OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

~ AUSTIN 

xonorsb1.r F. M. Cfmaprt 

DireatOr of Law lbISoraanekot 

t%ma, Fleh and Oyrter Qommlaalon 

Austin, Tax88 

Dear Slrt 

opinion lo. o-70M 

Warrant mar 

TbSa la in reply to 

roquaatlrrg our OplnlOll 011 0 

Your l&tar 8180 oontolna 7 

has bean vary helpful to ua 

ad l aaroh l 

08 uaad in this tltlo, is 

the aoqulaitlon or proparty 

by tha law ot the State.* 

306 prorldear 

*When it la 8llqed that the proper+ wa* aequlrod other than by theft, tha partlaular mannor of 

lta aaqulaftloa must ba ,aet forth in tha oomplaint 

and in the warrant .” 
2159 

I '

Artlols 871s or the Penal Code de?clsrea al1 wild 

animals within the border8 of thin State to be the property of 

the people of this Stats. There are numerous statutes in our 

penal Code restrioting the right to kill wild deer in this 

State and afilxlng puniehment to the vlolatlon thereof. The 

aaraasa of a dear aaqulred by killing It in violation ot the 

oam Law or in any other manner prohibited by the lawa or thle 

State 1s psraonel property acqtirod in a manner whioh makes lta 

l oqulaltlon unlawhl. 

It 1s our opinion that a aaaroh warrant msg be laaued 

to aearoh a grain elevator, whore it la bellerod that a deer, 

illegally killed, 1s aonoealed. 

“2. May suoh seerah warrant 80 lesued ba sxaoutad 

by anr poaoe offlaer?” 

Artlcla 317, 0. 0, P., provides: 

*w peace ot,flaer to whom a search warrant 

la delivered shall axaoute it without delay and 

forthwith return it to the pzopar maglatkta. It 

must be! axeout& within three days from the tlma 

OS its 18auenoo, and tihall bo oxsouted wlthln a 

shorter period if 60 direatsd in ths warrent br 

tho mcrgla~trats.~ 

It 1s thereiore our opinion that auah searah warrant 

may be exeouted by any peaaa oifloer of this Stats. 

"3. May auoh ssrrah warrsnt so laaued be 

axeautod by e garua and flrh waiaen?” 

5% quota from our Opinion no. 0-62711 

*The Came, Fish & Oyster Oommlaslon, and lta. 

deputies, whioh are oonnnonly keferrod to aa 'gsma 

wardene’ are pub110 ofilaer6 of the Stati .of Texa~a 

end as such the law has plrord upon them the ap~oial 

duty to *enforoe, the stetutefi of this ata’te~ for the 

proteatlon end presarvatlon of wild game and wild 

bird8 . . . * Artlola 906~, Verncm~a Annotated Penal 

Code of Texsa, While these offioers have not been 

legally endowed with the ganeral authority of the 
1 I:::, n * “. “. Cowsert, page 3 

I 

ordinary peaoe orrloar in thla Ctatt, they heta 

been &van nubetantlal enroraemsnt powers within 

their own enforoement field. We note that they 

may arm themeelvec in the offlolal dieaharge oi 

their duties and that' they nay serve- criminal 

process in oases d vlolatlona of the game lawn 

with the eame suthoritg aa the aherlrr. Artlolea~ 

483 and 905, V. A. P. C. Also, they 'm%y arrest 

lklthout a warrant any person found by them in the 

sot of violating any of thi laws for the protsatlon and propagatlori of game, wild birds or iirh. 

. * Art1014 905, V. A. P. C. Furthrrmoti, 

; &me werden may searah a *game bag or other 

reoeptaole’ and *any buggy, wagon, automoblle,,or 

other vehlo$e* without e warrant when he ‘has 

reason to suepeat’ that it ‘may oontain game unlawfully klllbd or taken.’ Artlolee 897 and 

923d, V. A. P. '3." 

Slooe the. at.stutqa (Arts. ,897 and 923d of the Pins1 

Code) authorize game wardens to 80~~4 only osiminal DrtweaiE in 

oases OS vlolstiona of the gam.e laws, it la neoeseary to determine 

whether, under our law, suoh a searah warrant la a worlmlnal prooeaa.w 

*The term ‘orlmlnal prooeaa’ la intended ~to 

signify any oaplas, warrant, oltatlon, attaohment 

or ary other written order issued in a orlmlnal 

prooeedlw, whether the (Iamb be to arre~at, ocmmlt, 

oollaot money, or ror whatever purpoes uaed.R C. 

