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**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS AUSTIN**  **GROVER**

**SELLERS ATTORNEY** 

**GENERAL**

HonorableEarlon Martin CountyAttorcwy leoogdochea **County** Nacogdocher,Tours

**Dar sir:** 

an otficer lmfully owed vlth mthorlty * 4rre8tr valve W8e88lMlAt Of th8 sting fee l.nthe ffxOf CO8t8 to be **paid** the deiendaat upon **8 being**  found guilty?

te reUue8tlng *n opinion aaptioned 8Ubj8Ct8, **ho8** been **iOR** and reply. Your **quer**

lty are rccepted in criminal toa of the CoUnty Court. Therelike to have an 

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dvi8Ory opinion or your department **a8** to the validity of a juagarent

predicated **upon e**  plea of guilty enteredduring vaCatlOU.n Qu88tlOn IiO.**2:**
"Cana eheriff, **ooast@ble, Dspaz** **’ tJlWlt**  **Ot** Pub**lic** Safety **off** laer, **% ‘** **tS68** L%qUOr Control Board InBpXtOr, or any other officer lavfUllyendoved vith authority to nrke Wre8te VaiV8 the a8cie88Plsnt of

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Honorable liarlon

Martin, pege 2

the =r-ting fee in **the** firil3g Of CO8t8 to be paId by the defendant upon hi8 being foundguiltyTm

In reply to yOW flr8t question, ve Iwe eaclo8Ing thisdeprartment*s opinionNo. O-3090,vhlch WI believe an**8Ver8** thin **QUe8tiOn** in the negative.

In reply to Your 8ecoudquartion,ve quote from thi8 d8flrtmQt'S OPiQiOn **NO.** O-768, wherein ve held that a State **Bighvay PbtrObbR**  **18** Wltithd t0 no brr88tlag fee:

**“ YOU**  me r88peCtfIllly advl8ed thbt thl8 E4- portent **ha8** repeatedly ruled tbatb con8table or **Other Q8bCS**  **Officer 18**  not entitled to aharge, collect, or rcoept fee8 unlerrhe actually performed the 8ervIce8 set out in the 8UtUte. If the constable **does not**  **We the**  **wre8t, nor**  **thQ** commitmnt nor the rele88e, he certainly oould not Chbrg8, Collect, or 8CCept 8 fee for doing 80. **A** rtate **highway** p8trolPan receiver 8 Mliry from the strte of Telar **for hi8**  8ervice8,and **there ir**  no statutorybuthorltg la thlr rtstevhereby a **rtbte** highvay patrolwm may oharge, collect or raaept l f8efrOIU

a defendant. **t ’** **h8 88-y**  **8** 8tbtt **highV8y** QbtrO~n receive8 **from** the State of Teu8 18 the only compensrtlon to which he I8 entitled to receive for performtag hi8 duti88 in **Prre8ting** the defendmat clurgedwith ral8depsanOr.

"Youare therefore,rk8peutf**ully** edvl8ed **t&t** if a state hlghvay patrolman 8rre8t8 a defendant iu a ai8demeanor aEi8e and bring8 the defendmt before the ju8tlce of the peace end the defeud8ntplea8 guilty and Is a88e888d a iIRe, the jU8tiCe of the peace ahodd not tax an rrre8t See againrt the defendant.
"For **example,** if a statehighvsypatrolnmn wrest8 a defendant for violbtlon of a Qi8demNtkor 8tatuteand brings the defendantbefore the ju8tice of the peace **a8** outlinedby law, end the defendant enter8 his plea of guilty before the ju8tIce of the **paace aad**  **18** 888888ed **8 fine**  **Of One**  **dollU and**  CO8t8, tbn thi8 1s the follovlngamount vueh the defendant shouldbe required to PrY iudi8oMrge of hi8 fine and cO8te, to-vit:aonorableEarlon hartin, page 

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"Onedollar ilne; five dollars fee for the county attoPQey; four dollars, trial fee - making a total of ten dollars."

Tams Liquor Control Board Inspectorsreceive a aalerg from the State and are likewiseentitled to no arresting fee.

