Ar;STIN 11. TEXAS w~.~I:d;l,T’,.:‘C c:.hBZ:,< .hTE<DX<N ,c:\ ~:*:.1rx1.,,. April 8, 1964

Honorable Walter E. Wilson Opinion No. C-237 County Attorney Ector County Courthouse Re: Whether the proposed Ector Odessa, Texas County Juvenile detention facilities meet the statuAttention: Michael D. Earney, tory requirements of ArtiAssistant cles 2338-l and

### 53.15 of ’ Vernon’s Civil Statutes, as being separate and apart from adults, and as being suitably segregated, Dear Sir: and related question.

Your request for opinion on the above subject matter indicates that anewjail for juveniles andwomenprisoners has been constructed in Ector County. The Commissioners* Court has not yet accepted the facilities from the contractor since there is somedoubt as to whether the structural design of the building meets the requirements of the applicable statutes.

Briefly the design of the jail is as follows: The juvenile boys, juvenile girls andwomen’s detention facilities are all located in one cell block. The cell block is similar to acage, surrounded on three sides with steel bars andon the fourth, solid steel doors which serve as entrances to the padded andmaximumsecurity cells. The cell block itself has a concrete ceiling, which ceiling does not extend to the ceiling of the larger room in which the cell block itself is located. Anopen corridor extends around the cell block onthose three sides surrounded by steel bars, andinside the cell block a corridor in the shape of a “TNseparates the cell block into three cell areas, one for juvenile girls, one for juvenile boys, andone for adult women. Doors constructed of steel bars lead from the corridor to the respective cell areas outlined above.

Your request contains the following questions:

“(1) Dothe proposed Ector County Juvenile detention facilities meet the statutory requirements of Arts. 

### 2338-1, Sec. 17and

### 5115eV.A.C.S. as being separate andapart from adults andthe suitable segregation of males and females?

-1148-Hon. Walter E. Wilson, page 2 (C-237)

“(2) In the event that the proposed facilities donot meet’the requirements of Arts. 5’115and 2338-1, V.A.C.S. would the proposed alterations cause such facil!ties.to meet the requirements of Arts. 

### 5115and

### 2338-1, V.A.C.S.?” Section 

### 17of Article 

### 2338-lof Vernon’s Civil Statutes, states as follows:

“Sec. 

### 17. Nofemale person over the age of ten (10) years andunder the age of eighteen 

### (18) years, or anymale person over the age of ten (10) years andunder the age of seventeen 

### (17)years, shall be placed or committed to any compartment of anyjail or lock-up in which persons over juvenile age are incarcerated or detained; but shall be placed in aroom or ward separate and apart from that occupied by adults. The proper authorities of all counties shall provide suitable place of detention for such juveniles separate and apart from anyjail or lock-up in which adults are confined. Said detention place maybe in the same building housing adults, or in abuilding separate and apart from that where adults are confined.” Article 

### 5115states in part as follows: I,

. * 0

“The term ‘safe and suitable jails, 1as used in this Act, shall be construed to meanjails which provide adequate segregation facilities by having separate enclosures. formed bv solid masonry or solid metal wall

. or solid walls of other compar bemteri 1 SE

a , naratins witnesses from all a 1 a a; classific tion of wd juveniles from adults; ee *‘I (Emphasis added). Thedetention facilities as nowconstructed donot meet the statutory reqllirements as set out above. Separate enclosures formed by solid masonry or solid metal walls donot separate the three classes of prisoners detained therein. Through the steel bars prisoners in any part of the cell block mayfreely converse and in some instances see prisoners in other parts.

The suggested alterations as evidenced by Sketch No. 4 include dividing the oen area above the cell block and the jailer’s walk-around into I: separate compartments. You propose to

-1149-Hon. Walter E. Wilson, page 3 (C-237)

accomplish this as follows:

"(a) Attaching sheet steel on,top of the ceiling of the cell block on aline with the north edge of the cross of the internal IT'- shaped corridor, extending and attached to the solid masonry,walls on,the East or West. Such steel wall would extend from the top of the celling of the cell block to the ceiling of the main room. (Line B) l'(b) The erection of asteel wall extending from the north wall of the main room to the south wall of the main room onaline over the steel security door located at the south end of the cell block. Such steel wall would extend from the top of the ceiling of the cell block to the ceiling of the main room. (Line C) 'l(c) Attachment of the steel wall to the frame of the steel security door at the south end of the cell block. (Line A) "(d) Placement of a solid steel security door andframe on the east side of the cell block, attached to the steel wall at the south edge of the women's sleeping room and the newsteel wall extending across the top of the cell block and the east wall of the main room. (Line A) 'l(e) Installation of asolid steel security' door andframe on the west side of the cell block, attached to the steel wall on the south edge of the juvenile girls' sleeping room and the new steel wall extending across the top of the cell block. (Line A)" Wehave concluded that after the alterations are made, the detention facilities will meet the requirements of Articles 2338-l and 5115. Four separate compartments would then be formed, each of which is completely enclosed by either solid steel or solid masonry walls.

The detention facilities as described in your letter for juvenile boys, juvenile girls andwomen prisoners in Ector County donot meet the requirements of Articles 2338-l and 5115, Vernon's Civil

-1150-Hon. Walter E. Wilson, page 4 (C-237)

Statutes, as separate enclosures formed by solid masonry or solid steel donot separate the three classes of prisoners. The proposed alterations will result in separate compartments for the three classes of prisoners, each of which is completely enclosed by either solid steel or masonry walls andwill therefore meet the requirements of the statutes above. Very truly yours, WAGGONER

CARR

FBW:mkh:wb APPROVED: OPINIONCOMMITTEE
W.V. Geppert, Chairman Lloyd Martin HowardFender Robert Smith Jerry Brock lr72&

Fred D. Ward Assistant

APPROVED

FORTHEATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: Stanton Stone

-1151-