R-74



### THE TEXAS

AUSTIN na.TEXAS

Hon. W.A. Morri 8011 CountyAttorney Milam County Cameron, Texas Op5.nion No. V-83 Re: Mileage ieea due oonstable within the meaning DearMr. Morrison: of Artiole 1065, C.C.P.

Your request for an opinion or this Department r8aatti lIIffoii0~~:

Wilam County maintains no suitable lock-up in one of its precincts removed from the county seat. The constable of this precinct frequently arrests intoxicated persons obviously in no conilitfon to pleaa to a charge before amagistrate, and conveys themto the county deat‘for incarceration overnight in the Jail.

“The following morning the conatable returns to the county seat andreturns his prisoners to the magistrate nearest their plaoe or arrest for pleading, as required by law. Uponoonviction, those who are unable to pay the fine are re-transported back to the oounty seat for confinement.

“Sec. 4, Art, 1029, provides in pa&, as r0u0w8: *For removing or' conveying prisone,rs, for raoh nils going andcoming

. . . traveling otherwise than byrailroad fourteen centa.t *Q,uestfon: Is the constable entitled to 14# per mile for each OSthe three possible trips outlined aboveV Weare inrormsd that the county officers of Milam County are ona salary basis andthat precinct officers are compensated on a fee basis.Hon. W.A. Morrisoa - Page 2 (V-83)

Inasmuch as this Department, in Opinion No.

__ O-2341, dated Uay20, 1940, 

### raleamat 

### a cohatable may not arrest, without a warrant, for the offense of being drunk in apublio place, your request mustbe predltid oa the assumptloh that the officer in question was in possession or avalid warrant of arrest.

Therees a11euea pea00 srtlcers in nisaeeeanor oases are set rorth in Artisle 1065, 

### C.C.P. Se&Ion 9 thereor provides as follows:

“For emaveying aprisoner attor oonviotiea to the county jail, for each ai10 goiag and coming, by the nearest praatioal mute by private oonveym~e, ten aents 

### a fsie6r by railway seven and one-half oents

.” Sectioa 11 thereor provides 

### aafollows: ’“For eaeh tile he maybe coapelled to tram1 in executing criminal process ana muemoaingor attaching witness, seven md oae-half oeats. For traveling in the se+’ vioe of prooess not otherwise provided ror, the sumof seven ana cm-half cents for each mile goihg and returning. If .two or more peieens 

### arementioned in the samewrit, or two or morewrits in the samecase, he shall oharge otiy for the distance actually 

### and heeersarily traveled ia the aame.e Therefore, it is the opinioa of this Department that prior to convictioa, the constable would be entftled to seven and one-half cent8 per mile ror conveyisg the prisoner in qUe8tioh to the county eaat of Milan County or vice versa. Of course, if he baa howarrant for the arrest of the prisoner, he is not entitled to any fee for conveying the prisoner to jail or for returning himto the Court for trial or making bond. After convletloa, the conetable weuld be entitled to tan cents per mile whentraveling **by** private conveyanoe and seven and one-half centn per ml.10whentraveling by rail from the justlee preolart to the county jail l f the county seat. Imopiaiea’ No. 919, aatea July 13, 1939 the 8amesub

joot matter was

### ais0us80a, a copy of which is herewith l

nalosed for your information.Hon. Vf.A. MorTison - Page 3 (v-85)

1. Aconstable of ajustice precinct in which there is no suitable lock-up, who, having in hisspossession avalid warrant, arrests anaccused on a charge of drunkenness in a public place, andwho, because OS drunkenness is removed to the county jail until he becomes sober and is then,conveyed back to the Court in which charged, is entitled, upon final conviotlon, to seven and one-half (7&) cents per mile for each ml18 golag~and coming bythe nearest praotioal route, for conveying the prisoner to jail andreturning himto Court. Section 11, A.+ tic18 1065, C.C.P. 2. For conveying the prisoner to jail, after conviction, the constable is entitled to ten (log) cents per mile going and coming if he travels b private conveyance, or seven and one-half (7 #) cents per mile if hetrav-

i 81s by public conveyance. Section 9, Article 1065, C.C.P* 3. IS compensated on a salary basis, Sees earned by a constable for travel must be aeposltea in the Officers1 Salary Fundof said county. IS colnpensated on a See baais, such Sees maybe retained, but must be aocounted for in conformity with law. Yours very truly ATTORNFIY

GEWRALOFTEXAS

Burnell Waldrep riw:ajm:wb Assistant Znclosure