THE~ATTORNEY GENERAL 

OP TEXAS 

PRICE DANIEL 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

August 24, 1948 

Hon. Alfred M. Clyde 

District Attorney 

Fort Worth, Texas 

Opinion No. V-667 

Re: The legality of the 

payment of travel expenses of witnesses 

subpoenaed in a aepenaencg case. 

Dear Sir: 

Reference is made to your recent request, 

vhlch reads, in part, as follows: 

"We have several dependency cases 

pending in the Civil Courts of Tarrant 

County in which the Chief Probation Officer has filed an action In the name of 

the State to declare the children neglected and dependent children ana to 

Puake them wards of the Court in order 

that they may be protected In accordance 

with the statute8 of this State. 

"In a recent case e e . in the 17th 

District Court, Tarrant County, Texas, it 

was necessary to subpoena a number of wltnesses from counties surrounding Tarrant 

County 6 e , The.above mentioned cause 

was held on July.29, 1948, ana at the completion of the hearing, the subpoena with 

a request for traveling expenses vas presented to He. Levis D. Walli Jr,, District 

Clerk of Tarrant County, Texas. Payment 

vas refusdd on the basis that under the 

lava of Texas there are no provisions for 

paying the fe,es,of witnesses except, in 

criminal casks. In oraer,to adequately 

prove the allegations made In our petition 

It was necessary that the above xiamed witnesses appear. 

"The Proseoution af our penalng cases 

will depend largely upon the statements of 
Hon. Alfpka M. Clyde, page 2 (V-667) 

witnesses who must be Subpoemea from aurpounalnr: counties, but we are reluctant to 

issue such subpoenas unless there is some 

assurance that the witnesses will be reimbursed for their traveling expenses. I 

would appreciate an Immediate ruling in 

this matter”ln order that I may know how 

to proceed. (Emphasis aaaeaj 

Article 2338&l, Section 13, V. C. S., pro’ 

vld38, in part, as follows: 

"The Juage may conauct the hearing 

In an informal manner ana may adjourn the 

hearing from time to time. In the hearing of any case the general public may 

be excluded. All cases Involving children shall be heard separately ana apart 

from the trial of cases against adults. 

"If 10 jury is demanded, the Judge 

shall proceed with the hearing. When the 

proceeding Is with a jury, the verdict 

ahall state whether the,juvenlle is a 

9&elinquent child' within the meaning of 

this Act, ma if the Judge or jury finds 

that the child is delinquent, OP otherwise 

vithin the provialens of this Act, the 

court may by order duly entered proceed 

as follows8 

"(1) place the child on probation OP 

under supervision in his own home or in 

the cuetody~of a relative or other fit 

person, upon such terms as the court shall 

determine ; 

“(2) commit the child to a suitable 

public institutien or agency, er to a 

suitable private instltmtion ore agency 

authorized to care for children; OP to 

place them in suitable family homes or 

parental homes for an Indeterminate period of t&me, not extending beyond the 

time the child shell reach the age of 

twenty-one (21) years; 

"(3) make such further disposition as 

the court may deem to be HOP the best in- 
Eon. Alfred M+ Clyde, page 3 (V-667) 

terest of the child, except a8 herein 

othenriae povidod. 

“Bo adjudloation upon the status 

of sny child in the,juz4sdictlon of the 

court shall operate to impose any of the 

civil dlsabilitles ordl.narll~ i 

"g 

osed ‘by 

aonvictlon,, nor shall 113~ child e deem* 

ed a cridnal by reason of suqh.adjubication, tir shall such adjudioatlon be 

eaed a oonviotion 

Section 21 of the sane ktlole provides that 

an appeal isay be taken by any par%yaggdeved to the 

Court of Civil Appeals, and the case ry be carried to 

the Supreme Court by wHt of error or upon certiiicate 

as ln other civil cat3es. 

- \ 

_~ --. That a juvenllr proceeding is not ccinilul 

.n nature is clear17 evidenced in the holdi= of the 

:ourt L 

i.H.(M P 

the o&se of %ndj v. Wilson, 142 Tex. 460,. 179 

269, wherein the court statedf 

"tile Aot doer not umlePkks to OODvict and $&wish 8 ahlld $0~’ thi oolrmisdon of a Grimor s e Thr 0nlJ ISSW to 

be. drterdned at the twirl is whether the 

juvenile is a ‘delinquent child’ wlthln 

the mean- of the Act. 

r * 

“it hre boa pepeatedlg held 

by oth&%W, in oonstlruing acts siri- 1 

lar.to the one under oonsideratlon, that 

such statutes are not criminal in nature,- 

‘-----and where their propose is for the.education and refopmatlon of the mlnor, an&the 

institution to whiah,he,or she ia 00&tted Is hot penal lr nature. the denial of 

~the zighi of ‘a jury~ trial ‘is not 8 violation~of the.Constltution . . . 

"Ii the objects of the kt are to be 

aooomplished, the pl”ooeedlngs’thoPounde~ 

must necessarily be olvil ir +ure, and 

while ln sow respocte the orders, or the 

judgment of the court r~ Uve the characteristics of a judgment In a crl.d~l 
. . ,_ 

Hon. Alfred M. Clyde, page 4 (V-667) 

case, the customary rules of evidence in 

civil cases, developed through long experience as essential in arriving at the 

truth wlt4f reasonable certainty, must be 

followed. 

It is apparent from the foregoing that such 

cases are civil in their nature. In fact, one of the 

main purposes for which the above Act was passed was 

to remove the stigma of crime from the juvenile in 

such cases. 

After a careful investigation and search of 

the statutes, we are unable to find any statute providing for or authorizing the payment of traveling expenses 

of wltnesaes in such proceedings. Art. 2338-1, supra, 

makes no provisions whereby such witnesses may be reimbursed for traveling expenses when brought before the 

court in such hearings. 

Since such cases are civil in their nature, 

and in the absence of any authority to compensate such 

witnesses, it is our opinion that such witnesses may 

not be reimbursed for traveling expenses. Although the 

officers may encounter extreme difficulty in obtaining 

witnesses in such proceedings, nevertheless the duty of 

supplying such compensation rests exclusively with the 

Legislature. 

SUMMARY 

Witnesses subpoenaed in juvenile delinquency cases may not be reimbursed for 

traveling expenses under presently existing 

statutes. 

APPROVED: , 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY 

RNRY GENERAL 

HA:vmb:mw :