### April 3, 1949

mmolrblo s. J. 18aaoka Qhalnmn, 

### luaiaIal

mmdtteo, Boueo of Repromntatlvos AWtiB, 

### Taxaa Doar Sirr Opinion lfo. v-129 

### I&r Oonstltmtlonnlity OS H. B.SS8,sotBLe&irlwmo,rolatire to dellnquemt

mm&r.

Your 

### reqwatfor UI opinion upon 

### the abeve 

### aubjeatmatterIs na follkmw~:

"I 

### am haraith en01001 **bOlta@ known**  

### as **lbluo** 

### Bill 52 aeepyofeblll, ,

, with rorr 100111- 

### ants whloh ha8 to do with beSUing dellnqeu&t par&~ pr8tIdIng 

### that dellawent mxentm are gailty 

### oi misdomsanor and 

### gre8orIbIag

a pawlOx. A qwstieloa

ba been raised

a8 to the oma%l$atlonallty

OS thie pro oood loglslatlon. Aa ohairman of t& a410 L m Comitt.0, it ha8 wan 

### oatedthst 

### X nfor this 

### bill to :3&m m to its eonutleutIoMlIh~. you for an

*It 

### O~QM to thewriter that 

### tho bill u submIt.te&



### ia a llttlo 

### bit l+wely'dra*mIn at- in: t-cllrpting 

### to dof,itns

a admIti offemo. You dll noto that It say@1 'whofall8or odte to l

### xord~~dyso~le &IUgonao In tha oontxel of roah It oeoum to tho writerthat the tlon k *reasowblo dIllgoaoo*when a 

### ma0x3

### JMl ofionse or penalty 

### la soughtto be defineds&&l4 bo a llttlo 

### am?e o%plIeIt. It itwther pratidoa? * * * wh o f all s or om it s t o l xeroluo nasoaable dlll~otepxwent ouoh 

### ohild fromboeosiagdoliaquent in morals or integrlt~ are guilty of 

### jmonlle delinquonaj.Honorable :i. J. 18Sr;OkS - tage 2

*Aa to thla quotation we bollevc that tho 0fra00 ia not suirieim3tiy doflccd and 31cdoecrtaln. It furthorpmvldcc * *** end nb~ ahcll wllfullypennIt auoh ehlld 

### to csaeoletc 

### with vloIouc or lmmrcl perconc or pcrconcwho aro erimlaclc .* It cppeerc to uc that 

### thla olcuco 

### wouldnoooaaltcto

a doflnltlon

of *vlaic+uc

or 

### lmorrl QOIUOM* with rruoh oortclctythct the person ohcrgoQ would know who rloiocc and l&moral ponona am. He thfak IIU'ther that those *orha are orImlmla*, - tkct ft should acrtalnl~say:

‘who w penaita such ohlld Tao assooisto with v o out or imicorsl persona or personswho are orlmkuclo.~
"Thr bill fcxtherpr~ldoc: 1 t 0 0 or 

### pornitcuoh ohlld to wcndcr'thoctrcotc in Idloma8 or to boeoma c bcbltccl tmcct fromaahoel.* It eoourc to ua that lf 

### suoh olauce la cuftlolintlg oe~clc, waioh we hcrdly bclfsve It ifi, It oorS aI.ul y

l hedia prorido that the parout should 'kuowI~&' pormlt the ohlld to da these t;hI?~m.~
Wo bavo oerofullyoxomlmodHoaco Bill So. 5X3 whloh aooorpaalsd

your roqtmct - Bltlo end body. Tho title to 

### the Bill la good, end oomondably ahoti. Wo find no ?ault wI8h It. Nor IO there au]r.ooaatItutloncl or atctctorJI

viac in tho boar or tkc Bill.

