1 , 

March 30, 1970 

Mr’. Wiley L. Cheatham Opinion HO. hf- 603 

District Attorney 

24th Judicial District Re: Authority of a 

Cuero, Texas 77954 Justice of the 

Peace to hold court 

Dear Mr. Cheatham: on Sunday. 

By letter of recent date you have Inquired: “May a 

Justice of the Peace accept a plea of guilty, render a judgment, or execute other official duties on Sunday?’ 

In our opinion a Justice of the Peace may hold court on 

Sunday for the purpose of trying criminal cases, and may on 

Sunday enter judgment and sentence and collect fines in such 

criminal cases. 

Article V, Section 19, Constitution of the State of 

Texas, relating to Justices of the Peace, includes the following: “And they shall hold their courts at such times and 

places as may be provided by law.” (Emphaeisd.) 

In our opinion the applicable law, enacted pursuant to 

the quoted constitutional provision, is found in Article 

4.15, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, enacted in 1965. 

That article provides in the first sentence that “Justice 

courts and corporation courts may sit at any time to try 

criminal cases over which they have jurisdiction.” (E - 

phasis added.) The remainder of the article relates tt the 

rules of evidence to be followed where a fine may be assessed. 

Before the 1965 revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure 

the first sentence of the new Article 4.15, as quoted above, 

comprised Article 63, Code of Criminal Procedure. 

Relevant to this discussion is the provision in Article 

2351, Vernon’s Civil Statutes, to the effect that the commissioners court shall “fix the times and places of holding 

justices court -” 

In our opinion Article 2351 is controlling with regard 

to the duty of the commissioners court to fix the place of 

holding justices court and the time for holding justices 

court for civil proceedings. We hold, however, that Article 

4.15, a specific statute expressly directed to the trying of 

criminal cases of a misdemeanor nature, is clear and unambiguous and constitutes express authority for the Justice of the 

Pease to try such cases at any time, including Sunday. 

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Mr. Wiley L Cheatham, page 2, (~-603) 

You have cited Price v. State, 157 Grim. Rep. 625, 

2:g7;.W.2d 167 (1952); Shearman v. State, 1 Crim. Rep. 215 

; Brown v. State, 32 Grim. Rep. 119, 22 S.W. 596 

for the holding that “the court has noauthority 

to render a judgment on Sunday, and that a judument entered 

of recorf on that day is not only erroneous; b;t is absoluteSee also in this connection blcKinney v. State 8 

gxfliidp: 626 ,( 1880) ; Walker v s State, 1-33~) * 

Powers v. State, 23 Tex.App. 42 5 S.W. 15~(C%t if Appeal;, 

MU,‘); and Guerrera v. State, 125 S.W.2d 595, 596 (Court of 

Criminal Appeals, 1939). 

We are of the opinion that these cases ado not create a 

conflict with our holding in this opinion, since each of 

these cases dealt with a felony case in district court. 

Their holdings are not directly applicable to misdemeanor 

prosecutions in the Justice or Corporation Courts. Furthermore, the Price and Shearman cases, as well as the Guerrera 

case, each- that a judgment could not be entered on 

Sunday absent a permissive statute. It is in Article 4.15, 

and before that in Article b3, that the Leaislature has nrovided by law, pursuant to Article V, Se&i& 19, Constitution of Texas, the requisite permissive statute where the 

proceeding is a misdemeanor prosecution in a Justice Court. 

SUMMARY 

A Justice of the Peace may hold 

court on Sunday for the purpose 

of trying criminal cases, and may 

on Sunday enter judgments and 

sentences and collect fines in 

such criminal cases pursuant to 

Article 4.15, Texas Code of Criminal 

Pr’ocedure e 

Ved truly yourgi, 

6 RTIR 

y General of Texas 

Prepared by James S. Swearingen 

Assistant Attorney General 

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Mr. Wiley L. Cheatham, Page 3, (M-603) 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, ACting Co-Chairman 

Charles R Parrett 

Glenn Brown 

Gordon Cass 

Vinck Taylor 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

ALFREDWALKER 

Executive Assistant 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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