OFFlCE OF THE AITORNEY GENERAL OF - c,-;:p
**AUSTIN**

Xonorable 0. J. 5. Ellfngpm Semrral &kmai;er Tepaa iW.son Syolxsa IiuntsVills, Texas opinionXO.~'O-3793 Dear Sirr Bet Whether er not there is nny. Laga aatlon as this time tnat oan bo takal to **.erES8t Virgil**  Bwa0e and return hbto the penitentiaryto serve t-&s three sumthe and four%aon Cay6 hs i+Sll owes on tfa iour-usax sentenoe, even thotyhho Y(IB diattharged

IA aaaorderbe

with 

### inetructfws rron the !Xstri&i 

### Ccilrt id :WlkerCounty?

a&J Bet out IA your Opinlol¶ NOi 0-3640 ?&e Stattwi4w.a of Fat+s Suralahed you by ifonor: nble Mao L. **aeanstt,** Jr.j Dbtrlot AtSorn5y, #oraannger,T&as, -Virgil Bounds wm 

### mdersd diaohorgodby th8 abistriaa conra 0r %alker cot&y 

### ror aho 

### roama the overtine nnd ooa**mafiaA** ain0 rorreifh#d whoa ha r8tUrnd. %Q prlaon roAl.0

wzlplaw'hillori&ial 'PQdtBtlOo.

"Tour 09iAiOA !vo.

o-w4a, however, eatelI thatr
*While the relatormay not hare tor**r8itti** the extra alai0 ror good **oonbuaa** aa ovartixwwork allmod w.hioR ho had **82UAsd A&to**  hi8 rOlea&@ **O&** the **OoAdi** ttortnl

**pardoa,** he is **not** antitled to reoelve es'e oralit oa his rour-par s&ntenoe, the one yefdr, oae aonth and airtoen days thst he ia@ et larz,o on the oonditionalpardon. The aaae ltm&h 

### or time renaalne0



### to be some6 by.raletoren June 83, 1940 88 on k&ky4, 1939.

# /’ ".

. . Xowevor,we hciva now IQgm3C his tS.m In naaordanao with OpinicnNo. O-3640,and iind that he now hae to his aredit on a four year sontenae, three yams, eightmotiths azd si:xteen

days. Consequently, there.18ror;riluing to be srmved on his four-year s%ntance, th,me montha and fourteen daye.

~~ n

. EIowe~ex, AOW that the laots ere ual 

### Oumt&*bOr0rOyou, us will egpreolete youzr opinion ea to whether or not there is any legal aotion at‘th1.e

time th.%t

aan be teken to arrest Virgil Bounds and return him to the penitentiary to 8enW the three mud&B end fourteen 

### day6he atill owe@ on hls 

### row yeas sentanoe, 6ven tkmgh he was dlsohargedin aaaordanae with instruotion8rXW the DIetriot 

### court of Salksr ccwlty.”

**Aa** we uaderattmdthe facets upon which your puestion Lo predlaated,the said Virgil 3ounde was ordereddlsohargdl.rroaa

the paltentiery by the judge or the Distrlot Court of 'cpalkex

Couuty, Texas, after habeas oorpus proasedlags hmd been had in said aourt.

z&cm t&e Statstnsnt of mot8 **mentioned In**  **your** 

### letter,**it** 

### eppaers**that** the aaid V&gil Boundswee plervlng
**a** 

### r0ua--par **sentems** in,tha S;tate **Panitentlery of**  **Texas** by rfrtue or a0 lndiatmentround againstbLc ia Jerreruan Count Texas upon whiah he was subsequently convioted xii&& oo&.

Arti ll9 of'Yernon*s¬ated Code or Cri3b lnal l?roaed~, provides QLI 

### r0iicwta:

"hrter lAdiotmeAt

### rounb, thswrit must be made returrqble la the aountywhere the ~rfeneehas been 00rmDftt&,on aoaount

### 0r whloh the applioant stnnda fndloted."
la the oaae of Ex Pnrta #attamoni 143. 6.3. (I?4

I 

### 319, ‘tab0

court 0r 0rirPLaal

~jpu 

### 0r TALKS,

in a5 opinion by Judge Graves, hold that,while a jtiga OS a distrlotsot inoludlngthe county in whiah the relatorwe& 

### lndloted and ralator'aeppLloatlonfor e writ could not **tre** the matters pra-~ tho.writreturnableto theoounty in which the relatorWRS inCict%d and **COQViGt%d,**

citiw fiArticl%

119, quoted uu?ra. **AGO nlso'tila**  **PollowiIlg** oasas : Ex gerte TrGdor, i32.X. SSS; ?2c part% Alnmorth, 27 9+x, 731; XX mrte SprLn@.old, 11 G.3. f377;.ZX parte Gveroash, 134 2.:;. 700; ZX pXt4 AQdlY4Sl 153 3.X. C!l.
In the lnotsntortae, we are anar% of'

th%.fa ’ot that J4ffarsonCounty, Texas,

### where said Virgil Sounds was indictedandoonvloted, is not within the Gistriot presided ov4r by the dfetrfot oourt or Wal&er County.

Under the authorltlosher%inabovementioned, we am oi.

the opinion that while the jud54'ofthe distriot oourt of m.Ucer County had the right to grant the writ 

### 0r habeas ooxpus allpied ror by Vlr&fl Bounds, hB had no fU.dSd~GtiOnto try the matters prusentod thereby,and should have -de the writ returnab~o to JeffersonCounty.

