OFFICE OFTHE ATTORNEYGENERAL OFTEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Hon. Leon Kotosky 

&%?.istsIlt County Attornfty 

El Pas?, Texas 

6 

Dear Sir: 

This.wlll a 

of April 15, 

depar~nt 88 tc 

a photostatic mxc 

of El. Paso count 

allllastmJ= 

by the count 

A 

not rpwdl t 

elt 

or Jcur ltte 

0ptnl0n 0t .a6 

ling,~and..miag 

CoiJnt~ al.6dK~ 

paseogr-rdiPg 

d to lie reoerded 

e author.it fes do86 

has heretororcr~ been passor the aoPftlloi thio 

erded 

ad ClTil stati ar T8x86, 

of &oh cotity~the rccord- 

*thcy~(lh&ll provide 

: beak6 lli~~=hi43h they 

is. authoris;ed or 

1s 6665, Betioed Glvil.Stat$:es of Taxaa, 

s Id detail *he duty of the bmnty s&rk 

tith respect to.reeordfmg instrriaants authorized Br lair 

to be reoorded. This artlale reads as tollors: 

*&oh reoardsr~tihall, *d&out delay+. 

reomd ever$ instrtiment of nitb& author-. 

ized to be recorded by hlm,%@$oh is dsposited with him for raoord, w%ththe 
&n. Leon Kotcsky, QxiI lP,, 1939, Page 2 

tickno*lodgiixnts, proofs, affiGavits and 

certificates tkreto attached, in the 

crder &posited for record'by antering 

then word fcr word and letter for letter, 

and nCCitig at ihe foGt of the record the 

hour and the day of the month and year 

when the %cstrment SC raoorded was deposited in fiis office for'racord." 

It was held by the Supreme Court of Vermont 

in the aase of Town of BeanIngton TS. Edward A. Booth; 

57’8. L. B. 156, that mandamus would not lie against 

the town olerk to aompel him tb diaoontinue l&is ~80~ 

or the photostatlo method of reoording instruments of 

whioh by lan'he was made the recorder. This deofdon 

was an Interpretation or Artiole 3951, ~OeneralLaw8 o? 

Vsrrnont, whIoh reads in pa&, that the alerk shall: 

FReaord at langth,~in books to be. 

furnished by the town' 

The aourt, in speaking of the photogaphia method employed by the alerk said: 

*It is plain that the clerk harr~reoorded at length and that the material 

he provided, used and the town paid for, 

were furnished by the tarin., If, ritaia 

the lPsaning OS the statute, the photostat10 

reaords are booka, they lack nothIng required by General &ass, Artiole 3951-.., 

The objeot of the statute.......,.was to 

provide for the making o? reoorda; not 

for the use of some partloular kind of 

books," 

The petitIoners,.in the ease OS ?eople ex r01 

Anukmeoht vs. Flaas, 311 111. 164, 146 WE 549, 8oagBt a 

mandamus to aompel a recorder of deeds to aopy a deed 

in writing in a well-bound book instead of using the 

photostatlo method!.-of reoording. The mandamus was denied. 

The statute invol$ed In this oaae,was wry similar to 

Artiole 6595, supra, and is as follows: 

"Every reoorder shall, as soon as 
Hon. Leon Kotosky, &pril 18, 1939, Page 3 

praotiaable after the filing of any instrument in writing in his office, entitled to 

be recorded, record the same 6% length in 

the order of time of Its reoeptlon, in wellbound books to be provided for that purpose." 

The oourt in its learned opinion, said: 

To rsaord mans to transoribe; to write 

an aathentio aaaount of$ to prsssrva.ths msmory of, br written !or other ohsraotersi to 

enter.ln a book for ths parposo of pressuring 

satheatla and oorreot evidence ot the thing 

reoordsd. Whatdver the method wed for raoording, it.18 a reoord of the 'thfngs rsoordsd as 

long.as it 18 a trus ssd oorrsat ,aopy. 

objeot oi'rso~ 

IT 

a dead 18 to give 

petuit;l: aad;;;8oblio tyj-&i&he& 

5t-m: 

t&i-two paln 

rsquirsastits--ot e publib ~%%&Ys.thst: l&j 

shall bs soourate and durable......Zrer~ 6uah 

orrioer not 06ly hss ths rtWio~it~,but 16x36-: 

quirad .tq law, to l xeroi~ an lnfelll~ent'dis-. 

aretion in tha p0rrow0e of his orrf0hl 

datfern. * la+ r?qalns hla to rsoomX'osrts3.n 

iastrumants in a wsll-bound book, but'lt:does. 

not require him to rssord.thsm 11% any parti-. 

oulsr rethod.~ As laag as ths wthod~adoptad 

by him 1s uourate and durable, he ha6 performed his duty..+..lo argument is needed ~tb 

~dsmewtrate thst pailrto~phy 1s a auoh Waoaurats proosds iaf 3saki~ a 00py Of' an' IEstranent than anp othsr knownmtho4.* 

Looking again te oar Texas Statates, wa Ob8em8 

that it is the duty of the oounty alsrk to: 

1. Provide and keep in their offias8 

wall-bound books in rhioh they shall reoord instruments, ward far word, and letter 

for lcwer. . 

2. Shoy in suah recording all aaknorle&pnents, praafs, affidavita and asrtlflartes 

thereto attaahed. 
Hon. Leon Kotosky, April 18, 1939, Page 4 

3. Cote et the foot of the record, the 

hour and the day of the month and year when 

the instrument so recorded was deposited In 

his office for record. 

The statutes are entirely silent as to the 

method by whiah suah Instruments shall be recorded. 

To determine whether or not the photostatlo method of 

reaording instruments is legal, it must be t.ested for 

determination solely upon the basis of whether or not 

the duties of the oounty olerk hereinabove set out oan 

be fully. exeouted by the use oi thla new method ai 

reoordlng. 

The phraae "wall-bound book@’ as used in 

Artlole 6591, aupra, mad not naoeesarlly mean a book 

In whloh the leaves ‘or pagas are not removable. Tha 

heglslatura naturally had in mind in tha pasnaga of 

this aot, that the lmttrument would bezeoordqd in 

handurltlng In a book in tiloh the pegw were -immovable. 

Mth oommdrolal neoesaity, the hendurltlng method gave 

way to the.apeedler snd more legible typewrIter method. 

It la a matter of ooumon knowledge that the book8 ln 

use generally by oouuty olarks today are so oonstruotad 

as to psrmlt the lndlrldual pagee to be removed, typed 

and than peplased in the books. 

'fhe proprlety~of raoordlng in a 1~00s~ leaf 

book as 1s In oommon uaa In~Tesura and elaewhera throughout the oountry, was raised in the ease of Rlohardson vs. 

looland, 133 YLlss. 41.7, 97 SO. 308, and the oourt held 

that ths faot that the statute required instruments to 

be reaorded in a %ell-hound *oak" did not require that 

tha pages be not removable. 

ft .ia thereion,, the opinion of this Dapartmmt, 

and you are 80 advised, that your oounty clerk oan install 

and use the photostatic method of reoording written lnstruments whloh he is required to reaord 

such photostats are i diately lnsorporated 

bound books".gnd the other requirements of 
Hon. Leon Kotosky, April 18, 1939, Pa@ 5 

the stetutss herein enumerated are rully complied 

with. 

Very truly yours 

LA:AW 

APPROVE& 

.