernwith the ordinary reasonable oonduot of the 

### affairs of the offloe or deprtnent
. We thqmfore 

### en8ver thla quertlon a8 fOiiOV8t Any 

### personhaving an intern& in the matter vould have the right, upon Cemand, at any reasonable tims, 8nd in 

### a maaonable way, to lnqect suchh18tOrIe8 and 

### reoordr a8 you mention, and to have oertifled COpit' themof, ii the OU8tOd18li 18 Vil1ix t0 SUpply them.

4. The 

### Manageror the Prison SySteli! 18 vested with broad Rovers Article 

### 61666I

Revleed 

### CivilStatute8, Vernon'8 Codlfloatlon, the Board being authorized to delegate to him authority tomansge the affsir8 

### 0s the Prison Syrtem, 8ubjeot to it8 oontrol and 8up8rvlrlon. Th18 

### paverextends to pmscribing “ma8onable 

### rule8 and regulation8 

### governing the humane treatment, training and dlsolpllng of 

### prl8oner8 ”, and the like. Article 

### 6166~2, **of** the **above**statute, **1s**even mom lnformative at this point. It 18 a8 fOiiOU8t

"The Governor, and all 

### member8**of** the Exeoutlve and Judicial dspsFtm43nt8

### 0stheState 

### aadnmfb0r8**0s** the Legislature shallbe admitted into the prisons, camps and other place8 wham prisoners are kept or worked, at all properhour8, for the purpose of observing the oonduct thereof, and may hold conversation vltb the oonvlcts apart rram all prison OffiC88.

## 635

32aeable c. li. **CIVrn88,** ***** **5**

## 639

Xonorable C. H. caVW88r pag8 

### 6

We knov 

### 0sno **deOi8iOA** holding **that** the ooveaaos would haw the p owr 

### to ret l

### 8lde

### a proolaEatloA

### revoking

### a pior ootiltion&lpardon. The moooatlon by the Oove~aor :rouldoperat8 a8 a full aad 

### fita dispo8itiOA 

### 0s the qUO8tiOA of olemenoyby the Govermr, aad leave themat- a8 thou& no suoh applicationhad been We vhatlroever. Kcimover, ve are Qdvlsttd

by the Governor~8 0rrioe that it has not beea his praatloe la any ea8e to set aside 

### arevooatlon prevlou8ly iaauedbut that he ha8 treated the matte3 a8 048 of original cognleeao~by theBoard upon aa oxQlaal 

### l pplloatlon for clemenoy. The quoted laaguag8 shouldbe ellmlnated.



### 6. You' Sixth requ8st 18 80

### broad md 80 ab8tZaOt thatwe vi11 

### not, in the oour8e **0s** a legal oplnlo~,undertsh to COnrp118 the FniOl'ttWtiOll Otihd for. we SW **be G&i,**  

### I:owever, to 

### anttvcrany specirio question that may 8rlse at ay time. Very truly yours, ATTORRRX GRlCMUL OF -a,

-. Oold 

### S&ir d

- AIsi8tPnt