OFFICEOFTHEATTORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS 

AUSTIN 

~..:,:, ,: ,. 
Honorable ~Joe J. Flmhar, Page 8 

but 8~21 be ntupettaea until tha aeOi8f0n 

of the Court*of $$dnal Appeals has bean 

n00ma. . 

we shall file 00nxiaar whether or not the oourt 

may legally aentenoe &nnle Smith In vaootlon. The annwer 

ln no. XII the oaae of Jim Dodd ~a. The state, 77 Dr. B. 

MS. 179 8. w. 564, 8pperl was had rrom a oonvlotlon of bur- 

“The 

was trrea 

- 

term a? oourt at rhloh appellant 

adjauraad without a a~nt~noe. fn 

- _ . _- 

C 

~vaoat10n ona lli ohmmere tho wage l ntaraa the 

aalt~no~. This under our statute la the final 

Judgaont, and an appeal to this oourt oan not 

110 until aontttnoo has men pronouuooa. sattea00 murt b8 pronounoea aumg the torm 0s 

the aourt. The court oan not aontutoo a ao- 

~feadant la vacation. whon aourt aajourma 

his authorfty ovar tho oaae oloaa4, whan 

notiea of appeal hnd been given to this ,oourt, 

exempt in oasoa apaolally prerldea by statute. 

This pronounolng of sentmoo in not aothorimed 

in taoatlon, nor la it authorhod at any tlmo 

exoopt during a texm of the oowh. The Aaaiatant Attonrev @moral mavos to alnmlma the apP 

eta1 for’ this roa~on 8na it murt be 8tm8in~a.* 

D8~i48on, J.) 

Slnoe the dare&ant oaanot ba SentenOea in vooation, 

the question, l e you rtata It, now orixoa as to whether tb 

oourt mgt patpom that ootlon until the next ngular tona, 

whioh la aer6sol mOntha honoo, or moJ the judge ooll a apoolol 

taPal ior that purpose. 

Art1910 19S0, Retimed Clvll Stotutoa, 1989: 

*Whenover 0 alstrlot Judge deetim it odrlaabia 

to hold a apeolal tmm of the ai8tri0t oourt in 

any oounty In hi. dlatrlot, 8uah apealal toxm 

mar bo held; ona auoh Juaga may oonvono ~u$hqte$m 

at any t&a0 whioh may be fixed by hlm.. . 

The oot or fixing and holding a apeolal term or oourt 

la within the dlatrlot judge’. sound diaoretlon. Parry vs. 
Honorable Joo J. Insher, Poe.3 

wolaton, (O.&A.) 96 s. w. teal 854. 

At auoh .a term tho judge may pronoun00 aontenoe. In 

the oaae o? I!!% parts Young, 49 Or. R. S36,r OS & W. 100, appllO8nt was OhmgOd and ~nrlotod of mqlor and his punlabont 

araoeaoa at death. It woe ap&molsd to tho Court of Crlmlnal 

Appeals whore the jud@tont was afflrm+l, and a motlon’for rohearing worruled. Tho mandato 108 188uOd after the rogulor 

term of tho dlatrlot oourt had expired. The judge oallod.8 

l pooiol tam of .tha oourt for the aolo~ purpose of aentonolng 

l pplioant unqer the statutory authority of the Auto of the 

g9th Leglalature, Chapter 83, Pago 116, the gist of whloh Is 

now found In ArtIole 19gO. aupra. The defendant applied for 

a writ of 

the writ. 

hdoaa oorpua. eTho-Court of Crlalual Ap&ala denied 

flndlng that *It woe oloarly within the powor OS 

*to 6aU. the apoolal aoa~lon of the Dlatrlot Court 

tha apeolflo purpose of aontemolng 8pp1100nt.~ 

YUPthOr, .in the oau8o of EX pOrti Soya, SO Cr. 8. 

SO9j 96 8. II. 1080, we find a praotloolly Ia*ntloal faot a1tuatlo~. 

