fj 

$: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

!( AUSTIN 

Honorable Clyde b. &%ulelly 

County~irttc~orney~ 

Port send county 

liiohmoti, Texar, 

ulll be sincere 

&ant will be tumed over to x.he 

lc~aloffloars, to .be kept In cuetody until suoh 

fine in paid. or suffioMlt tlim* 18 epllt In th* 

County Jail to dare ror the fine. 

Wlnaer our statutes, a County has no right 

to ecquirs lend, right-of-way or easerxlent in 

1-d by iM.naat bomain where the lanC ia use4 
Honerabl6 Clyde LB. xennelly, page a 

rar cemet.ery pur 0868. Port MUsnd county he6 

been eoqulring r L ht-&-way for the State o~i 

Stats El&way Ho. i%88. The demlmd rlghtor-w6y will run eero66 one end 0r e cemetery. 

All interested pert&a end reletlvves or the 

known dead are willln~ for the County to eequire th6 right-of-way but there er6 a number 

of unknown dead in the strip of lend lnv~l~ed. 

Your opinion will be appreeiatsd ee to the 

proper nethod of removing thee6 grave6 end 

hendllng thle situation 6o thet the County 

will not be liable in any po6alble future 

damage suit ab a result or the removal of the'. 

@FlV6Sb Cotid:ths County nrake the rsnusvals 

for highway purposes through psrmiselon or 

the County Court under Art. 92t3b, Revised 

0 lvil Statutea? 

*rho County proposer to hnve E oemtsry 

e66oolatfon organlsed and la eiaeured of the 

oooporetion 0r any and all known lnter*8ted 

parties. Th6 removalr, if made, will be plade 

by oompetent partisa and every effort will 

be-de by the County to put the cemetery in 

muoh better oondltlon than it 1s in et the 

prs6ent time." 

21th r6r6r6noo~to your rlrot qimetion oonosr~ng 

the aaount or ree8, if any, whloh a ahedrr or his deputy ir 

6ntitl66 to, In mledeadanor oaes6 filed in the jwtloe oourt, 

where the sheriff or his deputies have not&g to Q uhetsoever with the 0866, this aatter ha8 b66n detsrmjnsd by this 

department on nuaeroua oooarlone. Thie &qmrtmnt has repeatedly ruled that a oomtabls or other geaoa OfflO6r 1s not 

6ntltlad to ohargs, OolUmt or eoOOpt f666 unl6o6 he aotunlly 

performa the 6ervlo6r eet out in tha atatut66. Ii the eonstable or sherlrr or their doputle8 do not make the arrest, 

or ths oarmltamnt or the release, they oertaidl;l6annot ohar.::e, 

oolleot or eeoept a is6 for doing so. 

Th6refor6, it Is our opiaion where a shsrlff or 

hi6 deputies, or any other pea00 offlaer p6rform6 no servloe 

or services ln conmotion with a mlodemsanor oa66 filed ln 

the justice Oourt, suoh offloor 16 not entitled to any fee. 

In support of our oonolu6lon stated above, w6 refer 

you to our opinions Ho. OIQOl, NO. o-llt30 NO* o-963, o-359, 

0406, o-695 (conferenoe opinion No. SO58f and o-968, oopielr 

of whloh are 6nclaseU for your aonvfml6?noB. 
Henaeable olydo 2, IsnnmUy, Pago 3 

We mm saastdsr your seeond proposition. As stated in youx letter, Wkw our statutes, a county has no right 

to aoqufm land, right-et-Way or m686mMt in land by eminent 

domain where the lazd ls used for oematery purposes. 

Artlola S&%&L, V%rzoz*s Anzotated Civil Statutes, 

prwlde3 in part t 

9hs right of Eaainent Domain Is herebfoonferrsa upon eoustlms of the State et Tuas for 

the purpose of ooadsmnizg ad aoquM.ng lazd, 

right-of-way or sasemaut In land, private 0% pub110, mxoept proprty umsd for oerimtsry purp0333, 

whew maid land, rl@t of, var or eamaent is 

neorssary In ths oonstruoflon of Jails, oourthouses, hospitals, dollnquent and mpeadent 

soho~ls, poor farms, ZibW?ieS or for qthsr publis purposes, whsra such purpose is sow or smy 

hsraaftsr be autiharimed by the Oozstitutfen or 

Statutss or this atats. 

0 II . .* 

In this oonneotlon It is to be notad that Artisles 

3929, 639Cn, and other statutes regarding the right of eainent 

:. .'.' ciusain by the oouaties or th8 Stat.0 rer IPbtOriaLs, right-orway, Oto., with zwfer6nom to ths oon3truotlOn of highreys and 

publi8 fads, do nat auth~riso th8 oondOianing and aoquiriag 

l.z.,ea for oem3t3xcp *po333, for the purp0303 above ln- 

, . 

