27’8 

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Eonorable ?. t. Sksair 

county hld1tor 

;rilbari[w County 

Vernon, Texar 

nner a l80 a resld*nt citizen 

, narried the daughter or Mr. 

,~ .- 

b0t8 raotr, puoted in iu3.l rr0r your lottsr, you 

request our opinion upon the rollowlng qn*atlont 

What la the relationsblp of f&r. Bysrs and - 

I&. Skinner, either by atrinity oroonsanguinity, 

md would the relation8hlp, it anr prohibit the 

City or Vernon, Trxas, from amplo&g Mr. Skiiifksr 

in any oq7qolty?' 
279 

Zoonorable ?. L. L!asaIe, page 2 

Artlole 432, oi the Penal Co30, protldea a8 rollows: 

*SO ofrioer or thla Sate or an7 orrloor or uy 

dietriot, oounty, oity, preolnot, aohool dlatrlot, 

or other mnlolpal 8ubUtlaloa~or thla State, or-any - 

orrloer or nembor oi any 3tate dlatrlot, oounty, olty, 

oohool dietriot or other oaunio~pal board, or judip or 

any oourt, oreated by or under authority ot any geaoral or apeolal~law of thfa State, or any mambcr oi 

the Leglalature, ahall appoint, or vote for, or eonfin, the appolntnxent to any 0rriO6, poaltlon olerkahip, employment or duty of any person roleted within 

the aroad degree by aifkty or wlthln the third 

degree ot conaanguinlty to the person 80 appointing 

or ao~totlng, or to any other sestw of any l uoh 

board, the Legislature, or oourt of whioh auoh peraoa ao l ppointln6 or voting zmy be a maber, when the 

salary, feea, or oonpenaatlon of auoh appointee la to 

be pda ror, directly or Indirectly, out 0r or rrm 

pub110 fuada or roe8 or offlce of any kind or ohsraotar uhataoeter.g 

St la apparent rrotl the foregoing artiole that the City or 

Vernoa oould not employ any one related to a Xeber of the City 

Comiaalon within the aeaond degree by afiinlty or within the 

third degree by oonaan&ulnlty. 

Collat4ral oonaangahltf 1~ the relotloaahlp eriating between peraona who doao4nU from t&a aama oopmbo~~ anoeator but not 

rrom l a o h other. Lineal ooaaangulnity la the relationahlp exlatirq$ betweea peraoaa When one la deaoendtd rrom the other. In 

ooaiputlng the d4g464 0r llnral ooasangulnlty exlatinq betueea 

two persona 4tery generation in the dlr4ot oourse of r4lstlonahlp m&es a deizreo. The mthod ot oomputlng oollatcral oocsangtinity la to &laooTer the oommon l noeator, to begin 4th hln 

and rrokoa downwar& and the drsreea the two p4raona or the 

resotr or then la distant rrom the anoeator la the bsgr44 af 

zore 

kindred aubaiating between than.. Thus, brother8 are related to 

eaeh other in th4 flrat degree bsoauae iron the father aaoh one 

or them la on4 deBfee. An unole axA n4phew ar4 related to e&oh 

other in the aeoond degree beoausa the Mphcu 10 two -468 dlatent from the ooimon anaeetor and the ~014 la extend46 to the 

maotest de&reo of oollatcral relatlonahlp. Tyler Ta it. R. Conpc.ny and Douglaos v. Ov4rton, 1 Tax. Ct. App., page 2 B 8. 
, 

Lionorable 1. L. Zaaale, pag4 3 

Degrees of affinity nre oonputed in the same mimer as 

those ot oonaanguInlty, thus r414tIv4a af the 81114 stand at 

ths ame degree oi arilnlty to th4 h:Aaba:d as t:ey are related to the wife by oonaan.&nlty. Kelly t. Neely, 12 .sk. 

657, 56 Am. Deo. 288; 2 C. J. 379; 2 C. f. Seouadum 992. 

Tk4 Court of Crknlnal Appeals oi Texas oltea the o&se of 

telly v. I:44ly, aupra, with approval in its opinion in the 

oaae 0r strlngZellou T. Etht4, 61 S. 3. 719 In whloh lt held 

in dr6Ot that by marriaEo thr 3811 places hfaaelf in the same 

degree of proplnguity to all the ralstlrea oi his wita eIth4r 

by affinity or oonaangulnity as aho aotually stands tomrd 

them. 

Thla la not the rule In thr najorlty of jurladlctlona 

and la not.the rule ln Texas In air11 o444a. See Sohultze 

t. XaLeary,'ll S. 'iV. 924, acd Seabrook, et al t. ?lrst Xatlonal 

sank of ?ort Lavaoa, 171 3. 3. 247. Eow4ver, .ztlole 432, Penal 

Coda, la a orls.inal statate and 314 are constrained to adopt the 

oonatruatlon plaoed u?on it by our Court of Crl~nal Aypetia. 

. 

This department in its OplnIon 30. O-2225 a oopy oi rhloh 

la attaohsd hereto, has adopted the aonatruotion ot.the Court 

oi Crlmlnal Appeals in the Strlngrellow oase, augra, and has 

oterrulsd prerloua oplnlona follorlnil tht rule prerclillng in 

01~11 ma48 end In the majority of other jurlsdiotlona. 

ihder the criterion set forth above, ve rind thnt the OOPxon aEoostor oi ia. Bycra' wire end !ir. SkInner*a wife ran 

either the rather or aother oi.!Sra. 3ypera. It Is lmmaterl4l 

that sXra. Byera la only th4 hali~alatcr of Xra. Sklnner*a 

rather. Zurthsr, under the IWlO, one common anoeator la Ouirlolent . See our Oplnlon So. O-791 attaahed hereto. C0lllhg 

dmmmi, we rind that two degrees aeparata the annoator cf 

tire. Byora frpm We. %.lnner, hence, ‘&a. Byem* is extended 

to the dog44 or relatlonahIp being wst rexot4 troa the COW 

non ancestor, and la related to *tie. Skinner In the moon4 

&agree. !.Ir. 3yere and '3. Sklnncr, under the rule, are in 

the aam proplnqultp to etch other by aitlnlty as their wlrcia 

are by oonarngulnlty and are henae related in the second 40~64. 

3slng relzteb ln the sooond degree by efflnlty, the prorl- 
i‘ .- -’ ‘283. ’ 

H~Aorable F. i.. I:asrir, pa30 4 

crlonr of krtlole 432, Penal Code, would 2rohlblt the City 

of Vernon troll snployi~ 'a. ;irbmer a8 long 68 'a. Byorr 

is on the City Co~ssloa. 

iXGl3P 

C'CLOS"JRE3