Evening star., 1901-01-08
BOARD OF GUARDIANS
IT'S AUTHORITY TO DISPOSE OF
WARDS PASSED UPON.
Attorney Duvall's Opinion Respecting
Release Before Expiration of
Term of Commitment.

Mr.. A B. Duvall, the attorney for the
District, has transmitted to the Commits
sicners an opinion requested of him by the
board of children's guardians as to the au-
thority Of the board to divest itself OF
the control of certain Of it's wards. The
board, Mr.. Duvall holds, has a right to re-
lease It's wards from its guardianship before
the expiration of the term for which they
were committed to it only by obtaining
from the Police Court or the Criminal
Court, as the case may be, an order va
eating the order of commitment made by
the court. He also holds that the board
raay not wholly transfer it's authority over
it's wards to other parties, because the act
of Congress of July 20. 1892. contemplates,
in his opinion. that the board shall con-
tnually exercise visitorial and supervising
powers over such children.
1t is stated that several years ago the
Police Court, under the act of Congress ap-
proved July 26, 1892, establishing the board
o. children's guardians, committed to 1T the
guardianship of three certain children. Re-
Gently, the board being satisfied that it
would be for the welfare of the children
to transfer them to the care of other par
ties, applied to the Police Court to have
the commitment set aside. The court how
ever, so the board was informed, holds that
II is without power to set aside the COM
mitment after the expiration of the term
of the court at which the commitment was
but buNdll IS Ol tile OplilioA
that the application was not presented to
the Police Court as fully as it might have
been.
Not Criminal Proceedings.
While it may be true, he says, that
court has no power to alter its judgments
after the expiration of the term. yet the
act OF the court in committing these chill
dlen to the board of children's guardians
was not under criminal proceedings in any
sense of the term, nor was the order of
the court in the premises judgment in the
sense in which it enters judgment in crimi-
nal cases. Here We have the state. repre-
scented in this jurisdiction by Congress, as
parens patriae, exercising those paternal
powers necessary for the public welfare in
respect to the right and duty of caring for
destitute and abandoned children. This
plainly is mere administrative function,
which. for purposes of convenience. Con-
gress has intrusted to the Police Court and
the Criminal Court.
Suppose, for instance he states. among
other things, that child abandoned and
destitute should become entitled by bequest
to a large fortune, and thus be enabled to
ure the largest endowment of education
so as to fit it for the position in life it
would be entitled to occupy by reason OF
its wealth. Can it be possible that under
such circumstances the guardianship of the
child must continue with the restricted ad-
vsntages incident to its commitment to the
pose after the commitment to the board 1t
is ascertained that the child was not aban
dCLed or destitute. Can it be possible that
the order of commitment must stand. and
the child be deprived of parental care be-
cause the term of the court has expired?
Duty of the State.
'In the very nature of its subject-matter,
the duty which the state is seeking to per-
form, through the instrumentaity of the
court. is continuous one, and the power of
the court. consequence, is not ex-
haLsted when its authority is first exercised
/ am of the opinion that, upon a satisfac-
tory showing to it, the Police Court has
power and authority to vacate its order
committing a child to the board of chill
dren's guardians, regardless of the fact that
the term Of the court may have passed.
and, after having so vacated its order, the
court may make such other order in the
premises as the case may require. within
the provisions of the law, or the court may
make no further order in respect to the
child. The effect of simply vacating the
order Of commitment, in my opinion, would
be to leave the control of the child as it
was before the board intervened in it's be-
half