R-247 

Hon. Jep S. Fuller 

County Attorney 

Jefferson County 

Beaumont, Texas 

Opinion No. V-117 

Re: Legality of a school trustee’s nephew’s wife being 

employed as teacher in the 

school under the Nepotism 

Statute. 

Dear Sir: 

You request an opinion from this department upon the 

above subject matter in the following statement: 

“One of the Board members of the Port Arthur 

Independent School District, Mr. C. T. Weatherall, 

has asked that I get a ruling on one of his problems 

to see if it is in conflict with the Nepotism laws. 

You may know Mr. Weatherall. He is Vice President in the First National Bank here in Port Arthur. 

“He was elected to membership on the Board 

of Education for a three year term in April, 1946. 

Last Fall, probably in October or November, his 

nephew married one of our school teachers. This 

nephew is the son of his brother. Of course the 

nephew’s wife is not related by blood in any degree. 

Of course this situation did not exist when Mr. Weatherall was elected to the Board, but he would like 

to have the matter straightened out before beginning 

another school year.” 

Article 432 of the Penal Code commonly known as the 

Anti-Nepotism Statute is as follows: 

‘No officer of this State or any officer of any 

district, county, city, precinct, school district, or 

other municipal subdivision of this State, or any officer or member of any State, district, county, city, 

school district or other municipal board, or judge of 

any court, created by or under authority of any general or special law of this State, or any member of 

the Legislature, shall appoint, or vote for, or confirm the appointment to any office, position, clerkship, employment or duty, of any person related 
Hon. Jep S. Fuller, Page 2 Opinion No. V-l!7 

, within the second degree by affinity or within tha 

third degree by conaangSrft$ tothe psrsoa IQ sppointing o,i # ve@t%g, e? to aaty other member of 

&ny such board. ths Legislature, or court of whibh 

such person so appointing or voting may be a memb 

ber, when the salary, fees, or compensation of such 

appointee is to be paid for,~directly or mdirectly, 

:i,, 

out’of or f,rom publis funds Q$ fees of office of any 

kind or character whatsaever~,” * 

. . .t 

The rule, for determining affinity relationship was stated 

~, ,’ by this department in Opinion No. O-7516: 

. 

6. 

. . . At common law, the term has been variously .deflned as the connection existing in consequence of marriage between each of the married 

persons and the kindred of,the other; the cotulection formed by marriage which places the husband 

in ‘the same degme to ule blodd relations of the 

wife as that in which she herself stands towards 

them and gives the wife the same connection with 

the blood r&t&a of *a hugband, .the relation contracted hr ,mar?siage I&wee& a hushand and his 

wife’s kif&&!e# M betwee@, a wtie ~&ad her huaband’s kindrbi$ in~eontrcdis~$in&ion from conaangum&y, or rclbtion by blood; the retationship which 

brise,s by marriage between one of. the parties and 

the blood relations of the other; the fSe which arisas 

from~the marriagei betwqen %e hueband and the blood 

relations of the. wife, land between the wife and the 

blood relations of the hugbar&’ 

The trustee, Mr, Weatherall, .is not related by blood to. 

his nephew’s wife; He $s, how4v4ri r,elated 3a her by affinity within 

the second degree hechu.se hs is fhc bkood relative of his nephew. 

Therefore, under the rule above pronounced,lhe is related by affinity to his nephew’s wife within the second de,gree and the situstion comes within the prohibition of the Nepotism Statute. 

A s.ohool truote~a of Post, &$tur Independent 

School District is related by affinity wfthin the setcond degree to a teacher who is his nephew’s wife, 

within the Anti-Nepotism law -- Article 432 of the 

Penal Code. 

APPROVED 

Yours very truly, 

ATTGRNEYGENERALOFTEXAS 

OF TEXAS 

OS: lh: sl 

Assistant ’ 

.: