LI . - 

R-147 

Htwah 7, .1947 

Bon. George T. ThosSs 

County Attorney 

Howard County 

Big Spring, Texas 

Berr 32r: 

Opinion No. v-77 

Rez Whether or not a girl of 17 

years OS a60 ah0 has besa 

married may be tried, for 

crime under the $weml pelial .statutes, or should be 

treated in law as a “delinquent child”. 

We beg to scknowledge receipt of your letter 

nuking request for an oplniou by this depsrtment on the 

above titled subject matter, your letter being 88 f'ol10W3: 

“IS a girl who is 17 yeam of age, but 

who bra been mrrled, to be tried and pun&ahed under the general penal statutes as a grown 

person for offenses which she commits, or 1s’ 

she a “delinquent child” and to be tried and 

treated as such, n ,., 

Chaptw 204, S?naOe Bill No. 4liof the 48th 

(Vtwnou’s Codlfiis a comprehensive lav upon the subgict of delinquent children. 

Awing ite provialona me the r0n0wiag: 

the pande~ag of a crlmagalnat say person In 

any other court than a Juvenile Court, it shall 

be ascertained thst said person is a feprrle over 

the bge o ten (10) yeara and under the age of 

eketeen 18) years, or is e male person over 
Hon. George T. Thomas, Page 2, V-77 

the age of ten (10) years end under the age 

of aeyepteeo (17) years, at the time of the 

‘trial ;for the alleged offense, it shall be 

the duty of such~ court to transfer such .cese 

itmnedia tely ~together with all pspers,.~ flocuf.,:,:., ,,, 

mn,.s and testimony connected thereviig;b” t~~:i::“~~~~:~“~~: 

the Juvenile ,Coup& of mid county. + +.*. " li.:?:~?-~~;,r,~:.* 

“Sec. 13.. No adjudication upon the stetua of any ch’lld In the jurisdiction of the 

court sb&ll.:opera,,te to impose any of the civil 

dissbllltles~,ordinsrlly imposed by conviction, 

nor ‘shall any child be deemed s criminal by 

reason of such adjudication, ‘nor’ shall ‘such edjudlcation be deemed a conviction, nor shall 

any child be charged with o,p convicted of e 

trims in any court. * * * 

Bo female person over the age 

end under the age of eightor any mle person over the 

age of ten (1Oj years and under the age, of 

seventeen (17) years, shall be placed or committed to any compartment of say jail or lockup in which persons over juvenile age are incarcerated or detained; * * *. 

Moreover, by that act the juvenile proceeding 

Is made a civil proceeding, appeals in which are to be 

taken to the Court of Oivll Appeals, and nay be carried 

to the Supreme Court by writ or error or upon certlficate as in other civil cases, (Sec. 211, and the proCeedlng,,is declared to be “In the nature of e guardian 

method. (Sec. 25). 

The article contains no exception to the above 

emphatic cleaslficationa. 

Article 4625 of the Revised Civil Statutes declares that: 

‘Avery female under the agehe of twenty-one 

(21) years who shall marry in accordance with 

,‘.’ -the laws of this state, shall, from and after 

the time of such marriage, be deemed to be of 

full age end shall have all the rights and privileges to which she would have been entitled 

had she be,en et the time of her surriage of 

full age. 
Hon. George T. Thonna, Page 3, V-77 

From e consideration of these two statutes 

(both of which you have cited in your request) it is 

clear, we think, there is no conflict between them. 

If there should be irreconcilable conflict, however, 

the Delinquent Child Act being the later, vould,bg 

implication repeal the former statute Insofar es the 

conflict extended. 

It is clear, however, that the only effect 

of Article 4625 is to emancipate any fermle of msrriegeable age from the dlaebilitles of minority upon her marricLge * It has been held that this is true even though 

the marriage was in law e void msrrlege. 

vs. Dumke, 87 S. W. 1147). 

(See Earkley 

We express ne opinion upon the right of the 

state to Ilaintaln a prosecution sebinst the delinquent 

fenale after she arrives at the age of eighteen (18) 

'pars. m question Is not before us, end we understand such a question la nov pending under submission 

in the Court of Crlmlaral Appeals. 

SUMMARY 

(1) A female seventeen (17) years of age, 

who la amrrled, does not thereupon become subject to e crlmlnal prosecution, (Vernon’s 

Civil Statutes, Art. 2338-l) 

(2) Article 4625 of the Revised Civil 

Statutes providing “that fenales under 21 years 

of age upon marriage are deemed to be of full 

age, and shall heve the rights and privileges 

to which she would have been entitled had she 

been at time of merrlage of full age", hes no 

bearing upon the 

9 

ueatlon of crime by e dellnquent j uvenlle . Art. 

Civil Statutes). 

2338-1, Sec. 3, Vernon’s 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GRRERAL OF TRYAS 

APPROVRD OPXNICW CQEIMITTIEB: 

BY BWB, CIi4IRMAR BY -dqh 

OS :acm:mj 

Ocle Speep' 

Assistant