# The Attorney General of Texas January 29, 1981 MARK WHITE Attorney General Honorable Lynn Nabers, Chairman Opinion No. &W-293 Committee onCriminal Jurisprudence House ofRepresentatives Re: May legislature create panels P.0. Box2910 within the 14 courts of appeak Austin, Texas 78769 which wouldbe charged solely with criminal jurisdiction Dear Representative Nabers: You have requested our opinion regarding legislative implementation of the recent amendment to article V,section 6ofthe Texas Constitution, adopted by the voters on November 4, 1980. That provision now states, in pertinent part: The Legislature shall divide the State into such

Supreme judicial districts as the population and business may require, and shall establish a Court of Appeals in each of said districts, which shall consist of a Chief Justice and at least two Associate Justices, who shall have the qualifications as herein prescribed for Justices of the Supreme Court. The Court ofAppeak may sit in sections as authorized by law. The concurrence of a majority of the judges sitting in a section is necessary to decide a case. Said Court of Appeals shall have appellate jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits of their respective districts, which shall extend to all cases of which the District Courts or County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction, under such restrictions andregulations asmay beprescribed bylaw. You ask whether the legislature may create, within the courts of appeals, panels which are charged solely with criminal jurisdiction. The various courts of appeals, formerly the courts of civil appeals, have been constitutionally authorized to “sit in sections” or panels since the 1978 amendment to article V, section 6. Article 1812,V.T.C.S., made provision for courts of the first, second, fifth and fourteenth judicial districts to sit inpanels ofnot lass than three justices. The 1980amendment does not affect this authority to sit in sections, but it adds criminal cases

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appealed from the county and district courts to the jurisdiction of each court of appeals. Since the amendment grants to the courts of appeals “appellate jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits of their respective districts, which shall extend to 811 cases of which the District Courts or County Courts have original or appellate jurisdiction,” it might beargued that each section must beaccorded all thejurisdiction embodied in the court of appeals of which it is a part. (Emphasis added). The amendment, however, grants suchjurisdiction “under such restrictions and regulations as may beprescribed bylaw.” Furthermore, the amendment permits acourt ofappeals to sit insections only “asauthorized bylaw.” In Harbison v. McMurry, 158S.W. 2d 284, 287 (Tex. 19421,the supreme court declared:

. .. the appellate jurisdiction of the (clourts of [cl ivil

[al ppaak in ‘civil cases’ is not unlimited or absolute, but is subject to control by the Legislature. This must be sobecause it is provided that such jurisdiction is ‘under such restrictions and regulations as maybeprescribed bylaw.’ Inour opinion, the legislature isauthorized to impose restrictions uponthe broad grant of jurisdiction to the court of appeals, and to any of the sections created by statute in accordance with the amendment. We conclude, therefore, that the legislature may create, within the various courts of appeals, panels which are charged solely with criminal jurisdiction. SUMMARY

Under the recent amendment to article V,section 6 of the Texas Constitution, the legislature is empowered to create, within the various courts of appeals, panels which arc?charged solely with criminal jurisdiction.

MARK WHITE Attorney General ofTexas JOHN W.FAINTER, JR. First Assistant Attorney General RICHARD E.GRAYIII Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared byRick Gilpin Assistant Attorney General

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APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE Susan L.Garrison, Chairman Jon Bible Gerald C.Carruth Rick Gilpln Bruce Youngblood

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