Janu@py 11, 

### 1951

Hon. Larry 0. 00x Hxecutlve Mreator 

### Board for Texae Stat@ Hospitals and Spoolal Schools Austin, Texas opfalon Ho. v-1141. Rw Lqgaity 0r admlttlng 

### en brbltuel clmnkardtoa State hospital under 

### a Dea~r Sirs aarltamt madeby l o owlty

judge,



### *Recently 

### sevmal oamnltm6nts 

### oi babitual drunkard8 have been madeby county dudges to Stat& bospltnls ?or the Insaner me of the oomitmentm hnve been by jury trial, aa set out in Title 92 oS Vernon88 Civil statutes. Other oomltmantrr have been for a period 9f ninety (90) aay6 a6 

### set out 3ii*rtlol* 319304 of VOmIc0 ”8CfVil stat

### The judgments 1~ 

### each of the cam8 

### adjud&d the person to **be** 

### an ‘babltual drunkard’ Instead 0r 

### a Vp~roa or ua800116. mind.’ Hovevec, the j conmitteQ 

### to aT at 

### oFaerse the person

S ate hospital.

“It is our intsrpmtatfon that a 

### perBOLI would have to be adjudged wntnlly ill to be ooamlttad tmdep Aptiole >lg>o-1, or vould hfive to be deckFed * pewon of uasound mind under Title 92.

“It ie evidently the IntrzQPetatlola 

### of nomecounty Judy that the a?oramentioasd gaFgsd a lov a complitmentOSan babl0

‘Plume 8dviss 

### whether 0~0 not 

### anbabltual drunkerd can ti lsgallg cmmittsd under tha provlslo~ 

### of eLtheP Article 31930~1 or" 

### Title 92,.

### Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page 2 (V-1141)

With respect to the commitment to the insane asylums operated by this State of persons adjudged under the provisions of Title 92, VarnonDs Civil Statutes, Articles 

### 5554 and 

### 5557,V.C.S.,provide in part:

Art. 

### 5554. “Upcn Peturn of a verdict finding that the 

### defendantie of unsound mind and that It is 

### necessarythat med under restraint,judgmentshall be entered 

### adjudgingthe defendantto be a person of 

### unsoundmind and orderto be comltt d for restpaintand treatment to any &ane ar)ylum operated by the State of Texas in which 

### them may be available. room, a e
.”



### Art. 5557. %nmedI.ately after any person Is adjudgeda person of unsound mind, the county judge 

### shall caumunicate 

### 8% the supelrlntendents of the Insane asylums within this State, and if it Is ascertained that there fs a vacancy in any of such asylums, or that the patient may be accommodated.,thereln, he shall issue his warrant to the sheriff or to some other suitable person dSrecting him to convey the pepson of unsound mind to the asylum deslgnated in such warpant, _I a *” (Emphasfs added throughout m ) Under Article 5552, V.C.S,, before one charged with being 

### of unsoundmind can legallybe committed indefinitely to a State hospital, there must be a jury verdict not only that he :$.sof unsound mind but that his mental condftlon is such as to render it necessary that he be placed under restPaint, Hatton v, State Board of Control, 

### 146 Tex. 160, 204 SbW02d 390 (1947),

With respect to mentally~lll persons ,ndjuclge,ed and consuLtted under the provisions of Article 3X.930-1., v.c.s*, it Is ploovlded

“Section 1. (a) If information in writing and under oath be gLven to any County Judge that any pepson in Ns county who is not chalaeed with a c~lmlnal offense. is beli&nd to-be mentallv il.& and that the welfare of himself and/or others requires that he be placed in a State hospital for the mentally ill for not exceeding ninety,Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page 3 (Q-1141)

(90) days for observation and/or treatment, and such County Judge shall believe such InformatIon to be true, he shall Sorthwlth fix a day and place for the hearing ini determining af the matter,

. *

. and shall give notice 

### to such person of the time and place of such war IS, upon the hearing of such matter, two 5) reputable physicians authorized by law to prnctlce medicine in the State OS Texas, neither of whomis on the staff of any Texas ‘State Hospital, and each of whomhas examkned the nerson alleRed to be mentally ill withln the preceding five 5) days of said hearing, shall swear that in each 

