Honorable Charles J. Lieck, Jr. OpinionNo.

### WW-1474

CriminalDistrictAttorney Bexar County Re: Whether a juvenile court, Courthouse after adjudging a minor San Antonio 

### 5,Texas to be a delinquent child and placing said child in temporary custody of his parents, subject to the further orders of the court, has jurisdiction to have a fur~ther

hearing after the minor has attained the age of 17years and commit him to the custody Dear Mr. Lleck: of the TexasYouth Council.

You have requested an opinion of this office in the above matter and in your request the following Is stated:

"OnApril 

### 24, 1962,Charles J. Lleck, Jr., CriminalDistrictAttorney of Bexar County, Texas, filed his petition in 150thDistrict Court of Bexar County, Texas, sittingas a JuvenileCourt, asking that

. . .beadjudged a delinquent child. The petition alleged that said childwas born May 

### 5, 1945, and that the offense constituting such child a delinquent childwas the burglary of a private house with intent to commit theft, and that such offensewas of the grade of felony as definedby the Penal Code of Texas. Service of noticewas requested on the parents of said child, and a fiat of the District Judgewas attached to saidpetition. The date of the offensewas alleged as April 

### 18,1962,and the notice of hearingwas forApril 

### 26, 1962.
"On April 

### 26, 1962,in conformitywith said fiat of said Judge an order was entered in said cause in which it is recited that a hearing was had on said date at which time the parents of said child,his attorney, and the child in person appeared in court, and at suchhearing the courtHon. Charles J. Lieck, Jr., page 2 

### (WW-1474)

found tha'the child at the time of suchhearing was 

### 16years of age; was a delinquent child and 'itis to the best interest-at he be placed, until final disposition of custody is made, in temporary custody of

. . .I" (Emphasis added) "The order of the.courtrecited that the child Ibeand he is hereby placed, until final disposition of custody is made, in the temporary custody of

. . .in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas,-subject to the further orders of saidCourt.1 (Emphasisadded) "OnMay 

### 7, 1962,as shownby order of court signed May 10, 

### 1962,another hearingwas had at which hearing the child appeared in personwith his parents,
. . .andhis attorney, the recitation being that the court having heard the evidence is of the opinion and finds that it is to the best interest of said child thathe be committed to the care, custody and control of the TexasYouth Council of Austin, Travis County, Texas; and it was ordered that he be committedto such agency for an Indeterminateperiod of time not to exceed the time he shall have become twenty-oneyears of age and thathe shouldbe conveyed forthwithby the Chief ProbationOfficer of Bexar County to the Gatesville State School for Boys.

order of mined to II II

. . . The question to be answered is thus: Does an initial commitment to the Texas Youth Council of a minor deterbe a delinquent child,have to be accomplishedberore said child reaches 17 years of age in case of a male and 16years of age in case of a female?

Article 

### 2338-1,Section 

### 3,Vernon's Civil Statutes, defines a delinquent child as ".
. .anyfemaleperson over the age of ten (10)years and under the age of eighteen 

### (18)years and any male person over the age of ten (10)years and under the age of seventeen 

### (17)years," and thenproceeds to elucidate the circumstanceswhich bring a person, in the above age groups, under the provisionsof the statute.Hon. Charles J. Lieck,, Jr., page

,~

Article 5143a, Section provides: 

### 3 wq-1474.1

2,Vernon's Civil Statutes,

"Anymale personbetween the ages of ten (10) and seventeen (17)years who shall be lawfully committed to the State Juvenile Training School as a delinquent child, and not possessingany of the disqualificationshereinaftermentioned, shallbe received as an inmate of said training school." Section 12 of Article 5143~ reads as follows: "Whenany child is' adjudgeddelinquentunder the provision of Section 13 of Chapter 204 of the General Laws of the Re ular Session of the Fort - eighth Legislature & 19 3, (Sec. 13,Article 233 - 8 1, of Vernon's 1948 Statutes), and the Court does not release suoh child unconditionally,or place him on orobation or in a suitablenublic or nrivate institutionor agency other Training School, the Court ,shal; the Council,but may suspend the the order of such commitment." Section 12 of Article 5143d same as the above quoted statute.

From a perusal.of the above statutes, It can be saidwith certainty,, that a male 17years of age or over and a female 18 years of age or over cannotbe committed to the Juvenile Training Schools of this State, for the firsttime, at these ages, because they do not comewithin the age limits set forth in Article 2338-1, Section 3, sunra. These jurisdictional limits of age are mandatory and cannotbe circumvented than a State commit him to execution of

reads gubstantially the

or altered by judicialaction.

Further a reading of the aforementioned statutes leaves no doubt that their clear and unambiguousmeaning prohibits initial or first commitment to the Texas Youth Council of delinquent childrenafter attaining the maximum age limit in each group.

Therefore,we are of the opinion that the order entered on April 

### 26, 1962,was not an order of commitmentaddressed to the Texas Youth Council and the order of Nay 7, 1962, entered after the subject childwas 17years of age, was a void and illegal commitmentwhich the authorities of the Juvenile Training Schools must refuse to obey.- .

Hon. Charles J. Lieck, Jr., Page 4 @W-14'74)

Pleasebe advised that our opinion pertains only to initial commitmentand in no way affects recommitmentafter initial commitment Is lawfullyobtained.

Accept our thanks for the brief submitted in this matter.

S UMMA.RY A juvenile court after adjudging a minor to be delinquentand placing said minor In temporary custody of his or her parents, subject to further orders of the court,has no jurisdictionto have a further hearing after the minor has attained the age of 

### 17years, in case of a male and the age of 

### 18years in case of a female and commit the said minor to the custody of the Texas Youth Council. An initial commitment order entered after a minor reaches the age of 

### 17 years in case of a male and the age of 

### 18years in case of a female, is void and illegal and the authorities of the Juvenile Training Schools must refuse to obey the said order. Sincerely,
WILL WILSON Attorney General of Texas,

0LB:mkh
APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE
J. C. Davis, Chairman Tom Peterson Malcolm Quick Grady Chandler
REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Leonard Passmore sistant