Wo thoak you ror your odtlocl cncl~lo of tits all1 aa to its legs1 coftioleney. ft hcc beet helpful to ca. Eewever, tho points as to phrcclng sup&pctod by fi~a e to 

### tha merltc of tkc El11 rather thn ot Its 

### valldlty. Ta othor wotic, lt 

### la moroly a qucctlon of the sccl lntcntloaof tin Le&alcturc co to what they want to srko cc offeace, l.o., whother thef wect t or the parent an ot?ence;~ortho erd to pmpcr ccfcgucrdlngof the ohlld,

with Oorpas Jurlc Seouudum, Vol. 88, Seatlon'SO,doallng tho tl%le CRIMSNeL LA%, b8 thla to oaf: "By 

### the espross

tOn!iC of a statutegullfy knowlodgo la cwotiaac amQe an eacenflal j.ngredlontof the effetice, ac whcro it 

### reqnlma the cot to bo lono .*kn~wl~&y’ , do. bn tb 

### otherhand, tho Logiolaturo may torbld the doing or er the failure to do en sat and **make** its oomcIcclonor omlsslo,n arlml~a1without regard to the intent or knowlodqo

### or the door, and If auoh lexlalativeintentionsppeexs the oourtc met dive ft. erreot, mnd in suoh oasec,Honorable S. J. Isaaoks - Page 3

ths dolng of the lnhlbltedmot oonstltatas the orlme, and the moral turpitude or parity of fhs motive by whloh lt was pronpted,and knowledge or l~oranoe of lta orlmlnel ohazaoter, are lmnmterlal olrowtanser on the qaestlonof guilt; suoh lsglslatlonIs enaoted and la sustained, for the most part, on grounds of naoessity, and le,n~t~v~olatlve of the federaloonsfitotion.

. Pappas v. State, 188 S. '$. 52, by the Suprems Court of Tanne0see,deolaras:

*It being olear that in statutoryoffenors a orlmlnal intent or fraudulentintent 1s not always essential, it 1s equally olear that whsther thr solenter is a material element of the oriar or not atit bo determinedby the languagrused by the Legislaturein dsflninrJ the offsnse.
*In the statuts under oousldrratlon ths word8 *wlilfuiiy*

or ~knowlnglg*

are nowhars to be found. Thsse are ths usual words wed by the law-makingpower whsn it fs oontsmpla6ed by tham that the Intentionof the person vlolatlng the'statnteshould be oonslderedas %he material 61ement.n
In Tsxar Liquor ControlBoard v. Duvi~ll,~ 170 S. W. (Ed) gZ0, a oasa of sanosllatS.on of a llosnes for eaployiag l mlnor less than 16 years of age, it 

### 1s said:

"The prohlbltsdaot of employinga minor In a position fraught with ttiptetlonsthat may lsad to a life of dleslpatlon,la deolared in unquallfled$slies, unrsllev,ed

by any langsag :~. lmpertlngthat knowledgeof the age of the minor, or that either good faith or Intent wee an element of the offense. In authorlzlnr the oanoellatlonof a llosnse for the sporadlo sale of~beer to a person under twenty-oneyears of ago, the sama Artlels of the statute, in Subd. l(a), provides that sush sale must be knowinglymado; but with refarsnoeto the offense of sreater enormity, .that **14,** of amplo~lnga minor In 8 business where he is oonstantly,day after day, axposed to a tsmptatlonthat my result in his beoomlng an lnebrlate,no snob qualifying language la found.Honorable S. J. Isaaoks - Page 4

**“ This**  oon6txuotlonof the **statute 14**  in llno with 

### that (~iron slmllar statutu, not only by our oourts but by ooartr the 

### eeuntry

over. In Peaooak v. LImburger,9% Tax. 858, 66 8. IV. TM, our Supreme Court atiwerlngoertlfledquestion,held that a sale of liquor to a n&nor oonatituted a brsaoh of ths dsaler's bond, whether thz :e$lp knsr the faot of inorlty or not,

.

House Bill 538, 50th Legislature,orsatlne; tb offsim8 of dsllnqoenoyof pars&, making if an offense by ona *who falls or omltr to exerolss reasonabledlllgsnsein the ooatrol of such ohlld* without prssorlblagfurther that suoh failure or omlsslonwas %uowlngliym, does not make the atetuto void. This present4merely a mattsr of 

### oohstruotloa as to the ma1 lnteutlon of'the Legislatureas to.whatwould oonsMtee the offsuse,and goss to ths merlto rather than the oonstittitlouallty of the Bill.
Yours very truly, hl?I!CRRBY

OERERAL OF TBZAS By (Signed)0010 spew

Aasl8taat

APPROVEDAPB 7, 1847 /a/ Prloe Dan101