In th%oase of Letoher,

### .et al v. Crandell, (Civ. App.j 44 33. 197, Crandsll sued Lstoher, the sheriffof Jones Couuty and the sumties on his of'iioinl bond for damages ror raise lqmleonment. Ths Qlaintllfwas being held by the sheriff on a tittlms rroa the justloe

### or the peaoe or Jones County Gn a rap% charge, issued by the said justice in ax&

eraminigg~trlal

wherein he had uaived an ekamination and was renaruled to the custody of the eherili without bail. Yubsequently, 

### a writ of habeas oorpuswas, upon plalntlff*e ap4ioation. issued by the oounty judge of Jones County and upon tho hearing of whloh the oounty Jud+ orderedhim disoherged~rrom **GUet&y.** The sherirr, denying the authority and $lrisdlotion **0r** the eo30tyy&tia$z4 

### or oounty oourt to diaahergeplalatlff,reamb hewasleaving the oourthoum. The sherfil jwtiiledthe arrest and~pr$.eonamn+. by the 033&U aommltmentor nittlninfs, oontendlngthat the order of the oounty judge dlsohargingplaintiffwas void, for want of jurlsdiotlon fo makssuoh order, lmtxuuoh as glnlntltrwas held under a oharlp of felony.

The oourt upheld the aheriSf*eoontestlonand held thnt under E\rtlole 5, Yeotion 16 of the Texas Conatltution, providingthat8 *The oounty court, or judge thereof, shall have power to issue

. . . writs or habens corpus In oases where the offense is with111 the jU?iSdiGtioG

ot th4 OOUnty GOUt, or any other court or tribunal inferior to snld oourt," the county judge htd no qow%r to dischargei%anqxxstody, Gn habeas Gor~uu, e ;losson 

### GhZSQ3d

with a oapltalfelony, aa ouch oo~rt hoe no jurisdiction to try I r6tlonles.

We qi+e fran the court'so$nion, a? pnge 197, 4s.follcmsI

*It would then a;tpear that .the

legiela~' tuy has not 8naOt%d that in SUGh n oaa4 ths oOunty judge should have jurlsdiotion, end
wu thereforeOODabAd8,In CR% absenoe

### 0r ~suoh leglslat.&mn,

that the jurlsdiotion of the oouaty judge **to** Issue the writ mat be.determined by the provisionof the oonetltutlon above quoted, andthnt the oounty jud&e In this oaao had no'pwer to dlsohargethe de-

. fendant iti

error and oonmquontly his order wa8 null and vol&, and, being void for want 3 power to legallymks it, the sheriff was3 not only justifiablein disr&gard~ ltS but It was hla duty to Co so. It would have been no more protectionto hl~ for mieatrlng the defendantin 4rror from oustody then If the **orCar,had** baen nade by a private Gitizlzsn. ThU iaCt that the 

### sheriff produoad th4 prisoner in response to the writ would m&e no ClXferenoe, s tlrs aot8 aouLd not ooafer jurisdiction, ihere wae is ~lven bu I. The undisputed s~ihnoe in this 0884 pr3& that the defendant ln.arrbrwas baia& h&M by th4 sheriff under a vaL/d uokaltmnt on a oharm of felony, and, apon the atznouncezent Of the oounty judgersdeoldlonClsohrtrglng him from custody, he was leaving the oourthouss, when the sheriff detainedhkn and r4tWL4d him to jell. True, ha dfd not 4xhIbft &la - mlttlauowhen his authority was demnded by defendantin error, but hetolC hi&l.?& effeat, that he oould not let him go on the O~rdW or the oounty judge. HO knew; than, that he had already been ocmmittedby the justloeof the p6aoe. aad the oau8e then&, and .he ams thsr4tore lntornmdon the aubjeot of MS rearrest.

. . .- (Underaoorln(f ogre)Vie are of the opl~ion, thafsi'ore, tW,t the order Of the diStriOt **COUd Of**  **‘ i:tdkEiT**  County dischnr@ng the said Virgil 3xmds was void. \

Khere anprisonersecures his libe?ty t>xough some IlLegal or void order It ie to be treated as an eaoape, and he oan be retaken and ctipellehto serve out hls seatahoe, even though,thei&m in wbioh the original ii&it-egos

shouldhave been served ha5 expired. Suah'prleoner May be rstaker~uudarthe mum prqoeasunder Qhlah yawa; o~:i&.nally comiitted. Letaher v.,Craudell,auprq

. . 9. 63?g HO~km3 Y. !?Orth,(=a.) '49 A. L. 8, m%

You are reepeotfullyadvised that ii la ~wleopinion of this departzient that, under the ikicts stated, the saidVl~&l Bounds, having seaured hia liberty frosi'the State Penitentiaryof Texas by virtue of a void order f+rom ths distrLct court of Yaalker County, ia fn the am6 position as it he had'esaaped,and aonse uentl;y,mqbe ret&en by the .peaitentiary authorltfesIn the Barn6 i3lanner
as in the aase of an escapedpz%oner, and acwelled to serve out.the balanae of hlsisentenceremainingunserved on the date of his release oa sold void order.
Very tmly yours