There, Eenaoraon, J-, apo~king for the Court of Or-1 Appeals 

aalar 

bThIa statute was oOn6itruod by this oourt 

in 151 park Young, 15 Tour Ot. tip,, 88gi and 

It wZa thare.hel6.that aala statute authorixed 

thajuage of tha airtriot oourt ot say oounty 

in this Btate, to 00rmono 0 apooIal term of 

hla oourt at any time whfoh mcly ‘bo fired by 

him. We think the propoaitlon there onnouuoeQ, 

la oonxtrulng aala statute, la 0 aufflolent 

anawar to this appllootlon. We would observe, 

howwor, that the Uonstltutloa (ortlole~S,aeotlon 7) &Ives plenary power to the Legislature 

to anthsrlse the holding of spool81 torius of 

the alatrlot oourta~ we ~quoto thororrom, 08 

follower ~‘Tho Loglalaturo #hall hare power, 

by general or 8paolal lows, to authorleo tho 

holaing of apaolal terms of-the oourt, or the 

horalng 0r lloro than two toraw in any ootmty 

for the aiapatoh or ~ua5.nesa.* Of oourao, 

the Iaglalature oould authorlao the judgo to 

fix the aato 611 those torme. 

“Did the Aot of the Twonty-Ninth Loglaloturo npool that port of tho old law (Ro-xi-:x& 

vised Statutes, ortloloa 11X5-4) whioh roqulrod 

. 
Honorable Joe J. Fisher, Pago 4 

saLd order to be mado at a pnooding tora 

of tho dlatrlot oourt? It would seem that 

one of the purpoaaa of the now atotutea was 

to obvlato thla,;an$ to authoriw the’ judgo 

In rooatlon to order a 6poolol term of hula 

oourt; Saotlone 1 and I! of the now sot in 

offoot re-onaotod sol& above nmntlonod mootlone of .tho old aot, leaving oft any referl noe to a “” entry of the brdor durlag a rogular torm.%torootor, the longuogo of thm norj 

atatuta, ~ti ef00t ollmlnotor the laea iihet 

the order must be 'witoroti during term time. 

Tho 5uQo la authorima, whom ho doom6 it 

adrlaobla to ord!r a apoolal tonn, and authorlti~:&- to oonvono qtoh apoolal~ term 

Or tho sM+kt any tlmo whlah may bb fired 

by him. ‘rho& ‘in this oonnooticin, ~q., take It, 

doob not ~mror t,o plaae, but to the t$mo when 

ho may beam If odrlaoblo. or ooprao, ho iuullt 

fix the +ow or ,tJao ,oourt baron ha oon~onoa 

it. We zolght state, $n parsing, as ,w underrtand It wee one -0s. the purpoaa 0s -thil, new 

aot. if not the main purpose, to expedite the 

trial and diapoaltlon of a oortaln olW8, of’ 

oriasa’~w&loh have beoomo mom or l*ati proralent in this aountry, ana it was intedea %O.: .. 

outhorlqe the ‘judge, in vaootloa, to 0011 a 

apoolal tapa eY ‘-t.he oourt,~ and as ,a nwi 

roaturo of tb, aot, gore him power to ampanal the 

gmna 5~x7 ~to lndlot orreaaera, ,-a, try auoh 

oaaoa. It, will be **en that on0 of the main 

objeota er tm l nao+meat would be aefratoa, if 

‘the 00urt ,ahoula bo 80~llea -to wilt the oonnnlng 0s~ a re@io* term ‘mr0r0 ha ,acitia ,~a11 0 

apaolal term of his oouxkn 

In ooaol~alon, we wlah to point out that Artlolo 1923, 

Rori~od Oltil stotutoa, prwlalng r0r the oxtena’ion ~of 0 term 

of oourt woe not oonalderod hero booouao the exproaa wording of 

that statute pnoludoa any posalble l pplioation to this faot 

situation; viz;, uWhonorer a alatrlot aourt ihall be in the 

mldat of the trial of a oouaa when the t&no for the oxplratlon 

or the term or E&d oourt arrives * * ‘r the judgo IS 8uthorlzOd 
Honorable Joe T. Flahor, PO@ 5 

to ortona the kmb (Unfloroooring oura 1. 

we balioto that this fully auswera your Inquiry. 

Yours Gory truly, 

Approved l?or 18, 1941 

(0) Grover Sallerr 

Flrat Aaal8tant 

Attorney Oenaral 

ATTORNEY G-L OF TEXAS 

BY 

(a) Wm. J. Fanning 

Aaslatant 

BY 

(a) Crundy Wllllfmn