### of theirprof'esslonal opinionssuch person is mentally 11 , is neither feebleminded, an idiot. an lmbec e. nor an eVileDtiC

. and that in his opinion such ‘person- should be temporarily committed for observation and/or treatment to some .State hospital authorized by law to care for and’ treat mentally ill per- .SOllS, and IS thereupon the County Court finds m such person should Abetemporarily committed to a State hospital for observation and/or treatment, he shall so state in his order of connaitment which shall be entered upon the minutes of said Court and a writ of coxmnitment issued thereupon commltti said person temporarily for observation nnd 7 or treatment to acme State hospital authorized by law to care for and treat mentally ill persons

-” It was held In Ex parte Giannatti, 189 S.W.2d 191 (Tex.Civ.App. 1945) that under Article I, Section 15 of the Constitution of Texas and Artfcle .31930-l, V.C.S., a county court has general jurisdfctfon to commit persons who are mentall~lll to State hospitals for a period of not exceeding ninety days without first allowing a

See Att ‘y Gen. bps. O-4411 (1942)) v-86 (19 ury trial. 7).



### Article 4102,V.C,S., relates to the appointment of a guardian drunkards o” for *persons of unsound mind and habitual

Subsections 3 and 4 of Article 4104, V.C.S., define for purposes of guardianship: (1) persons of unsound mind as ‘Idiots, lunatics and insane persons,” and 12) habitual drunkard as “one whose mind has become so impaired by the use of Intoxicating liquors OP drug6 that he is incapable of taking care of himself “‘It Thus, Article 4104 does not classify persons who may be habitual drunir

### ards with persons defined to be of unsound mind. HOPdo

### Hon. Larry 0. Cox, page 4 (Q-1141)

other legal definitions oi 'habitual drunkardaImpute mental illness or insanity. 19 Uorde and Phrases (Perm. Nlog1940)29; 2 Bouvler'sLaw Dictionary (8th Ed. 1914) The lav entertainsn dfstinctlonbetweena person 'of &sound mind" and one who is an "habitualdrunkard." See also Arts. 41214123, 

### 4267 et seq.,V.C.S.;Greenwood v. Purr, 251 

### S.W. 332 (Tox.C;V.APP. 

### 1923).

We find no intendment,erpressedor implied,in the laws governing 

### our State hospitalsfor the mentally Ill or in those laws governingthe commitmentof persons 

### to such ~nstltutlona, that such hospitalsare to be used as sanatoriums 

### for persons designatedor adjudgedas habltUal drunkards. It may be that 4 

### the medical or 

### other fields of sclenoe an habitual drunkardis regardedas a person who is mentally ill or oS unsoundmind. But the latis herein citedauthorizethe commitmentto our State hospitalsfor the mentally ill oS only thosepersons lepl$y adjudged or Sound to be of unsoundmind or mentally Arts. 5554 

### and the'commltment They do not authorize

or Sound to be personsadjudged

We 

### do not menn to Infer herein that an habitual drunkard cannotbe adjudgedto be a person of unsoundmind and Indefinitelycommlttedas n person of unsound mind to 

### a State asylum,nor that an habitualdrunkardcannotbe fmnd 

### to be n personVho Is mentally ill and temporarily commltted,as a person adjudgedmentally Ill, to a State asylum for observationor cnre for his mental illness. But it 

### does not follow,merely because some habitual drunkardsmay properly

### be determinedor adjudgedto be persons 

### of unsoundmind OF personsmentally ill, that all habitualdrunkardsare, In legal contemplation, unsound of mind or 

### mentally ill,

A personadjudged OF 

### found to be an habitualdrunkardcannot legallybe committed under such finding or adjudication, temporarilyOP 

### otherniae,to the State hospitals and ns and treatmen ally 111 pex!sons.

elums authorizedto care SOP

APPROVED2

. Yours v&y truly, J. C. Davis Jr. County AffairsMviqion Jesse P, Assistant

Luton,Jr. PRICE WRIEL AttorneyGeneral