. . 

GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

December 1, 1969 

Honorable Joe Resweber Opinion No. M-525 

County Attorney 

Harris County Courthouse Re: Status of the duties and 

Houston, Texas 77002 responsibilities of the Judge 

of Juvenile Court No. 2 in 

relation to the Juvenile 

Dear Mr. Resweber: Hoard, Harris County. 

We are in receipt of your letter in which you ask the 

following two questions: 

"1. Is the Judge of Juvenile Court No. 

2 of Harris County a member of,the Juvenile 

Board of said County? 

"2. What are the rights, duties and 

obligations of Juvenile Court No. 2 concerning the Chief Juvenile Officer and what 

rights, duties and obligations does the 

judge of this court have on matters before 

the Juvenile Board?" 

Your questions originate through the creation of Juvenile 

Court No. 2 of Harris County by Senate Bill No. 295, Acts 

61st Legislature, Regular Session, 1969, Chapter 673, page 

1981, which is silent regarding membership on the Juvenile 

Board of Harris County or participation in the Board's 

meetings and decisions. 

The Harris County Juvenile Board was created by,virtue 

of Article 5139VV, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which reads 

in part: 

"Section 1. The Juvenile Board of Harris 

County is established. 

'Set, 2. The juvenile board consists of 

the county judge, the judge of the juvenile 

court, and the judges of the courts of domestic 

relations of Harris County, and a district 

judge appointed by majority vote of the 

district judges of Harris County. 

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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 2, (M-525 ) 

"Sec. 3. * * * 

"Sec. 4, * * * 

"Sec. 5. 

" (a) * * * 

" (b) *** 

"(c) At the request of the judge of the 

juvenile court, the juvenile board shall investigate 

the operations of the probation department and the 

county institutions for the care of neglected, dependent, and delinquent children. . . e 

"Sec. 6. The office of Chief Juvenile Probation 

Office of Harris County is established. 

"Sec. 7. The judge of the juvenile court shall 

appoint the chief probation officer. The appointment is subject to the approval of the juvenile 

board. The judge may remove the chief juvenile 

probation officer at any time subject to the 

approval of the Juvenile Board." 

S.B. 295 provides, in part, as follows: 

"Section 1. The juvenile Courts No. 2 and 

No. 3 of Harris County are established. e . . 

"Sec. 2. *** 

"Sec. 3. The offices of judge of the Juvenile 

Court of Harris County No. 2 and the judge of 

the Juvenile Court of Harris County No. 3 are 

established. 

"Sec. 4. * * * 

"Sec. 5. * * * 

"Sec. 6. The governor, with the advice and 

consent of the Senate, shall appoint the first 

judges of the Juvenile Courts No. 2 and No. 3. 

The appointee to the Juvenile Court No. 2 shall 

take office on September 1, 1969, and the 

appointee to the Juvenile Court No. 3 shall 

take office on January 1, 1971, Then appointees 

serve until the next general election and 

until a successor is duly elected and 

qualified, * * *It 

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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 3, (M-525 ) 

From a reading of Article 5139W, Senate Bill No. 

295, and the history of these articles, it appears that 

they are in para materia and may be considered as one 

general subject although passed at different times in 

different sessions of the-legislature, 53 Tex. Jur. 2d 

280, Statutes, Sec. 186; Attorney General's Opinion No. 

M-287 (1968); Duval Corp. v. Sadler, 407 S.W.Zd 493 

(Tex. Sup, 196ii). The Legislative history of the juvenile 

court system in Harris County indicates that at the time 

of passage of Article 5139W, which created the juvenile 

board of Harris County, only one juvenile court existed. 

At all times subsequent to its enactment, an act 

should be given the same meaning that it had at the time 

of passage; Townsend v. Terrell; 118 Tex. 463, 16 S.W.2d 

1063 (1929). Chanced conditions. however. mav allow the 

courts to interpret that statute-to give effect to the intent of the Legislature as applied to the change. Wheeler v. 

Wheeler, 76 Tex. 489, 13 S.W. 305 (1890). It is also the 

duty of a court in construing a statute to make it workable and to harmonize the language used. Bailey v. State, 

284 S.W. 574 (Tex. Grim, 1926). And further, Section 4 

of Article 10, R.C,S. states the following statutory rule 

of construction: 

"4. The singular and plural number shall each 

include the other, unless otherwise expressly 

provided." 

Article 10 (former Art. 5502, R.C.S. 1911) requires 

that a word in the sinaular also includes the ulural of 

that word, e.g., "railroad" encompasses "railroads.' 

International-Great Northern R. Co. v. Railroad Commission 

of Texas, 281 S.W. 1084 (Tex. Civ. App. 1926, error ref.); 

cert. den., 275 US 503, 48 S.Ct. 155, 72 L.Ed. 395. 

It is our opinion that the word "judge" wherever 

used in Article 5139W encompasses the plural word, 

"judges," when used in reference to the judge of the 

juvenile court of Harris County. It is evident that 

the intent of the Legislature in providing for membership on the Juvenile Board of Harris County was to 

include all judges of courts primarily responsibile 

or concerned with children and domestic relations. 

The rights, duties and obligations of the judges of 

all juvenile courts in Harris County sitting upon the 

Juvenile Board would be coextensive and equal, when 

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Honorable Joe Resweber, Page 4, (~-525 ) 

tried under the right Legislative "intendment," Headless v. 

Fryer, 208 S.W. 213 (Tex. Civ. App. 1919, writ dismissed). 

Consequently, the juvenile board of Harris County 

is composed of the judges of the juvenile courts. The 

appointment and removal of the chief juvenile probation 

officer is made by the judges of the juvenile courts, 

subject to the approval of the board: at the request of 

the judges of the juvenile courts the board shall make 

investigations. 

SUMMARY 

The judge of Juvenile Court NO, 2 is a 

member of the juvenile board of Harris County, 

Texas, and the rights, duties, and obligations 

of the judges of Juvenile Court No. 2 are coextensive and equal to that of the judge of 

Juvenile Court No. 1 of HarriACounty, Texas. 

C. MARTIN 

ey General of Texas 

Prepared by Bennie W. Bock, II 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Kelton, Vice-Chairman 

Sarah E. Phillips 

Louis Neumann 

R. D. Green 

Bill Corbusier 

MEADE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

NOIA WHITE 

First Assistant 

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