. 

February 9,~ 1966 

Honorable D. Brooks Corer, Jr. Opinion 190. (C- 602) 

District Attorney 

Brazoe County Courthouse lb: 

Bryan, TPb*asValidity of Artlclce 4.12 and 45.22, Code of 

Crim$nal P+oceilure of 

Dear Mr. Gofer: Texas, 1966. 

In a tecent opinion requcet of 

the folloring question: 

this oifice you pore 

a 

"Does Article 4.12, Code of CrQninal 

Procedure of Texas, 1966, conflict with 

Article V, Section 19, constitution of 

the State of Texas, and doee Article 

4.22, COF, 1966 also conflict with the 

a-0 constltutlonal prov1610n.n 

Articl~e V, Section 19, Conrrtltution of the 

Taas, provides aa follows: 

"Suetime of the Peace shall have 

isdiction in crlmlna~~matte~~ _ 

of, 

came4 wncre me penarty or rune to 08 

lmpo8ed by law may not be more than 

t*o hundred dollar8 ($200); and in 

civil mattema of all case8 where the 

aaount in controversy is two hundred 

dollaria ($200) or Lena, exclusive ai 

intermt, or which 0rigLnal jurie&$gW~ 

Is not given to the district or counfa 

courts; and such other jurisdiction 18 aof 

given M the district or couaty.courtaj 

and lruch o%her jurlrdictlon, crinznsl 

and civil ae may be provided by law, 

under such regulations as MY be prsscribed by law; . . .." 

Article 4.12, Vernon's Code of Criminal Procedure, 1966, 

the ?lret Art+18 about which you inqulrs otaten a@ follovr: 

“A aisdemetmor case to be tried in jootice 

court shall be,trled in the precinct ia 

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Jlmorable D. Brooks Gofer, Jr.,page 2 (C- 602) 

which the offense wae comalttsd, or In which 

the defentit or any of the dafendantb reside, 

or ulth the written conrent oi tl5e.state and 

each defendant or hi&attorney, In any other 

precinct within the county; provided that in 

any tiedemeanor case inwhIch the oifenee was 

committed in a precinct where there Is no 

qualified justice precinct court, then trial 

shall be had in the next’adjacent precinct 

in the same county uhlCh ry have a duly 

qualified juetlce preclact court, or in 

the precinct in uhlch the,dofenAant may reside; provided that In any such rledemeeaor 

case, upon diequalification for any reamon 

of all juatlc+u or the Peace in the precinct 

where the, offenee ma.ctitCed, such ca8e 

may be trfed ln the next &lJoiaking proclnbf 

in the am@ comity, haviq a Auly ~quallfled 

jUatic0 of tti peace.” 

. 

It rhould iiret be noted tht Article 4.12, is very. 

‘~l8llu to the article, $n the old Uods ,of Cri8lnal ProceAlwe, 

6Oa,. Code of Crdalnal Procidure, 192$.uh$ch lt,repl+ce& 

Althgugh the wadlag of these two rentloned article6 16 ., 

-ao&that di??erent, the Intent ot~.each is to acocimplleh 

.the mm pxirpom, xumely, setting out rules dorarrdly’the 

precinct In rhich a miudemeanor~case oa the justlce court 

level would be trioA. 39828 oftier oa bt lea& two eeparate 

occ~eionr har, hold Article 6Oa, to be uaconrtitutioaal. 

OpMonIlo. O-&hb,lg45, andOpinloaXo.V+6,1$&8. 

The above quoted Article 4.l2,.preicribes certaln 

llmitatloar upon~the authority of ju6tice courts to try 

misdewnaor ca6oa, and It seem&to forbid the trial of ury 

m%rAenaaor canes by ~jwtlce court8 outeide end beyond the 

llmltatlonr aet Sorth therein. In eramace, the purpose of 

this article is to prohibit or forbid justice cot&r from 

trying misdemeanor cases when the cat88 doer not arrivs or 

oc~~;~~t& the juetlce court lri a manner prescribed in the 

In the case of Ex part& Von Koenmrltc, 286 Sl? 987 

(Tex. C&m. App. 1926) the court II ld tn&t R JUeti0.e of the 

peaoe court ha@ the’authoz%ty tout& a caei rihfc~zuose ,Sn 

mothor prwlnct in the county, even though bhe det6adaat had 

the uad%sputed right to have the CWQ tried in another precinct. 

Article 4.12, would p&aade ccrtaln Umltatlons upon this 

jurlrdlction of justice courts , and therefore It ~1s the 

opinion of this office that Article 4.12 ia unconstitutional 

eince It contravenea the provisione of Article V, Section 19, 

’ Constitution OS Ths State of Texas. 

.-2926”. 

,L, - 
Honorable D. Brooks Cofar, Jr.,page 3 (C-602) 

Your next Inquiry Is with regard to Artlcle,45.22, Code 

;~~;~lnal Procedure, 1966. Said Article provides as 

: 

"Section 1. No person shall ever be tried in 

any justice precinct court unless the offense 

with which ho was charged was committed in 

such precinct. Provided, however, should there 

be no duly qualified justice precinct court in 

the precinct where such offense was committed, 

then the defendant shall ba tried in the justice 

precinct next adjacent which may have a duly 

quall?lad justice court. And provided f'urther, 

that if the justice of the peace of the precinct in which the offense was committed is 

diequallfied for any reason for trying the case, 

then euch defendant may be tried in some other 

juetice precinct within the county. 

"Section 2. No constable shall be allowed a 

fee In any misdemeanor caao arising in any 

precinct othor than the one for which he has 

been elected or appointed, except through an 

order duly entered upon the minutes o? the 

county comlrslonsrs court. 

wSectlon 3. Any justice o? the peace, constable 

or d6puty conetsble violating this Act ehall 

be punlehed by a fine of not lose than #lOQ 

aor more than $500. 

"Section 4., The provisions OS this Article shall 

apply only to counties having a population of 

225,000 or over according to the,laet preceding 

federal cennsue .n 

Incur opinion the same reasonzi.ng set out above with regerd to Article 4.12 applies when considering Article 45.22, 

It is our opinion, therefore, that Article 45.22, is alao 

unconefltutlonal since it contravenes the provisions of 

'5 Article V, So&ion 19, Constitution of the State of Texas. 

Prior Attorney OeneralQe opinlone O-6940 (1945) and V-496 

(1Pw are aifirred and enclosed hersuith. 

BUMWARY ------- 

Article 4.12 and 45.22 Coda of Criminal 

Procedure of Texae, 1966, are unconetitutional 

eince they contrave e.the provlsione of 

-293- 
sfonorable D. Brooks Corer, Jr., page 4 (c-602) 

Article V, Section 19, Constitution of the 

State OS Texti.,, 

Your8 very truly, 

WAOOOVBR CAm' 

Attornq General of Texae 

B