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## ORNEY GENERAL F EXAS

Honorable GeorgeA. Day OpinionNo. ~~-1089 CountyAttorney Brown County Re: Whether a person who violates Brownwood,Texas Article 666-25b, V..P.C., by having in his possessionany intoxicatingbeveragesmay Dear Sir: be arrestedwithout a warrant

Your letter of June 5, 1961, requests an opinion of this Deoartment on the 'abovesubject. The pertinentpart of the letter is-quotedas follows:

trol Act" seq. "My question is one concerningArticle 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, sponsoredor participated in by the public schools of this State, are being held, any intoxicatingbeverage or to have any intoxicating beverage in his possessionwhile in or on said enclosures, field or stadium. SectionTwo 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 intoxicatingbeverage and shallwithin a reasonable time thereafter deliver same to the County or DistrictAttorney who shall hold the same as evidence until the trial of the accused party and shall thereafter dispose of the same. SectionThree provides for the penalty. "My question is as follows: May an officer seizing the.intoxicatingbeverage under the conditions describedabove 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 "TexasLiquor Conand embracesArticles 666-l et. seq. throughArticle 667-1 et.
Article 666-2, v.P.c., provides as follows: "This entireAct shall be deemed an exercise of theHon. GeorgeA. 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 accomplishmentof that purpose." Acts 44th Leg., 2nd C.S. 1935, ch. 467, p. 1795.~ (Emphasisadded.) Article 666-25b, V.P.C., the subjectact of this inquiry reads as follows: "Section 1. It shallbe 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 intoxicatingbeverage or to have any intoxicatingbeverage in his possessionwhile 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 intoxicatingbeverage and shallwithin a reasonable time thereafter deliver same to the County or DistrictAttorney who shallhold same as evidence until the trial of the accusedparty 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. . ." Definitionsas used in the chapterare set out inArticle 666- 3a, Sec. (4) thereof providing, in part, the following:

"'IllicitBeverage' shallmean and refer to any alcoholicbeverage. . .possessed, . . D in violation of this Act, . . .; and any alcoholicbeverage possessed, kept, . . . owned . . . in violation of the provisions of this Act." "Illicit"as applied above is given its usual and ordinarymeaning in the.followingdefinition 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. GeorgeA. Day? Page 3 (w-1089)

upheld the."illicitbeverag

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

:e"provisionsand the means of enforcing it, citingArticle 666-3t1 and Article 666-42V.P.C., and stated that passession of any "illicitbeverage" is punishableby a proper section of the Texas Liquor Control'Act.

Article 666-31makes 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 POSsessionall illicitbeverageswhich the person so arrested has in his possession.

Article 666-42 provides for seizures,etc.: "All illicitbeverages as definedby this Act . . . may.be seizedwith or without a warrant by . e .any peace officer and any person found in possession . . . thereof may be arrestedwithout a warrant." (Emphasis added.) Article 666-25b is more specific in defining the crime of possession of illicitbeverages in enclosures, field or stadiumparticipated in by schools. Further it provides for the seizureby an officer of the beverage in possession of the accused. The act also, in Section 3 thereof, provides its own penalty, a misdemeanorwith 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 ControlAct and as being a specificpronouncement of an unlawful activity for which the accusedmay 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 conflictwith the specialprovisions of the Texas Liquor ControlAct. The last sentence in Article 37, relating to duties and powers of peace officers, is quoted as follows: "He shallarrest offenderswithout warrant in every

case where he is authorized by law, may be taken before be tried." (Emphasisadded:) in order that they proper magistrate or court and

Article 214,V.C.C.P., authorizesmunicipal authorities of towns and cities to establish rules authorizing certain arrestswithout a warrant. Included are those apprehendedwho are about to commit some offense against the laws. Many citieshave adopted ordinanceswhich provide for the authority granted. Fora discussionof this iule seeWoods v. State, 46 S.W. 2d 704 (Tex.Crim. 1932).- -

Hon. GeorgeA. Day, Page 4 (~-1089)

The special enactment for the enforcementof the liquor laws, being designed for a particularpurpose, supersedesthe general laws in conflict.We therefore are of the opinion that Article 666~25b, V.P.C., may be enforced in accordancewith 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 intoxicatingbeverage in the prohibited area, may be arrestedwithout 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 AssistantAttorney General