OFFICEOFTHEA~ORNEY GENERALOFTEXAB 

AUSTIN 

, 

Honorable E. 0. Sisoke, Diraotar 

Tetxas Foreat Ser~lor 

hgirloultural & Naohanloal College of Torae a0ueg0 Station, Texas 

Dear Sir; Oplnloa No. O-6012 

Rer Under House EIll 543, nhat 

: pwors a6 pesos offleer will 

the deslgBlt*d em loyaer 0r '~ 

the Texas Porast B imioe hen 

when appoint+ any rwh? 

ëIb is ia to l b tia s th a t we h a mi given o a mio l 00~ 

sicldration to your.request'foti our opl+on upon the queatlon 

a# stated above: 

J ,' 

l'%e.psrtin& part of the aat of the U@rl.ature 

known as Homae ~I,ll No, 643 or tha Forty-smu~t& Csgl@lature 

ia oontisine4 In Seation 1 therroi, reading aa ~ollcumr 

kbtiol& That Art%Ol@ fw313, %visea. 

clv$l Ratuter of !&BIB, lPeB,~be amendejl by 

adding the follaning perugraph to be know& a8 

seotion we1 

Ihe %ate lore&a! may when the 

emCorIG&% or the provlslona ot.t& Aot reqtire~, -8 th0 i01idng 0r hi5 ~gi0~~58 

Rro Dietriot ~~orestsrs. four Division Patrolmsn, and four Patrolmi, as maoe ofriofmi, 

whom duUea and wwera ahal. not sxoeed the 

hutlee of the state Forester a&i set out in 

&l0t10n 10 hereol. The neossaity or BUOh 

a- be eertlried to and approved by the,board of direatorf+.*" (Wareooglng Our6 ) 

Section 10, Article E813, Revised Civil StatutuL 

of Texas, 192:, relates to tha appointment, quallfioati~nai 

'. 

, 
Homrable 33. 0. Sl~olcd, DiroOtOr, Page 8 

aompansatlon a& dutle8 of the &ate ForeBter, an4 in partloular oonteln8 tQlr 1anguagJ.1 

". . . He shall take 8uoh aotlon a8 may 

be deemed naaessary by said board to prevent 

and extlngulsh fore8t-ilre8, shall entorue 

all lam pertalniog to the proteotlon of forest 

am aooalands. ana mo8~out8 ror any Yto3,ation 

of suoh law8; . . .w (Undorsooring our81 

The psnal provialona 0r our statutas relating to 

the protsotlon of Yom8t and woodlands* am oontalned In 

Ohapter lWo of Title I.7 of the @vl8rd CrImInal Statutar or 

Texas, 1925. 

Penal Cob*.) 

(aea Artlola 1517 to 1530, Varon*a Annotated 

The 8peoiilo 

lZja0 and 1scIO. 

atiloles deamad ap lloable am ls21 

Artiale ls21 relate8 to llSl?ul or ne#igenC 

tgrntng woodland or prairleg, tS29 18 denoted ttnard the 

pravantlon of 08oapIng rpark8 irom.looaPaotlve8, snglnar a& 

IpoUera; girlng the State ?ora8tsr or hi8 aide8 InsfrMtIob 

pevi18,3W ti'a4ditiM to pPOridiag ~UBiShMBt iO? viOlath8; ~0 a-a010 ass0 prohibit8 rid.43 or r0n8t8 02. 

o@-owr lanaa. In aah lartanoo, the pmaltie8 provtdrd . 

mrk auah a8 to oonatituto thb oifolue, ii and nhan oonaltted to be a mirdmsaaor a8 di8tlngul8hea from a r010q. 

Xn oar opinion l&i, O-1454 a a& of whlohls anolwcrd Sor your infonmtian, therm 18 a di8ou58ion of the 

pwor. and duty* of a+ory pewe O?fiOer to enforoe all the 

law generally, alf&ugh it8 8pedfia applioation lu to the 

loadlimltandhighmylaw~ 

lature harr 

In that o&Ion It 18 oorraotly said that the leg18t 

seen fit to enaot nwy differant pena.law6 u&or 

. the otate police power; that in ineta the laumekar8 bar0 

reodgnlzed that there are oartain ohoees of otflo8r8 pzvparly 

tralqed and equipped to do the preliminary work in~makln& a 

ease and that theee in8taneo8, in efieot, act 88 limitation8 

upon tha power 'of winy QMOIJ offlaon. 

It la evident to ua that it ma8 not the intention 

of the LagSslature ln anaoting Eou8e Bill No. 543 to bestow 

upon the State Foreater or the Vi8trlot Foreater8, Divieion 

Patrolman and Patrolmenu to be named by the stats Forester 

under provisions of the bill, genaral power8 a8 "peaoe offiI ‘. 
Honorable E. O:%isoke, Direotor, Pam 3 

01~8~ to enroroe tall 0s our orlmlnal lava gonqally. The 

~u~dersoored portion of the aOt, SUpZlS, make. it olear that 

the power and.&&ies of suoh appointeea @hall not exoeed 

the duties of tho state Forester, 1.0.. *to enforce all 

laws pertaining to tho,prot&tlon of imeet and woodlandaW. 

The rleht;. 0s suoh 0rri00r8 to make armsts in 

their orriola~ oapaolty le therefore limited to violations 

Of law8 afrboting the proteotlon of fOrSSt8 and u0odlan48. 

The ri ht to arrest with a warrant wimld bo reatrloted to 

euoh v f OlatIoM; the right to arre8t without warrant, sines %LW8 i8 110 SpsCif~O Sb3tUtOq A~O~SiOU OthOnrise wotid 

be limited to SuOh vlolatlOn8 OcOUWlng Within their pre5enco and view, and.even then, suoh arreet wlthout warrant 

rauld be further llmlted to ?OiO~OS and mledemeanore oonatltuting an norrenes against the publlo~peaaaW. 