In re@rd to sheriff8and COQ8table8,your attention isdirected to the follovlng **statutory QrOVisiOn8.**  **Article** 102,Vernon'8Annotated Pen81 Code provides:

"Any county officer or any dlstrlat attorney to whom fees or Cost8bre rlloved by l&v vho 8hall fall to charge **UQ the**  **fees or**  **cost8 thbt**  **may** be due under exl8tltp,fJv8, or who Shall remit 8ny fee that lsay

be **due** under the law, or vho shall fall to mbke the report reclulred by lav, orwho 8hll p8y hi deputy, clerk OP..b88i8kQt8 1888 **8UPI thn**  specified inhi8 worn statement, or reoelve bek a8 8 rebate any part of the compen8atlonalloved such deputy, clerk or sselstant, 8hall be f,lned not le88 than tventy-fiVe nor more than five hundred dollars. &oh act forbiddenby thl8 artiale 18 8 reparbte offense."
The Legislature,by **Act8** 

### 1939,specialLavu, mge 

### 608, Section 1, provided for salaries for county officer8 in COMti88 containinga population of tventy thou8and (20,000) lnbabltantsor more and provided for an Offlcers~galrry Fund. ThisAot appea~a 88 Article 3912e, Vernon ’s Annotat8d Civil Statutes. Section 5 provides:

"It &all be the duty of 811 officers to cbrge and collect in the **mbnner** 8uthorlGedby **law** all fee8 and ColIlmi88iOll8 vhich Bpe permittedby **hV** to be RsSes8ed and collected for all officibl **8erViCe** performedby them. **A8** and when **suck** fee8 bre aollected they shall be deposited in the OffiCeP8' &laPy Fund, or fund8 provided in this Act. IQ event the ComDli88iOneP8' Court find8 that the failupe to collectany fee or eommla8lon **Vb8** due to neglect on the part of the officer chargedvith the responsibilityof collecting a&IQB,the amount ol suCh fee or comml8aloo shallbe deducted from

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Honorable Harlan &wti.n, page 4

the U-y Of 8Wh Officer. Before say 8uah deduction 18 made, the C0m1118810QeP8' Court 8ha11 fuPal8h such officervlth an ltemlced 8t8tement of the uncollectedfee8 with which hi8 bcoou.nt18 to be charged, and sba11notify ouch officer of the tlm and place for 8 hearing on ~nm, to determinewhether such officerv&8 guilty of negllgence, vhich tiPla fOP hearing **shrll b8**  **et** leb8t **t8Q days**  **8UbDeQUWAt t0**  **the t&t8**  **cd QOtia8.**  **thh88** en officer is chargedby lav with the re8pon8lbllity Of 001leCtillg fees, the COlari88iOWP8'COUPt Shall Rot IQ any event ppke ray deductions IPom the authorlaed 8alery of 8uch officer."

You are accordingly advised that prior to the **p88-** age of Article 3912e, the arresting officer **v&8** entitled to col**lect md**  **retain his**  fee md fbilure 80 to **do** va8 EWle 8 pen81 offense

. SubseQuent t0 the enactment Of Article 39128, the a~- re8ting ofilcerreceiver 8 UrlRry in lieu of 811 feel, co3nml88ims ok compenabtlon to which he would othsrvlsebe entitled. Under theprovlslon8 of thi8Act, the officer 18 Cbrged vlth the duty of chargingand co11ectinghi8 fee a8 before and paying it into the OfflceP8' SaWy Fund. Should the oommi88loner8~ court find that the fbllure to Collectbny fee or corairrlon~88 due to neglect **on** the prt of the offloer ah8rged vlth the re8poQ8lbilityof co1lecting I&m, the bmountof such fee or commirrlon 8he11be deduated from hi8 ~l@ry after notice and hearing had thereon **88** provided by the 8tatute.

**‘ PrU8tiIl&**  thi8 fti1y 8n8YeP8 yOUP iQQUiPi88,v8 aPe Very **truly yOUr8**  ATTORREX

GXWRRAL

OFTRXAR

BY /t. 2. f&--L &---A-k

H. T. Bob Donahue

A88i8tbQt

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