E ORNEY GENERAL 

F EXAS 

Honorable George A. Day Opinion No. ~~-1089 

County Attorney 

Brown County Re: Whether a person who violates 

Brownwood, Texas Article 666-25b, V..P.C., by 

having in his possession any 

intoxicating beverages may 

Dear Sir: be arrested without a warrant 

Your letter of June 5, 1961, requests an opinion of this 

Deoartment on the 'above subject. The pertinent part of the letter 

is-quoted as follows: 

trol Act" 

seq. 

"My question is one concerning Article 666-25b 

of the Penal Code of Texas set out in Vernon's 

Statutes. Such article provides that it shall be 

unlawful for any person or personsto bring or carry 

into any enclosure, field, or stadium, where athletic events, sponsored or participated in by the 

public schools of this State, are being held, any 

intoxicating beverage or to have any intoxicating 

beverage in his possession while in or on said enclosures, field or stadium. Section Two of that 

article provides that any officer of this State seeing any~person or persons violating the terms of the 

above Section, that officer shall immediately seize 

such intoxicating beverage and shall within a reasonable time thereafter deliver same to the County or 

District Attorney who shall hold the same as evidence 

until the trial of the accused party and shall thereafter dispose of the same. Section Three provides 

for the penalty. 

"My question is as follows: May an officer seizing 

the.intoxicating beverage under the conditions described above also make an arrest of the person who is 

in possession of the same on the spot without a warrant." 

Chapter 8, Title 11, V.P.C., is cited as the "Texas Liquor Conand embraces Articles 666-l et. seq. through Article 667-1 et. 

Article 666-2, v.P.c., provides as follows: 

"This entire Act shall be deemed an exercise of the 
Hon. George A. Day, Page 2 (WW-1089) 

police power of the State for the protection of the 

welfare', h&&h, peace, temperance, and safety of the 

pm and all its provisions shall be 

liberally construed for the accomplishment of that 

purpose." Acts 44th Leg., 2nd C.S. 1935, ch. 467, 

p. 1795.~ (Emphasis added.) 

Article 666-25b, V.P.C., the subject act of this inquiry reads 

as follows: 

"Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person 

or persons to bring or carry into any enclosure, field 

or stadium, where athletic events, sponsored or participated in by the public schools of this State, are 

being held, any intoxicating beverage or to have any 

intoxicating beverage in his possession while in or 

on said enclosure, field or stadium. 

"Sec. 2. Provided that if any officer of this 

State sees any person or persons violating the terms 

of Section 1 of this Act, he shall immediately seize 

such intoxicating beverage and shall within a reasonable time thereafter deliver same to the County or 

District Attorney who shall hold same as evidence 

until the trial of the accused party and shallthereafter dispose of same. 

"Sec. 3. Any person or persons violating the provisions of this Act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor 

and upon conviction shall be fined any sum not less 

than Twenty-five ($25) Dollars and not more than Two 

Hundred ($200) Dollars. . ." 

Definitions as used in the chapter are set out in Article 666- 

3a, Sec. (4) thereof providing, in part, the following: 

"'Illicit Beverage' shall mean and refer to any 

alcoholic beverage. . . possessed, . . D in violation 

of this Act, . . .; and any alcoholic beverage possessed, kept, . . . owned . . . in violation of the 

provisions of this Act." 

"Illicit" as applied above is given its usual and ordinary meaning in the.following definition from 20 Words and Phrases 93: 

"'Illicit' means not permitted or allowed; improper; 

unlawful. Kennedy Y. State, 200 S.W.2d 400, 407, 150 

Tex.Cr.R. 215. . .It 
- - 

Hon. George A. Day? Page 3 (w-1089) 

upheld the."illicit beverag 

In Wyble'v.'a, 147 S.W.2d 243 (Tex.Crim. 1940), the court 

:e" provisions and the means of enforcing it, 

citing Article 666-3t1 and Article 666-42 V.P.C., and stated that passession of any "illicit beverage" is punishable by a proper section of 

the Texas Liquor Control'Act. 

Article 666-31 makes it the duty of all peace officers of this 

State, including city, county and state, to enforce all provisions of 

this Act and provides that whenever any officer shall arrest any person 

for violation of any provisions of this Act he shall take into his POSsession all illicit beverages which the person so arrested has in his 

possession. 

Article 666-42 provides for seizures, etc.: 

"All illicit beverages as defined by this Act . . . 

may.be seized with or without a warrant by . e . any 

peace officer and any person found in possession . . . 

thereof may be arrested without a warrant." (Emphasis 

added. ) 

Article 666-25b is more specific in defining the crime of possession of illicit beverages in enclosures, field or stadium participated 

in by schools. Further it provides for the seizure by an officer of the 

beverage in possession of the accused. The act also, in Section 3 thereof, provides its own penalty, a misdemeanor with a fine of not less than 

Twenty-five ($25) Dollars and not more than Two Hundred ($200) Dollars. 

We construe this~Act to be cumtilative of all other articles and sections 

in the Texas Liquor Control Act and as being a specific pronouncement of 

an unlawful activity for which the accused may be arrested without a 

warrant. 

We are mindful of the provisions of Article 37, Article 212, 

Articls 213 and Article 214, V.C.C.P., but they do not conflict with the 

special provisions of the Texas Liquor Control Act. The last sentence in 

Article 37, relating to duties and powers of peace officers, is quoted as 

follows: 

"He shall arrest offenders without warrant in every 

case where he is authorized by law, 

may be taken before 

be tried." (Emphasis added:) 

in order that they 

proper magistrate or court and 

Article 214, V.C.C.P., authorizes municipal authorities of towns 

and cities to establish rules authorizing certain arrests without a warrant. 

Included are those apprehended who are about to commit some offense against 

the laws. Many cities have adopted ordinances which provide for the authority granted. Fora discussion of this iule see Woods v. State, 46 S.W. 

2d 704 (Tex.Crim. 1932). 
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Hon. George A. Day, Page 4 (~-1089) 

The special enactment for the enforcement of the liquor laws, 

being designed for a particular purpose, supersedes the general laws in 

conflict. 

We therefore are of the opinion that Article 666~25b, V.P.C., 

may be enforced in accordance with the authority granted in Chapter 8, 

V.P.C., and that a person accused of violation of the provisions thereof, by being in possession of any intoxicating beverage in the prohibited 

area, may be arrested without warrant. 

SUMMARY 

Persons accused of the violation of Article 666- 

25b, V.P.C., by being in possession of any intoxicating beverage in or on the prohibited area may be arrested 

without warrant. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

HT/br 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMTlTEE 

W. V. Geppert,,Chairman 

John Reeves 

John Leonarz 

Linward Shivers 

REVIEWEDFORTHEATJ!ORNEY GFNEHAL 

By:~ Morgan Nesbitt 

-” 

Harris Toler 

Assistant Attorney General