,’ 

THE 

OF TEXAS 

April 6, 1951 

Hon. Austin Gueet Opinion lo. V-1165 

County Attorney 

Red River County Re: Feea to which a Justice 

Clarkeville, Texas of the Peace is entitled 

in connection with holdDear Sir: Ing Inquests. 

Your request points out that under Article 1053, 

V.C.C.P., a justice of the peace ia entitled to a fee of 

$10.00 for an inquest on a dead body. You then ask the 

following questions2 

%here a Justice of the Peace, during his twelve year tenure of office, held 

various lnqueats and filed his claim with 

the court for a fee of $5.00 which wa8 duly 

paid by the court without knowing the fee 

to which he was entitled under the above 

article, can he now file claim for the additional mm of $5.00 for each inquest and 

be paid for the same? 

"Where an Inquest Is held on two dead 

bodies at the same time occurring from the 

881118 cause, is the Justice of the Peace entitled to a fee for each dead body?" 

Article 1053, V.C.C.P., prior to 1947, provided 

in part: 

"A justice of the peace shall be entitled, for an inquest on a dead body, including certifying and returning the 

proceedings to the proper court, the sum 

of fi;e dollars, to be paid by the county. 

. . . 

In 1947, this portion of Article 1053 was amended by House Bill 217, Acts 50th Deg. 1947, ch.369, 

p.745, to provide: 

‘A Justice of the Peace shall be entitled, for an Inquest on a dead body, 

Including certifying and returning the 
Hon. Austin Guest, page 2 (V-1165) 

proceeding to the proper court, the sum of 

Ten Dollars ($lO), to be paid by the couu- 

‘ty. . . *a 

House Bill 217, supra, became effective on 

June 12, 1947. Therefore, since June 12, 1947, a justice of the peace has been entitled to a fee of ten 

dollars for an inquest on a dead body. 

It was held in Attorney GeneralPs Opinion 

V-936 (1949) that 

“The two year statute of limitations 

is applicable to recovery of the balance of 

delinquent fees due the Mstrict Clerk in a 

suit against the county, and the statute of 

limitations will begin to ruu on the date 

the District Clerk collected delinquent fees 

reported for a previous year.” 

It is our opinion that the principle of law announced in Attorney General Opinion V-936 (1949) is equally applicable to your request. In answer to your first 

question, therefore, it Is our opinion that the justice 

of the peace mentioned in your request may collect an additional five dollars for each inquest held since June 12, 

1947 for which he received a fee of only $5.00, pr.ovided 

such fees are not barred by the two-year statute of limitation. In this couuection, we wish to point out that 

limitation is a matter of affirmative defense which may 

be waived by the county. Travis County V. Matthews, 255 

S.W.2d 691 698 (Tex.Civ.Ap 0 1950 

‘Op. O-5564 (19417; 

f e n.r.e.); 

Att ‘y Gen. Lstt&er$%~~ to Hon. 

Jackson S.~ Webb, County Attorney of Dastrop County, dated 

Bovember 1, 1949. 

Your second question is answered by Attorney 

General’s Opinion O-4468 (1942), wherein It is stated: 

*3. If the justice deterlnined that 

he should hold separate inquests over each 

of the six dead bodies, and did hold such 

six separate inquests performing the services and duties required by Articles 975, 

978 and 987, he would be entitled to an 

inquest fee of $5 (now $10) for each proceeding and in this case a total of $50000 

(now $601. 
Hon. Austin Guest, page 3 (V-1165) 

"4. If the justice determined 

_ _ _ 

that he 

should hold one joint lnquest proceeding 

and Bid hold only one inquest proceeding on 

the SIX dead bodies and certified only oue 

inquest proceeding, performing the services 

and duties required by Articles 975, 978 

and 987, he would only be entitled to a 

fee (now $lO)." 

aqded.) 

(Ratter In parenthesis 

$5 

You are advised, therefore, that where one inquest is held by a justice of the peace on two bodies, 

the justice of the peace is entitled to only one inquest 

fee of ten dollars. 

Since June 12, 1947, justices of the 

peace have been entitled to a fee of ten 

dollars for each inquest held. (Art. 1053, 

V.C.C.P., as amended.) Where a justice of 

the'peace has collected only five dollars 

for Inquests held subsequent to June 12, 

1947, he may collect an additional five 

dollars for each of such Inquests provided 

such fee is not barred by the two-year statute of limitation. 

(1949) * 

Att'y Gen. Op. V- 936 

A justice of the peace is entitled 

to only one inquest fee of ten dollars for 

one inquest on two bodies. Att'y Gen. Op. 

o-4460 (1942). 

APPROVED: 

J. C. Davis, Jr. 

County Affairs Mvision 

Jesse P. Luton, Jr. 

Reviewing Assistant 

Charles D. Blathews 

First Assistant 

JR:mw 

Yours very truly, 

PRICE DARIEL 

Attorney General 

Bs 

.+ 

~b 

John Reeves 

Assistant