It 13 stated in lkxas Jurisprudanoe, VOL. 16, p. 666: 

*Ia aooordanoe with ths prlnelples . . . 

govemln2the aondsmnatlanot proga#rtyalrsmU 

appropriated to az sxlsting publio use, the 

legislaturs has rss~lzsd oortain uses as saztroUing, and hss io offeet luompted landm devoted to them irem oondsmatlon ros any other 

We have aXready awn thatth0 use of, 

f~“$ oemstery purposes 1s a publio use* 

Thb fast, tegethar with the universal sMtim6nt 

that the ashes or tha dead should not be dtiturb- 

;goz8 that the soil ip; *h&oh they are burled 

not be erpossd 0 t e vlQissltudem of 

buelness efralrr; hso fraguently lndued the 

legimlatwe when 66lagating th0 pOWOr or On&aant 

dolpoin, to 6iak6 0~~83 &~?~vlsionthat it 8halL 
Honorable Glyti 8. m&$eUf, Page 4 

not be erarolse4 in respeot of land that ia 

in us8 for,oemetery purposes. Thus ths etatutoa 0onferrLng the r&ht of oondamnation 

upon drainage di8trioto, 011 and gas 001~panie6, 

water lmproveraant distriota,eto., as has beeh 

pointed out, e~pre~sig exoept 08mtdries rtrm 

operation of the power. 0.n the 0th~ head, 

however, numsrous grants oontaFa no suoh provisions and 80~8 6vah authorize the taking of 

cwistery property upon a showing of nsoesaitg.* 

It is stated in Texas Jurioprudenoe, Vol. 9, p. a; 

"A oemtery i@ a par061 ot land whioh is 

devoted to the burial or interment of the 

bodies of the dead; and the tera moaraetsry-9 

iholudlea not only lots for thr sapulture or 

bodies, but also avanues, walhs aaii grounds 

r0r ahrubbery ati 0raaradzlta.l purpo8ea. The 

plasoe goes not ohande ohslraeter Woause further fntermeuts in it beoome impoirsible; it 

ocaa.oes to bi, a osxr+tery tanly when the espultureh bo&ieo.hWa bean exhumed en4 rmoved," 

The Yupmme Court of Texas in the aaee 02' OnkJ..sn4 

Cemetary Cozpny V. Pooplee Cemt63ry iu3aeadcLtion. 57 8, W. 27, 

among other things, held that whers tha Ian4 has basn laid 

out Into lota and a plat has been ma44 ami rsoor404 in thr 

ottbe of oounty c16rk.i the iana ie irrevooabl~y deuioate4 to 

the use a8 a pla08 Of buH.alr The legal title reaains in the 

oorporatlon only for the purpose ot oonveyin(J the lots to 

those who desire to uvd them ror the purposes Of burying th* 

4oa4; ho power is givah by the rtatutea to the corporation to 

oaavey the property for any othoir purpone. You state in your 

letter that the oouhty proposoa to have a aemetsry aemolation organize& but do not t&ate whether or not this assoolation Pa to be inoorporated, However, we thihk,'if the aasooiatia is LninaQtporated, it woulC have no more power than 

an inoorporated assooiation, and that auth asaooiation would 

have no power to oo~v13y the property for any other gWPOse 

than for ths purpose of burying the oead. ltoww@r, such portion of the ~emtery when zhe sepulturati tmiies have been 

erhud -6 removed VJOUbi Oase t0 be a part of the OstrB)tery, 

ar&c by virtue of utich BZBS, Vermn~s Annotate4 Civil Statutes, whioh provic;ee as roofiowa: 

"The remaina of a deeeased person interred 

in a plot in a oemetsry may be removed therefront 
IIaaortlble Clyda 3. Keaa6lJ.y, page (6 

with the consant oP th8 oamtery arroolaticm 

and the ai.Lten consent of the survivlag wlfa 

or husband, or iI there is no surviving hunband 

or wlfe,(then or ths ohll~ran, or if'there io 

no surviritng husband or wihjnor ohildran, then 

oP the parents of the deaeaaid, or alumld there 

be no surviving husband or wire or ohildren 

or parent, then of the brothera and/or sistare 

of the deosaeed. Iif the ~~aantof any suoh 

person or of'thha aseoelatioa oannot be obtained, 

per~~&8sion by the County Court of the oounty 

vrhsre the aemetsry Is situated shall bs eufiiolMt* Notice ot applioatfm to the Court for 

auoh pax3alael~ must be given, at least tea 

(10) days prior thereto, personally, or at 

least fLitean (US) Cay8 prfor thereto ii by 

aail, to the ommtery aaaeaiation, an6 to the 

persona nDt oesumntlng, and to erer~ ethec peraon or aseooiation on whom servioo 0% notio6 

say be required by the Court. This provlrloa 

u&all not apply to or prctb/bit tha romtwal of 

any remain8 fmm ona plot to another in th6 

nms ounetery; neither &all this pcovision 

apply to the dia,iatermaat OP rsnrrins upon er4w 

0r court or ooxum+* 

the remain8 of dsa&dd persona interred in the oemotery 

nay bs rewmedtherefrcm, whan the provlaionr OS said atatuts are ooaplied with. 

It is our opinion that whan the rannim 02 the daoeaaed persons interred in that portion of the oomtsrp ham 

been removed in ocrnpliancs with Artiola QZSb, mpra, such 

portion of the cemetary oeases to ba a oametarp an4 that 

portion 0r the same oan legally be used ra+g&w9r ?=w 0s 

other purposes in oonneotlon therewith. '- 

Yowr vety truly 

ATTom Wm&bL OF ?+%xAS