C.P. Art;. 26. 

*When Plmployed, CI eearoh warrant is one of the 

initial steps ln a orlmlnal prooeedlng. Aa in the 

maa of a wsrrsnt of arrest, a lrearoh warrant la 

crfxtln~l prooeesi it la lseurd to afd in the deteotlon or auppresalon or orlme. Employment Of such, a 

warrant in a orimlinal prooeadlng meg be da important 

ae a warrant of erreats end 1~ brlnglng to the invea-- 

tigatlon ell,of the evldenoe showing guilt, it may 

beoone more 1mDortant than a warrant or arreat.w 

38 Tex. Ju. p: 33, oiting Bloea 0. State (Crim.App.) 

75 c. w. (2d) 694.. 

It 1s therefore our opinion that suoh aearoh warrant 

may be exeeutfd by a game an8 fish warden. 
“4. :hy $2 ::me end flab warden reeroh e 

grein elevator, where it 18 bellered that a 

deer, ll.:e+~elly killed, hee been aonaeeled, 

without a senral. werrent?* 

The answer to this question depends upon whether e 

preln elevator comes within tha meaning of the phrese "or other 

reaepteole of any kind”, as used iA 4ela Artlolee a97 end 9236 

referred to above. We note that in these statutes the words 

“01: sny other raoepteol~e Of eny kind* follow immediately efter 

the words ‘%ie gene bag" end ere hollowed by the words "or any 

bwu, -&'A; automobJ.18 or other rehlol,e”. Me believe thet 

the meeAing of the words "or any other reoepteole of any klndw 

es used in these eiatutee, 18 restrioted by the rule of etetutory aonetruotlon knowA as the dootrlne of ejuedem ganerle. The 

rule end its epplloation are stated thus in 39 Texas JUrisprUdenoe, page 202, et 4eq.r 

“The dootrlne of ejusdem (Isnerie (of the same 

kind) imports that general words r0110*lfng an l aumeretlon of pertlouler or epeoitio things will be 

confined to things OS the eeme kind. IA brief ,the 

general *orbs so used era not to be eonstrued ln 

thrlr wldeet sense, but ere to be held as epplylng 

only to persons or thin- of the l eme kind aAa 

01484 as Worse anumerated. Suoh words *ill not be 

held to 1AOlUas thingp of a oleee superior to that 

to wbhioh tha pertloular words balong. 

“The ejueaem generle dootrine 18 8 @enerel or 

‘prima* rule or etututory aonetruatlon, employaa es 

an aid In deterfnlnlng t&e intention of the Leglelature. It le epplicebls both to oltll and orimlnal 

etetutee, but more repeolally t0 statutes aeiinlqq 

crimes and reeuletlng puniehmente.~ Zuaerro 1. State 

82 Cr1.m: Rep. 1; 197 9. X. 982; L. R. i?. 19188 354. 

F’X parte Roquemore 60 Grim. Rap. 282; 131 F. ‘++‘1101; . 

32 I.. R. A. (N. 8. j 1186. Ih parte Muokanfuee. 52 Crl& 

lisp. 167; 107 r. ??. 1131. 

The Supreme Court ot the wAItea ctetee he8 held that 

the words of a statute giving s meahanb’sllen OA 4 *bullaiAg*, 

“lot” ) w?eraP or *my kind of property not herein enumareted*, 

era tco limited in their eoope to justify the a.onalueion that 

th4 Legislature had any lntentlon, by that Aat, to give a lien 
E!>O. 1;. . Coksert, page 5 

upon rellroed property. Bu?r,oombe County C~iSeiOA~s vs. Tommy, 

5 c’,,p. Ct. 626, 629; 115 1J.f. :. 122; 29 L. Pa. 308. 

A grnln elevator olearly does not some within tha olaee 

of reaeptaoles enumereted in the etstuts here aonelderaa. 

It is tkarsfore our opinion that #ala artlolee do not 

euthorlze a gem warden to eearah 4 grain elevator without 8 

search warrant. 

Yours very truly, 

8R.A !rt 

By Lc/- k QQ-L. 

8. B. Allen, 

Aealetaat.