In the oasa of Ebb V. 8tate, 131 Tar. Cr. b.96, 

96 8. W. (2d) 981 the court of Crlmlnal Appeals reversed 

the oaee beoauss it appeared 6ppOllant refused the rsqueet 

or a oonstable to mlgh his motok truok, it appaarlng that 

authority to walgh suoh trucb.,lmd bean oonferrad upon liwnse 

and walght lnepeotors of the %ate Highway Department anly, 

The OOTAZ% said the OCiSCi did not COW wlthtn the gs~~~x'al prOV~8iOM Or th0 Cod8 Of C&I&M]. mOOf#duFfI, &%ielOll 312 

and S!i, vesting .peaoe offloere with the right to arrest 

wlthoot warrent if an oiisnso -. 8u8h 68 to OOlI8titUte a 

*maoh 0s the pa0e” in the OffiO~r'S prssenoe~ that the 

violation ln the aa8e did not OoxMitUta~8UOh a btiaaah. 

Xlth rerorenoe to. the term *broaoh of. the psaoa*, 

we quote the r0iidOg languaso by Judge E~wkina in the motlor; for rohsaring in the Head oaaei 

We quote fxom Corgu8 Surfs, vol. 9, 

ppr 386 to 308, the definition of a breaoh 

of the peaool 

ncThe term *b?saeh ot the peaoom 18 

gonurd~,:~and 1nO1UdeS all VfO~tiOll8 Of the 

public peace or order, or deoorum; in other 

words, it algnlffee the offense of dieturbin& the glblic peace or tranqtiPity enjoyed 

by the citizena of a oommunity; a di8turbanO.e 

or the public tranqulllity by any aQt or 

cmduot inciting to violenoe or tonding to 

provoge or excite others to~break the peace; 

a dlsturbanoe of publio order by an a@t of 
63 

xonorab1.e E. 0, Sleoke, Director, Page 4 

v101ence; or by any aat likely to produoe 

violenwi, or which, by causlne consternation and alarm Uloturbs the paaoe and quiet o 

of the commur~ty. By *peaott", as we& In 

this COM4OtiOll, 18 meant the tranquilllty 

enjoyed by the oltlzene of a mnloipallty or 

a oolsaunlty where good order reigns among 

its membern. &eaoli OS the peaus 18 a OODman-law osfenl3e. It has been said that it le 

not a speolSlo of'fenfde, yet it nmy bra, end at 

tlma Is, rs44gnlzetl aia euoh by statute or 

otherwicre; and only when eo mgarded will it 

be oonsldered In thi? srtiols. 

W-The otfenee may ooneirt of sots of 

publio turbulenoe or inbeeommiln violation 

oi the cmmon peeoe and quiet, OS en lnva-. 

elon of the security and proteatlon whioh 

the laws aSSord to every altleen, or OS aote 

such ae tend to emfte violent rraentment 

or to provoke or exalt8 othere to break the 

peao,6i. Aatuel. or?&reatmod tlolenae le an 

eseentlal element of a breaah of the peaoe. 

Either one is sufSialent to constitute the 

off em4 . Acaortllngly, where meana whloh 

oauee disquiet and dlaorder, and uhloh threaten danger end dieaster to the uommunlty, are 

wed, It amounte to a breeoh oS,ths pea&s, 

although no. aetu&l percronal vlolenas Is employed. where the inoitsnent OS terror or 

fear of peraonel riolenoe Is a neoeesarg element, the conduct or language of the wrongdoer muet be of a chanoter to Induos dch 

a 0onUltlon In a person of ordinary firmness.' 

*Our am-statutes and the OQB~FJ decided 

t!A;areunber sustain the Idea that to be a 

,d' breaoh of the peaae the act complained of 

r,wt be ace wiilch disturbs or threatens to 

disturb the tranqillllty enjoyed by the olti- 

:eni3. See article8 473 to 482, Penal Code 

(es amended (Vernon's AM. PI C. arts. 47?)- 

462) ); Lee V. Stare, 45 Tex. cr. R. 04, 74 

s. Pi. 2x3. . . ." 

For.other oases upon the subjeot of "breaoh OS the 

peaoe" or "offense against ;tubllc peaoa* 8401 Waltrlp v. 

.- 
64 

lfonorable E. 0. Sleeke,'Dlreotor, Paage 5 

State, 134 Tex. Cr. Re.202; 114 S. 1. 555; Weska V. 

State, 1.32 Tex. Cr. R, 524, 106 S. 1. 275; King Y. 

State, 132 Tex. Cr. R. 200,‘ LO3 9. PI. (2d) 754. 

It la evident to ue from what has been said by 

our courts thet the question ot.whether the otfensea of Whloh 

your Foreat Ofrlcere should take cognlzanoe would oonstltute 

uof?enees against the publio peaas" would be a faotual queetlon depending upon the partioulare in, oeoh.epeolflo violetion.. 

Ii meesursd by the prlnolplee enunolated in the Head oaae, 

qq,there may be wmy lnstancee where a Violation of the . 

artloles of tho Peoal Code, olted earlier In this opinion, 

~uld come within the meaning or the pbrass; others may not. 

We knoar of no means to apply a hard, fast unvarying rule 

uoon the violations referred to, espeoia& slnoe a lengthy 

searoh has availed no pmoedsnts for our guldanco. 

TruetAng the above will prove of some benefit to 

you, we are 

Yours rsry truly