OFFICE OF l-NE ‘A~ORNE~GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

rablO%onor Qtarrimm, Jr. 

tmenli of Publio Safety 
eeld conviction, when judgment ha8 been deEsrrrd, ae provided under Seotlon 25 of 

H. B. no. 20., in order to eifsot the mepenelon of the dr$ver's li~eum.* 

MO. 7s of 

The applieablo statutory provlsione are ae follower 

Artlale 808, Pen&l Cods, ea amended by House Bill 

the Fortyd3eYonth Legislatar?, Regular Sessiont 

*Art101s 808. 

*Any paman who driver or operate8 an 

_ -- _ __ _ autor3oDlle or any otner motor vehlc15 upon 

any pubU0 road or highway ,Sn thlo State, or 

upon any atreet or alley wIthin the-limlte 

of aa fneorpor8ts4’ ofty, town or .vill~e, 

while suoh.pereon in intodoated or ruder the 

lnfluenoo of intoxbatlog liquor, ~&all be 

gtaty or 8 ~L~~~SUFIFQO~, 4~14 uppott c0nti0ti0n, 

ehall be pIUli8hed by confinemsnt in the 

county Jail ror nbt bsr than ten (10) days 

nor more than two (2) yeati, or by a fine 

of noti less thau rifty Dollan 

8s 

50) nor 

mtvm than Five EItttMrs4 Dollars 

both aueh rim attd impri~otiment.~ 

001, or.by 

Artlols 690, Code of Criminal Proasduro, a8 amended 

by lbtrr o? 1931, Forty-Second Legislature, Ch. 59, p. 59: 

*Al%. 6881 Yud#pllen* on rurdiot 

*On each~verillLrt of aoqulttal or oonvietion, thr proper judgment shall be antsred 

lmmllately. Xf aaquitted the defendant #hall 

be at one8 dlsoharged from all further llabflity~ 

upon the ahargo for nhloh he MS tried; provided 

..tbt, In mlebemeamor oases where there is returned a rerdiet, or a plea of guilty is entereb and the punlelrment assessed 14 by fine only, 

the Court may,, onwritten request of the dsienbant and ror good oautse shown, defer jridgmnt 

until fmne other day fired by order of 'the 

court; but in no event rhall.the judgment be 

deterred for a longer perioQ bf tilar than &2x 

(6) rmmth6. On erpiration ot the tima fifed by 

the order of the Court, the C,ourt or Sud& thereof, ahell enter Judment on the verdict QT plea 
hsiorable Bmisr Oar&son, Jr,, .Page 23 

and the aaxe shall be exesutbd as provided 

by Chapter 4, Title 9, of the Coda of Grimim&Froosdurs of the %ate or Temm. Pmvided tuxther, that the Gourt or Judge 

thereof, In the axeraIse of eound dlsoretion 

may pemlt the defendant tiere judgment is 

deferred, to remain at large on his own 

reoognhanoe, .or may require him to enter 

into bodd In a stug Ja@t lsast dauble the, 

aPl0u.a 0r the. a8ssas.~ tin0 and costs ~00~4 

dltfoned that t&s dshbant and sum&s, 

jointly and smverall$ will pay mob rine 

and owts unlesss the d~stahdant personelly 

appears on the day set la tha aider and’dlsoharges the jud@mnt in the.maaner provided 

by Chapter 4, Title 9 of the. Code of CrImfoal ~Procebure OS the State OS Tena8.r and. 

for the ssUore&rpsnt oi asg judgmsat entered, 

all wrIta, prot#ssses and ressdles of the Csde 

oS.Cri.mIml Procedure are .au& applicable 

.so far as necessary to aarrjr out the provieions of this Artiole.~ 

BeatIon t4 of Iiouso' Bill No,.80 (Thb DrIver*s 

troense Law), Forty-Ssventh fiegilatuxs, l@l( 

mo. 84. a&uetio suspension of Xioense. 

s(a) The licensa of any person shall 

be automatioally suspendob upon final oonoiation of any of the tollmIng ofrenaes8 

*. . . 

WE. Driving a motor 7ehIole while under 

the influenoe of intoxioating liquor or narootio 

_. dmissl 

*. . . 

w(b) The suspension abovs provided shall 

in the first ,Instams be for a JY3rIod of ‘six. 

{ 6 ) months. & event any llaense shall be BUBpen&Q under the provision of this Seatisnior 

a setjood time, seid eeo~na stUupel3d.O~ Shall be 

for a period of 0110 (1) year*” 
Donorable Homer Cerrison, Jr., Page 4 

section 88, Ibid..t 

Y3ec. 25. Khen court to report convictions. 

*(a) liil;enever any person Is oonvicted of 

ang oftehfm ror uhiah this, Aot makes automtlo 

the suapdnaion ot the operator’s, osmasroial 

operetor’s, or .chauifeur’s lloense of auoh 

person,, the court ‘in whii~h such oonvlotlon Is 

had shall require the surrender to It ,of all 

opereitors’~~ comuerolel operatora*, end ohauffeura’ lloesses then held by the peraon,so 

oonvloted and the glerk o$ said oourt shall 

-thereupon forward the same together with CL 

reooml of such oonviotion to the DepartTent, 

v&din ten (lo) days rrom the dqte o$ o~vio- 

. 

ì. l . 

. . 

wto) For the purpose of this Act, the 

term ‘conviotion’* shall mean a tinax cantiction. ~I.sb, $or ~ the p urpq e. of this Ac t, a 

$orfeiture of bail or ooll~teral deposit& 

to s’eoure a dsfemImnt8s appearan0.e in court, 

which rorrdtum bfi nPt been -8tkd43a. shall 

be e~tivalsnt to a .oonviotlon. 

Vrovided, however, that in ease or eonvlotion for any OS the offensss enumerated In 

paragreph (a) ol Seotion 84 of .thi8 Aot, aha 

the sentenoe OS ‘the oourt having b+sn’ SUIB~ 

pentled as provided In the statutes,. suah mu-. 

pended sentenoe shall not mitigate against 

the mepension of the operatorv.s, oommerolal 

, oaerator’a, or ahaurreur’a lloehee or the 

person convidi3d.n 

In anmering your qtumtion wee nrust determlne 

Whether the WoonviotioP referred to in Al’t1cJ.e $98, .C. CT 

aupa, 1s a final one tithin the zaednihg .ot subseotions, (6) 

P., 

an4 (0) of the Driver’s Uosnse Law,- supro, *hen j,udgm3ntcx 

ia %3ferpP6dw as prov%aea, 
3t23 

Xn our opinion So. OW482, approved July 17, 

194l, the le ;islative history of’the 1921 anendmnt to 

Artid 698, C. C. P., was dieouesed. It was there said: 

T?rlor to the amnbnent ot Artiols 690 

in 1931, said Article raqtirea that the proper judgment ‘be entered immediately.* In a 

oa8e such aa 

where the D IJ 

resented by the Bets submitted, 

sbnent vma merely a fine. the 

deiendant,‘undet Artioles 785 and 7iC3,*sither 

had to nake Lmmedlate payment of the tine and 

oasts. or bateuffi 

olaoed in Jail %!aediafel~ for a 

6ient Ian&h of time to aleoharne the 

full mount OS-fine and caste at the-rate or 

fx5.00 psr atiy. In counties where there was 

no *workbouse,v ‘oounty farm’ or vpubllo improvemsnt of the county,’ the various oouutles 

were burdened with the expenee of keep5hg end 

ireding such prleoner until he had &aye4 in 

jail for the number oi day? required to Qisohares the fine and costs at the rate meation0a. 

The imexgenoy olasusq of the Aat eaea&ing 

Artlole 096 of the Code of Crimlrral Broeeauxs 

(42nd I.eg.it!laturs. page 59, Qhagter 29, Seotion 

**Bee. 2. The faot that there .is no 

p~ovlsion oi the law whereby a person 

<y 02 misdemeanor, and whose punishsent hae been assesmd by iina only, may 

have an opportunity to pay the aam ahd 

that the areeent law work8 a hard&& on 

many oounties or the *tatej oreates an 

amergmcy, . . .’ ( Vnde2soaring ouxy 1 

*It is our opinion, therefore, that tbo teg;in- ,~ .i 

’ lature’lntended lntended by said emendxmnt emendxmnt to give the r 

oourt authority authority to give the defendant defendant an opportunity to raise the money and pay the fine and 

ooete ii the oourt in its disOxetlOn disOxetlOn saw fit to 

do 80 ton written requmt of the deIendanb and 

for good cause shown.* Said a%endment #hot&d, 

thererore, be 80 oonstrusd,atv to ;>vs it the ; 

efieat intended by the Legirrlature. 
DonOrable Honk rarrlson, or., Page 6 

Tb are of the cpinlcn that, the mere faot 

that the juC,pCnt was peepared and signed by 

the county judge, would not of itself preclude 

the judee from matting aside the juQmsnt and 

aocoptine the defendant'0 bond and entering an 

order deferring the judgment for any period 

not to exoeed sir mont:ia, prov-ided the defendant makes his re:ueat and showsproper oause 

before the judginent has bP6m executed and before the end of the term. It is a general rlzle 

that .a judgment may be set aside at any time 

before the end of the term et rrhioh it was 

rendered, either upon the court*8 own motion 

or motion of a party. 25 Tax. Jur. p. 546. 

Ehether 'good cause' is shown is within the 

court's diesretion. . . ." 

Thus we 968 that the judgment 18 treated as a final 

jud&nerct in the aenee that applZoation for deferment must be 

made before the end of the term at pmlch.thr! convlotion"waa 

obtained. X6 likewise Bee that the objbot of the amendment, 

was to enable the oonviat and to reduob the 

hardfghlp on the oouutiee expense or fedhg 

nriaonera unable to oav finee. The 4lDDliOatiOi.i or Artiole 

698~~baa nothing .to~ 6: ,;tfth the guilt & illllOO@Jn!38 ot the 

aooused~ it Is merely a means prbridad by 

branoh of our government to enable 

earn the mosey to pay the fine and 

In so far a8 the operation of the Driver's License 

Iaw it3 oonoerned, it is our o.plnioa that a conrlot~on is a 

"final osnviotion" within ite terma; even though judgment 

be deferred in accordanoe with the provislone of Article 698, 

c. c. P., eupra. 

In view of the foregoing, you are respectfully advised that in the opinion or this department the court should 

require the surrender to it of all operator'LI* oolmaercial 

and ohauffeurs* licenses then held by the pereon 

c"~$%'kmnediai+ely upon the Operation of the verdiot 

of guilty of a jury, or the pronounceslent of the court 

whore a jury la waived. By this we mtw when the judgment 

becomee % *final* one in the s~tn8e that it map not be appealed Or set aside by the granting of a new trial. In 
Bonorable Homer Garrieon, Jr., kage 7 

the event of 50 appeal the judgment is vinai- upon erpiration of the term of the oourt et whRhich the trial is held; 

if.tippealed, upon the issuance of the nandate of the e?pellate court. See Article8 826, 850, 851, Code of Criminal 

proaedured 

Yours very truly 

AWQRNEY GEU%4L CF 'EXAS 

Benjamin iyoodall 

ABriutant